In today's society, it is very common to hear opposing opinions about the features of using batteries. A similar situation has arisen due to the fact that the development of innovations in the field of portable electronics and technology is very impulsive and the society does not always have time to quickly respond to improvements.
It is precisely because of this that numerous stereotypes breed, which do not always correspond to the reality of our time.
Urban legends
Previously, nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride batteries were installed in almost all types of electronic devices. When used, these galvanic cells had to be completely discharged, which made it possible to extend their service life and prevent a drop in energy intensity. Now these batteries have not lost their positions, but their scope has shifted,now they can not be found in mobile phones, laptops or tablets. But the sellers' catchphrase "first discharge, then charge, repeat three times" still occurs. After all, such useful advice was remembered in society, and it is now passed from mouth to mouth. However, the development of progress went on as usual, and Ni-Cd, Ni-MH-energy cells began to be replaced by a Li-ion battery, and a little later, by a lithium-polymer one. Nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride galvanic cells began to be found in less productive electronics - calculators, navigators, amateur cameras, and so on. While their more innovative counterparts have carved their niche in laptops, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets and more.
How to use
The design on which the Li-ion battery was created requires a specific attitude towards it. It does not tolerate deep discharge and may even fail if this situation is repeated. Therefore, all the devices that use them are not sold dead - this significantly extends the life of their energy cells. However, the ossified thinking of the masses is doing its dirty work - voices are still heard, passing from mouth to mouth, how to charge a Li-ion battery, focusing on common rules for Ni-Cd, Ni-MH galvanic cells, or even not focusing on their type.. After all, even the storage of these energy cells must be carried out in different ways. Nickel-cadmium or metal hydride is important to completely discharge, and lithium-ion and lithium polymer, on the contrary, need to leave an energy reserve of 60-80 percent.
Complaints and liability
Very often you can hear from people that the purchased Li-ion battery does not serve them for a long time and it has to be changed again. For example, after some time, the phone is very quickly discharged. Although after the purchase, he could work for a very long time and pleased his owner. If you look at it, then the fault for such a mess lies not with the manufacturers, but with the conditions under which Li-ion batteries were charged and used. After all, all the harmful models of human treatment of them have already been described above, and the owner only strictly follows them.
Application features
Thus, when operating modern energy cells in harsh environmental conditions (in frost or cold), the battery spends much more resources than in a warm room, which causes its increased wear. In such cases, it is best to use electronics not too intensively (do not run GPRS Internet, navigation, games and other resource-intensive applications), then the service life will be much longer. A logical question also arises: how to charge a Li-ion battery under such conditions? The device must be connected to power sources in a warm room, when it is not fully seated. Thus, the battery is operated in the most favorable conditions for which it was designed.
"Conservation" of electrochemical cells
If you need to keep the Li-ion 18650 battery in working condition, which is used for various devices irregularly or one-time, then you should take the following measures:
- charge it up to 40-50 percent;
- remove from device;
- hermetically pack in polyethylene, if possible, create a vacuum in this package;
- stack each battery separately from the others;
- move galvanic cells to refrigerator (not freezer);
- once every few months, remove from there and after warming up at room temperature, restore to the above capacity;
- Before heavy use, fully charge.
These measures will help save your battery and it will not lose its efficiency. Since they are intended for continuous use only in conditions where you yourself would feel comfortable - at room temperature or close to it.
Using quality equipment
Besides, any type of battery - Li-ion, Ni-Cd, Ni-MH - must be charged by the original device, which is recommended by its manufacturer, since cheaper analogues are very different from the original equipment in their parameters. After all, even a slight excess of the rated voltage can reduce the battery life by almost half. With the opposite development of events, i.e., a decrease of only 0.1 volts, the battery life is reduced by more than 10percent, and the battery is never fully charged. With regular use in this mode, it loses its capacity and no longer corresponds to the manufacturer's declared values.
