A modern person cannot imagine his life without a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, portable drill, screwdriver, flashlight and other devices that can operate both from the mains and from the battery. Often, such devices use lithium-ion power sources.
Many will ask why this type of
energy storage is most often used in electrical appliances. The answer is quite simple and obvious - lithium-ion batteries are small in size, and they also have a fairly long life - from 300 to 2000 charge-discharge cycles. It is precisely because there are so many power sources of this type around us that everyone should know how to charge a lithium-ion battery.
What is a Li-ion battery?
Despite the fact that everyone has come across such a power source, not everyone understands what kind of battery it is and how it is arranged. The simplest and most common option is a lithium-ion power supply for mobile phones. It has this design: on top is a controller for charge-discharge control, and below it is a battery cell (bank).
In 99% of the batteries for cell phones, only one battery cell is used; specialists in their jargon often call it a bank. The rated voltage of this power supply is 3.7 volts.
The device also has a special controller (a regular board with a microcircuit), thanks to which the battery does not recharge. Therefore, the manufacturer, for his part, did everything possible to prevent emergency situations that would lead to a quick breakdown of the power source.
How to charge for the first time
Many probably remember how everyone said that the new battery must be brought to full discharge, and then fully charged, and so done three times. There really is such a first charge process, it is actually necessary, but for Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries. Such batteries were put in quite ancient phones, which are now practically not available.
Not everyone knows how to charge a lithium-ion battery for the first time, and begins to carry out a full discharge procedure. Batteries of this type are arranged in a completely different way, and the deep discharge process is very harmful to them. That is why such devices are sold with a charge of 2/3 of the capacity, and not so that a person can check the phone or other device.
Unfortunately, quite often, consumers, before charging a lithium-ion battery for the first time, remembering the old days, begin to completely discharge it, thereby almost immediately taking away half their life. Therefore, be careful not to make common mistakes that lead to battery damage.
How to charge a lithium-ion battery?
The most optimal working environment for a conventional Li-ion power source is a charge level of 20-80%. These devices really do not like recharging, and although there is a special controller on the battery that will not allow this, there are some consumers who keep the battery charging for days. This is completely useless, and thus does not extend the operation of the device, but rather.
18650 Li-ion Battery
Such a battery has a cylindrical shape and in appearance is completely reminiscent of a conventional battery. It is worth noting that unscrupulous manufacturers, in every possible way trying to increase sales, begin to indicate overstated characteristics. Today, there are no more energy-intensive 18650 Li-ion batteries than 3400 mAh. If a figure higher than this is indicated on the battery, then it should be understood that the manufacturer deliberately overestimates the characteristics of his product. At the same time, there is a high probability that in fact the battery will have no more than 2200 mAh.
How to charge a 18650 Li-ion battery
Such batteries can only be charged using a special charger, which is sold in almost any store with electrical goods. To charge lithium-ion batteries, you need a charger, where the minimum voltage will be at least 2.2 V, and the maximum - no more than 4.35. The discharge current should not be greater than the double capacity of the battery. That is, if the battery has 2000 mAh, then the current on the charger should not be more than 4000 mAh.
What is the danger of overcharging and deep discharge?
Due to the fact that people do not know how to charge a lithium-ion battery, they often make mistakes and can keep it charging for too long or, conversely, forget about it for a long time. What is the danger of improper battery operation? The thing is that in this case, lithium ions move from one electrode to another. The manufacturing material of the electrodes themselves may be different, but in this topic these details are not so important.
Simply put, the more the battery is charged, the more lithium ions are in the electrode. If their value is constantly at the maximum, then in this case a fairly rapid wear of the device occurs.
How to charge batteries
Li-ion batteries have gained great popularity also because there are a fairly large number of options than you can charge them.
The most logical and correct way to charge a lithium-ion battery is with a standard charger. Thanks to a special device, the battery will receive maximum charge in the shortest possible time. Moreover, it is completely safe for the battery.
For those who do not know how to charge a lithium-ion battery, if there is no regular charger at hand, we inform you that this can be done using a computer and a USB cable. However, in this case, the current will reach only 0.5 amperes.
It is also possible to charge the Li-ion battery through the cigarette lighter in the car. To date, many stores sell special USB adapters that give out different amperage. What current charge lithium-ion batteries, it is best to find out in the documentation that is provided with the phone, laptop or other device. The bulk of the batteries charge from 3.7 to 19 volts. However, there are battery models that require more or less voltage. In any case, it’s not worth the risk, but it’s better to once again look into the operating instructions.
If none of the previous charging methods came up, you can use the old, but still relevant and to this day device, which is popularly called the "frog". Such devices are more designed for batteries from cell phones. The design of the "frog" is quite simple: there is one dock where you can install a lithium-ion battery, as well as contacts, adjustable in width. Thus, this charge is suitable for almost any battery of this type.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to charge a battery. But before you charge a lithium-ion battery, you should make sure that there really is no way to use regular charging. Other methods are used if necessary. They do not harm the battery, but still the original charge should be a priority over the rest.
If a person does not know how to charge a lithium-ion battery of a screwdriver, then we inform that you need to do this only with specialized charging that comes with the device. It is worth noting that if charging fails, but there is no way to purchase a new one, for example, this model is no longer produced, then in this case you can connect several 18650 batteries together and insert them into the box with the original charge. It is impossible to say how much a 18650 battery is needed, it all depends on the voltage of the screwdriver.
Calibration
About once every three months it is necessary to calibrate. To do this, allow the battery to completely discharge. In this case, the battery controller will be able to independently calibrate the boundaries of the full charge and discharge of the device. This is necessary so that on the device in which the Li-ion battery is installed, current information about its charge is displayed. If there has not been a complete discharge for a long time, false information about the percentage of battery charge may be displayed.
After the battery is completely discharged, it must be fully charged to 100% when the device is turned off. You can see the battery charging time in the instructions. If at the end of this time you turned on the device, and the charge shows less than 100%, then you need to turn it off again and continue charging until there is a full charge level.
Storage
If the use of batteries is not planned over a long period of time , then special attention should be paid to how it should be stored. The optimal charge is considered to be 30-60% of capacity. The battery should be in a fairly cool room, where the air temperature remains about 15 degrees. If the battery is stored in a fully charged state, then the next time you turn it on, you will find that its capacity has decreased significantly.
When the device is left completely discharged, it is even worse. With a high degree of probability in six months it will need to be taken for disposal. Lithium-ion batteries must not be stored for a long time in deep discharge.
External overheating
Another worst enemy of Li-ion batteries is the high temperature, which they categorically do not tolerate. The owner of this type of battery should not be exposed to sunlight, nor should it be placed near a battery or other sources of heat radiation. The maximum permissible temperature for using the battery is +50 degrees. If you neglect the temperature regime, it is likely that after a few months the new battery will become damaged.
Conclusion
Now you know whether it is possible to charge lithium-ion batteries and how to do it correctly. Summing up all of the above, we can highlight the following points:
- If possible, the battery should always be charged with original charges.
- It is most correct to charge the batteries up to 80%, while not lowering the discharge value below 20%.
- Do not keep the battery constantly on the charger, and full discharge is also not recommended.
Subject to a few simple rules, a Li-ion battery can last a fairly long period of time, while the energy consumption will remain at a high level.