I have an Alien 220 that I’ve had about 8 months. I’ve had zero problems with it and really like it, until yesterday. My “A” battery is draining WAY faster than “B”. I thought it was bad battery but it’s happening with any battery I use. It’s so fast, A will be dead and B will still be over 3/4 charged. Any suggestions?
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“A” battery draining
- Thread starter CDJ210
- Start date
No, I haven’t upgraded firmware. It’s my only mod. But I ordered a new one last night. Not sure how to do an upgrade. Thanks
Thank you very much
Well, couple questions first
1) How old are the batteries? As old as the mod?
2) Are all the batteries paired (married) together properly and never been used with other battery sets or by themselves?
3) What wattage do you generally run? If very high, 100watts plus on 20amp batteries, this could contribute to excessive battery aging similarly as question 1.
4) Do you charge the batteries in the mod itself or on an external charger? External charger is always suggested as each battery bay on the charger is controlled and charged independently, and all batteries are recharged re-balanced (equal charge), if inside the mod itself, though the Alien 220W claims it has a balance battery charging circuit, it is still suggested an external charger, or to rotate the batteries in the mod bays each recharge cycle to manually re-balance the battery charge and load.
Now, some things I do know about dual battery mods
1) Generally speaking, most multi-battery mods, the battery closest to the control board in the voltage circuit will drain faster than the one furthest from the board, in your case Battery A is closest to the control board, battery B helps boost A, a bit but continuity and such it doesn't discharge as fast.
2) Older the battery, or the more abused a battery has been handled (high amp and/or high wattage draw constantly), their full life cycle decreases each charge and discharge just the nature of the beast, very high abuse, high amp/wattage pull, heats batteries up immensely, this changes their chemical make up, basically like simmering a stew on the stove in principle, that change accelerates their aging process (heat is one of the greatest enemies of Li-Ion batteries.
Steps to decrease this from happening most times
1) Use only married sets, not married to the mod, battery married to battery, thus dual battery set can go in any dual battery mod, triple battery set can go into any triple battery mod, etc. Married Battery Set = Bought together, charged together, used together, never breaking the monogamy between them to guarantee equal wear and balance.
2) Charge all battery sets in an external battery charger, this will balance the batteries back to equal each cycle, regardless of charge per battery.
3) If charging in your mod, each charge cycle, manually swap battery positions inside the mod, this breaks any potential of recharging a set of batteries and over recharge cycles, Battery A may be 3.6v but battery B reaches full 4.2v charge, thus causing an imbalance.
4) Using a multi-meter after a full recharge, check the voltage of each battery, the batteries should be at full charge no higher than 4.2v, a variance of 4.10 or 4.15v really is not much concern, some charger algorithms cut out in the 4.1 to 4.18v range, which is actually advised never reaching full 4.2v every recharge. Do a short discharge cycle down of use, down to 3/4 charge (1/4 below full charge), recheck the battery voltage of each battery, variance between them of +/- 0.1 to 0.3v or so batteries should be pretty much in balance and wear, if there is 0.5 to full 1.0v variance, discard the weak battery, use the remaining battery in a single battery mod, never pairing it with another battery, or if no single battery mod, properly discard that battery with its mate(s) (mates meaning if a triple battery set, weakest battery discarded, the remaining two batteries of the set can be used in a dual battery mod together if still equal in wear and tear, never adding a newer 3rd battery to the set, etc)
WOW! What a reply. Awesome info. Now, to the questions.
Batteries are same age as mod. I bought two pairs of batteries at that time and they’ve been married ever since. I use an external charger set on .5 amp. I’ve never used the internal charger on my mod at all. I use my mod every day, all day, and run 60 watts on a Q2 coil. It sounds like I need th get to purchasing some new batteries. Thank you for the great information
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I try to be thorough and hit all bases as I can in a reply, especially when dealing with batteries and battery safety, can never be to cautious. But yes, given the age of the batteries, it could be they are just weak and served their time diving down toward their end of life, 60watts (30 watts each battery) for 8 months constantly, 20amp batteries generally start diving in how long they hold a charge once close to the 9 to 12month mark. So new paired sets should help immensely, at your wattage range, probably look into two sets of Samsung 30Q 3000mah, LG HG2 3000mah, or Sony VTC6 3000mah, with the 30Q's topping marks for life time longevity, where the VTC6 has less voltage drop and better Watt Hours (better runtime during discharge), the HG2's are a nice, well recommened battery as well.
Thank you, as well
UPDATE: First, I greatly appreciate the response to my questions and the genuine concern. I received my new mod (another Alien 220, exactly like the one I was using). Other than the new mod, I’m using the same batteries, charger, tank, and coil I had before. My batteries are now working perfectly. Both “A” & “B” batteries are discharging at the same rate and normally. So, apparently the problem was my mod after all. Again thanks for the advise. I do, however have one more question. I did order a couple more sets of batteries (VTC6’s) before I received my new mod just in case the problem WAS the batteries. Now I will not be needing to use the new batteries right away. My question is how long will the unused batteries stay good in storage? And should I do anything to make them stay good?
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As a general rule, batteries start aging from the time electrolyte solvent is added into the battery, and the battery is sealed. Manufacturers like Sony and such charge the batteries to a shipping charge level of the "Median" voltage rating, that 3.7v rating of a battery. There are 3 charge voltages to remember, shipping/storage charge, full charge, and lowest safest charge. Most people deal with the last 2, 4.2v highest safest charge for a full charge, going over 4.2v damages the battery internally and can lead to a big boom, the last one, lowest safest charge is 2.5 to 3.0v (2.5 being the absolute minimum charge level before the electrolyte starts eating away at the positive and negative anode and cathode components which can be made of copper, that desolved copper in the electrolyte can cause microshorts internally and again cause a dead short and boom). Shipping and storage charge level you need to keep the batteries stored in a dry cool place, generally room temperature, never in the heat or cold outside, keep the batteries stored with a charge between 3.4 to 3.8v, about once a month to once every two months, using a volt meter/multi-meter check their charges, any drop below 3.4v, put them on the charger and charge them up to about 3.7 to 3.8v, and place them back in storage. This should allow you to store them a good 12 to 24months without any damage, they will lose Mah over time, any battery over 3 years (36months) to 4years of age will be really to old to use for any vaping as Mah plays into combined with the actual C (Current Rating) of a battery that results in maximum CDR, either of those two figures drop, CDR drops.
Also advised, especially when storing batteries is to keep a battery log book or battery log spreadsheet, document date bought, date of first full charge, date of start on storage, any times charge topped off to storage level, etc.
Do not charge them after getting them and just store them away.
Thank you