TOPIC: Charging out of the box?

Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you have charged your saber right out of the box?
I know lithium ion batteries should be drained and then charged to 100%, but I was wondering if one charge straight out of the box would hurt.

Thanks!

I have charged both my sabers right out the box after making sure they work. Have not had any issues to date. I guess it's a personal preference thing.

My personal protocol is switch on the saber and use normally as desired (i.e. on, off as often as the Force dictates) until battery drains out. Then charge to 100%, green light.

Li-ion cells don't need to be drained or charged from a brand-new state. It's fine to do either one.

The main thing to keep in mind with li-ion charging is that they don't like being too empty or too full. While resting in storage, they should generally be drained to about half full first or 3.7V-3.8V. If stored completely full, they lose permanent capacity faster, and if stored empty they can lose the ability to charge at all. But the thing which really shortens a cell's life span is over-charging or over-draining it. Leave it charging all the time and it'll die faster. Discharge too far and it can die immediately. Fortunately, the Panasonic protected cells are pretty good at preventing both of those, but it'll still last longer (in years) if kept between 10% and 90% than it will if it's always drained to 0.1% and charged to 100%.

I try to recharge mine somewhere between 3.1V and 3.4V, I use a charger which stops a bit shy of 4.2V, and I drain it to 3.7V or 3.8V before storing a cell idle for a while.

You should also avoid letting the battery get very hot or very cold. Like, leaving it in the car in the summer or winter.

Not sure what kind of charger comes with ASP sabers since I don't have mine yet, but I'm assuming it's probably a pretty cheap one. If you have a DMM, it'd probably be a good idea to check the cell voltage after a full charge to make sure it's not exceeding 4.20V.

This is different than NiMH cells, which last longer when fully drained and fully charged, and do well when stored fully charged.

Anyway, my li-ion background isn't from sabers; it's mostly from flashlights and phones and computers. But the same advice applies.

Part of why I chose SF is because they show good taste in batteries. I've mostly been using high-amp unprotected cells (like the Samsung 30Q) in stupid-bright flashlights, but the Panasonic protected 18650 cells are more appropriate for SaberForge's purposes. Some other companies seem to use TrustFire 14500 cells instead, which makes me seriously worry about what other corners they may have cut. I also hear that at least one other company recommends leaving li-ion batteries on a charger all the time, which is one of the fastest ways to kill the batteries.

So... feel free to charge it or use it out of the box. Try to keep the charge away from totally full or totally empty most of the time though.

Oh, um, FWIW... it may be helpful to know what a li-ion discharge curve looks like. Just so you have some idea how voltage maps to percent of capacity remaining. Here's a comparison of several models. The main thing to note is how they have an "elbow" where it starts dropping off quickly. The ideal point to recharge is just after the elbow.



Of course, sabers run a bit hotter than 0.2A. The 12W ones should be at about 3A, 6W ones at about 1.5A, and variable-color ones, um, well, they vary. But I'd expect they're probably running at 0.75A at the lowest.

And here's an article on li-ion battery care, for reference:
http://www.howtogeek.com/169669/debunking-battery-life-myths-for-mobile-phones-tablets-and-laptops/

ToyKeeper, excellent information! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and shedding some light on assumptions. MTFBWY!

Wow. Thank you guys for the helpful and very informative advice!

I wanted to first say that ToyKeeper gave a good presentation regarding the Li ion batteries. Secondly, when I got my new saber in two weeks ago, I lit it up twice after opening up the box and it was acting real goofy and then would shut off. I put it on the charger and I swear, it charged pretty quick (2 hours, I think). Anyhow, the saber works great if you charge it first.

I couldn't (with a quick google search) the standards but from what I've heard on the street, Federal law is prohibiting transportation of Li ion batteries that are charged greater than 30%. If I am wrong on this, I will gladly receive any constructive criticism.

The lesson here though is.... charge your saber prior to turning it on for the first time.

Tech_God wrote: Laws about li-ion batteries change pretty frequently, especially the ones which affect overseas shipping. I've even had a package rejected because it had a weak little AAA alkaline cell in it.

Basically, if you want to ship li-ion cells or fly with them, it's a good idea to check the latest laws first at your origin and destination and everywhere you land in-between. Usually it's not bad if you're staying in one country, but internationally it can get complicated.

Here's the most recent info I could find for flying with batteries in the US:
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf