Can I half charge a Lithium-ion battery from new?

[Zagato]

I can't find my mobile phone this morning so will need to use a new VHF, is it OK to give it a 2 hour charge or should it have the full 8 hour charge from new? Thanks. Also are these the batteries that should be fully discharged before re-charging?

 

[BarryH]

Lithium ion batteries don't have the "memory" effect of Ni Cads. The blurb with both my phones and my tools say that the Li ion batteries can be charged at anytime, they do not need to be charged for a set period the first time. I think you should e ok with the 2 hour charge, that should give it a full charge anyway, I would have thought.

 

[Even Chance]

It will make no difference to it at all. Even a 10 min charge wouldnt hurt it.
Li-ion batteries are charged at constant current up to 4.2v per cell, then changed over to constant voltage and the current will reduce until fully charged.

As Barry said, there are no memory effects with Li-ion and Li-po cells.
I work in a factory that produces lithium cells and battery packs, and we ship them at around 50% to 75% state of charge depending on the customers requirements. There is no self discharge either when they dont have electronic protection circuits fitted.

A bit better than Ni-Cad's!!

 

[Zagato]

Thanks for that, one less thing to worry about, it's now turned off and I'm off....

 

[Davegriff]

Lithium batteries are best stored fully charged, so there's a good chance its already pretty much full when you bought it. No need to discharge before charging lithiums.

 

[Even Chance]

Lithium batteries are best stored fully charged, so there's a good chance its already pretty much full when you bought it. No need to discharge before charging lithiums.

It definately wont be fully charged. The regulations governing shipping of Lithium batteries state the maximum charge should be no more than 75%. Most manufacturers ship them at a much lower rate to keep within the limits. Indeed, phone batteries without inbuilt electronic protection may be shipped at well below!
We ship at a higher state of charge because the protection circuitry has a current drain on the stack itself.

Your right about the storage though. Fully charged is the best way to keep them stored.

 

[noelex]

Litium batteries are happiest at aout 50%. The deteriorate a bit more at 100% and lot more when below 20%.

Some devices recommend charging them to 100% before use to set the battery level indicicator.

 

[Davegriff]

It definately wont be fully charged. The regulations governing shipping of Lithium batteries state the maximum charge should be no more than 75%. Most manufacturers ship them at a much lower rate to keep within the limits. Indeed, phone batteries without inbuilt electronic protection may be shipped at well below!
We ship at a higher state of charge because the protection circuitry has a current drain on the stack itself.

Your right about the storage though. Fully charged is the best way to keep them stored.

Right. I'd somehow missed your earlier post, sorry.

 

[Boo2]

Your right about the storage though. Fully charged is the best way to keep them stored.

Litium batteries are happiest at aout 50%. The deteriorate a bit more at 100% and lot more when below 20%.

I agree with noelex on this one, all the references I've seen have said to store LiPos at 50% charge to reduce deterioration.

Boo2

 

[Even Chance]

I agree with noelex on this one, all the references I've seen have said to store LiPos at 50% charge to reduce deterioration.

Boo2

Well, I have some cheap Li-po's for my model planes that I bought from China about 10 years ago that are still in good condition after many hundreds of cycles. They are always stored fully charged and ready for use. I was told way back then to store them at 100% and have never moved from this. It is handier of course to keep them charged for an impromptu flight when the weather is good!

I will ask our in house chemist what the latest word is regarding storage of lithium packs/cells. Back shortly......

 

[Boo2]

Well, I have some cheap Li-po's for my model planes that I bought from China about 10 years ago that are still in good condition after many hundreds of cycles. They are always stored fully charged and ready for use. I was told way back then to store them at 100% and have never moved from this. It is handier of course to keep them charged for an impromptu flight when the weather is good!

Interesting. This website would seem to back me up though : http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries

Boo2

 

[charles_reed]

I can't find my mobile phone this morning so will need to use a new VHF, is it OK to give it a 2 hour charge or should it have the full 8 hour charge from new? Thanks. Also are these the batteries that should be fully discharged before re-charging?

If a brand new lithium battery it might need "formatting" which is the full 8 hr charge, rather depends on which combination it is.
Most likely LiCoO2 which is pretty forgiving, runaway only occurs above about 150C.