Battery Charging Station?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

rob.mwpropane

ScubaBoard Supporter
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
4,742
Reaction score
4,826
Location
Fallston, Maryland
I have a few batteries, not tons, 18650's and 26650's. I have a few proprietary batteries that I need to keep relatively charged, and a drone battery that I probably shouldn't let it die all the way either. So my plan is to connect a power strip to a wifi controlled switch and set it to turn on every what? Once a week for 2 hrs? 1 hr? Maybe every 2 weeks for 2 hrs? I really don't know.

What have other people done? Descriptions / pictures welcome.
 
Battery powered stuff that I use often (more than once a month) I'll load up fully each time after use.

Things I use once every couple of months I'll keep at 80-90% charge between uses, and obviously charging them to a full 100% the night before use.

Then again, if it's replaceable batteries I won't worry too much as it is stupid cheap to get new batteries if needed, and since most things run on 18650 batteries these days I always keep a few spares (charged to 80-90% as mentioned above).
 
Battery powered stuff that I use often (more than once a month) I'll load up fully each time after use.

Things I use once every couple of months I'll keep at 80-90% charge between uses, and obviously charging them to a full 100% the night before use.

Then again, if it's replaceable batteries I won't worry too much as it is stupid cheap to get new batteries if needed, and since most things run on 18650 batteries these days I always keep a few spares (charged to 80-90% as mentioned above).

Ok, so how do you do it?

If I'm honest, I don't know the "ins and outs" of batteries, hence the thread. I'd like to set something up as automated as possible, every 1, 2 , 3 weeks or whatever. If it's on a wifi switch I can always just power it up remotely on a timer the night before a dive, otherwise it would be powered on a schedule. Any suggestions on what that schedule should be?
 
Lithium batteries are not normally saposse to be stored fully charged....
Sometimes RC chargers have a storage mode and it will charge or discharge all the cells to a certain voltage..... think it's close to nominal voltage of the cell...
4.2v I believe Is to high a voltage for long term storage... but that's usually what happens will me... charger it up,,,, plan to use it, then it sits for a long time...
maybe just monitor each cell voltage.... and power it externally. not from the battery itself,,,
 
Ok, so how do you do it?

If I'm honest, I don't know the "ins and outs" of batteries, hence the thread. I'd like to set something up as automated as possible, every 1, 2 , 3 weeks or whatever. If it's on a wifi switch I can always just power it up remotely on a timer the night before a dive, otherwise it would be powered on a schedule. Any suggestions on what that schedule should be?
I keep an eye on the charger while charging stuff and when it hits the desired level it gets shut off and put into storage until the next time.
I'm mostly winging it and so far it has worked great.
 
Well ****....
 
I have a few batteries, not tons, 18650's and 26650's. I have a few proprietary batteries that I need to keep relatively charged, and a drone battery that I probably shouldn't let it die all the way either. So my plan is to connect a power strip to a wifi controlled switch and set it to turn on every what? Once a week for 2 hrs? 1 hr? Maybe every 2 weeks for 2 hrs? I really don't know.

What have other people done? Descriptions / pictures welcome.

Lead Acid batteries like that, Li-Ion will not appreciate that type of charging cycle. For all lithium batteries, best case is to remove them from the device to avoid parasitic draw, and leave them that way. Prior to next use, fully charge them. Li-Ion does not have a memory and fully charging them is actually quite bad for them. Thinkpad laptops for years have had custom charging solutions baked into them to allow the user to optimize for battery life by not charging past x-%, Tesla's ask you if you want to actually fully charge them and do not want to charge over about 80% to maximize battery life, and even iPhones have smart charging solutions built into them now that will avoid top-off charges when they can.
With dive gear we are not cycling them anywhere near their full charge cycle life like you do with a cellphone, laptop, or electric vehicle so best to let them sit at mid-charge until you are ready to use them next.
 
+ Many on what @TBone said. He knows his lithium.

Lithium batteries have a very high voltage retention rate if the device they are in does not have parasitic drain.
You can find that out by charging to a KNOWN/MEASURED voltage, put it in the device, and check it a month later. If it looses more than a couple %, the device will eventually kill the battery if left unattended.

OTOH, your plan WILL kill lithium batteries with long term full charge. If you can pull them, do so. Keep around 40-60% charge until needed.
If you REQUIRE them to be fully charged all the time, expect to replace them more often. Performance will degrade with increased internal resistance from high voltage storage, like the drone maybe.
 
Awesome, thanks guys.

This all came about because I have a light with a proprietary battery in it (it's really just 3 18650's in a case). Both batteries dies (because I left them in the light and I guess there's a draw).

I'll just keep doing things the way I always do them, except now on I'll remove batteries after diving.

I'll still hook everything up to a wifi switch, at least I won't have to go downstairs to plug things in before a trip.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom