Chargers and Smart Chargers - e-Smokers-forum.com

PapaJoe8 · Tweet this Post! #1 (**permalink**) 05-04-2010

Hate to start a thread as I am kinda new here but I did some searches and could not find any much on battery chargers. I read it is not good to overcharge a m401 battery. I am not good at remembering that I have a battery on the charger. When the green light comes on the charger, that came w/ my starter kit, I think the battery is still charging?

I know they make "smart chargers" that will stop charging when the battery is charged but... how to find the right one for the m401 is something I can't figure out. I know it is a 3.7v 200 amh but???

I see some portable PCC chargers at the cig web sites that claim to be smart but I am not sure that is the best thing. And... if someone got one of those for a m401 would it also work on a 402 battery?

Hey, these things won't work if you can't keep tha batteries charged. :~)

Thanks for all help and advice.
Joe

mcquinn · Tweet this Post! #2 (**permalink**) 05-04-2010

I wouldn't worry too much ,the batteries have protection built in and will only charge until they are charged.When they are talking about the smart chargers that is kind of a throwback to the day when you could get Lithium Ion cells without protection boards .I have not seen any available lately as everyone is askeered of a lawsuit .They are usually used in mods and not the stock m401's.

Rick · Tweet this Post! #3 (**permalink**) 05-05-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcquinn

I wouldn't worry too much ,the batteries have protection built in and will only charge until they are charged.When they are talking about the smart chargers that is kind of a throwback to the day when you could get Lithium Ion cells without protection boards .I have not seen any available lately as everyone is askeered of a lawsuit .They are usually used in mods and not the stock m401's.

Ooops! Mike you made a slip.

Although a good portion of batt these days are indeed becoming protected, there are still many that are not, and folks that will use unprotected. Without a safety built into the charger, it becomes a very serious problem, with dangerous consequences IMO. When using chargers with built in protection with unprotected batteries, we should be very cognizant of the amount of time it would normally take to re-charge a battery. e.g if it suddenly takes 6 hrs to recharge a normally 4 hr charge cycle, we need to re-visit our position on either the charger or battery. I am anal about keeping track of this info, because I am scared of 'em. I'm not being a p u s s y, I am just giving them my utmost respect.

I only use protected where I can. Should the onboard batt protection fail, I have the charger built in protection as a back up. Mind you this could fail also, because it is after all electronics. But I'd rather stack the deck in my favour. Just because I have dble protection, it doesn't mean I have become complacent just re-assured, and closely monitor charging times and cycles.

mcquinn · Tweet this Post! #4 (**permalink**) 05-05-2010

I stand corrected .I still say it would not be a problem for the stock m401 batteries as they are protected.

Rick · Tweet this Post! #5 (**permalink**) 05-05-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcquinn

I stand corrected .I still say it would not be a problem for the stock m401 batteries as they are protected.

Oooooops, I stand corrected too. I didn't know the m401 was a protected batt.

Royal · Tweet this Post! #6 (**permalink**) 05-05-2010

Joe,
When the green light comes on, this means the battery is no longer accepting a charge and the charging cycle is complete. The manuals for these e-cigs in most cases states to leave the battery on the charger for anywhere from 8 to 12 hours on it's first charge, some then state to then use the battery for 20 minutes then recharge for one hour. I have failed to see the logic in this as Li-Ions have no memory like NiCD's do. Still, I follow these instructions.

Because these e-cig batteries have connectors that are specific for the intended atomizer, you won't find a general purpose smart charger that will readily work with one of these batteries. But if you wanted, you could device a charging connector out of an old atomizer connector by soldering on a couple of leads and use a couple of clamps to attach to the +/- connectors on a universal Li-Ion charger.
For the small price of a e-cig battery specific charger and because these batteries have built in protection, it is best to just stick with the real thing.

Of course chargers and batteries can go bad. If you have auto switched batteries, be careful not to overfill your carts, and dripping is not recommended as the juice can leak in to your battery and short the switch. It may still take a charge, but the switch will no longer work.

Jim Davis · Tweet this Post! #7 (**permalink**) 05-06-2010

I'm a fan of slow charging. I have two sets of chargers for my 14500 batteries, and find that I get better performance out of them when I use the slow chargers. The fast chargers have them ready, usually in about hour or so, but they don't seem to last in the long run as when I slow charge them all night.

PapaJoe8 · Tweet this Post! #8 (**permalink**) 05-06-2010

Looks like a m401 is kinda a newbe starter model. I am happy w/ mine so far though.

Allot of conflicting info around the net about charging the 401 bats. I left one on the starter kit charger last nite when I went to bed. It acts OK this am. The light on the charger was still red? I have never seen it turn green. Hmmm? It is a USB pluged into a wall plug adapter. I have read that leaving them on to long will ruin the battery and maybe start a fire. Kinda scarrry!

I am looking into those PCC chargers. They are actually for charging a battery on the go, that I doubt I need, but also say they are "smart" and won't overcharge the battery. Can I say here where I found the best USA price? Anyway, still not sure I need one.
Joe

Edit; Oh, I did find a cheep smart charger at BatterySpace.com (10 bucks) but they said I would have to modify it to fit my battery threads. I wouldn't have a clue how to do that. *&^%

mcquinn · Tweet this Post! #9 (**permalink**) 05-06-2010

I think if I were you I would just get a Joye 510 starter kit and start transitioning over.This would give you a lot more otions in the long run and you can get them fro less that $50.00,they usually have two atties two batteries five carts and a AC charger .M401 batteries and atties are available at DietSmokes.com but you would have to get a kit for less than $50.00 to get a charger it appears.

PapaJoe8 · Tweet this Post! #10 (**permalink**) 05-06-2010

Mcq, I saw some chargers at the Batteryjunction site you recamended at the other thread. They have on that will work but not sure how to addapt it to the ecig battery threads. Any advice?

Have yall seen the PCC's for the 401's. It is a smart charger but it also has a battery so you can charge the 401 bat on the go. I worry that the PCC battery will not last to long when using it as a regular charger. Yall can see these w/ a google for... m401 smart pcc.

I have a charger that came w/ my ecig starter pac but it is not a "smart charger" that cuts off when the battery is fully charged. I have a bat on the charger now and it has been charging for about 4 hrs. The light on the charger is still red. The smoor folks say these bats only take 3 hrs to charge.
Joe
Joe