Basic And Wise Battery Charging Guide, For Indian Conditions

Feb 22, 14

There are some factors on which the battery life of your devices depend, these factors vary climate to climate and person to person. We've short listed some facts (Including basic and evergreen) around Indian conditions to reach more stable battery life and improved performance. There are two main questions How to choose the best charger and How to keep the battery life maximum, two main enemies first the duplicate/copy products and second a couple of stupid myths.

Picture credits - Flickr

Hot Battery (Credits – poor local charger) – First of all discontinue using the battery and/or charger. It is not necessary to remove Li-ion from the charger when charged full but recommended because battery may get lukewarm towards the end of charge. You should not worry about overcharging if you're using a good charger of responsible brand because that is made to stop charging when full in favor of battery's health.

By Choosing a quality charger from any OEM/brand you're winning a) Better Battery life, b) Warranty/service and c) Safety, totally worth it. This is one of the reason why we advocate branded/OEM products. They're not always too expensive, they're just asking you to pay a little to make sure your charging never frustrates you and you charge less and use the device more.

How to choose and buy the best charger?

Make sure the charger must satisfy below terms if you're using or buying a new one.

Buy the exact compatible charger for the battery chemistry.
Do not buy if battery voltage is different from the charger, search for more suitable one.
The charger with the higher amperage take shorter time to charge completely. The charging rate of a battery can be limited though.
A smaller battery (mAh rating) will take less time to charge than a bigger one and vice versa.
There is no harm in asking a couple of questions from sales/support guys before you finalize the charger about charge termination and correct trickle charge for a longer battery life.

How to increase the life of a Li-ion battery?

Turning off the device while charging is a good idea, a continue load while charging misguides the charger. This is not a huge issue but still it can make good improvements.
Do not charge below freezing or above 50 degree Celsius, With that said, consider all climate or location related temperature variables to keep in mind that you have to charge between the temperature range suggested.
Charging full is not a trick to save Lithium-ion batteries; a partial charge is better to improve charge cycles in numbers. Charging 100% and discharging to 0% before recharging is the biggest myth, remember deep discharge wears the battery down.
Try charging then discharging full when the battery indicator gets ridiculous. Repeat this once in a couple of months for battery calibration.
Never get confused by the light or signals of charger, check the manual to know what exactly those signals mean because they are not same for every charger or brand.
If battery gets super hot or changes it's shape while charging, leave that charger or/and battery. It's time to buy a new one.
Before storing the battery make sure you have charged it almost half and try to keep it in a cool place.

By Atin Sharma Follow @iatinsharma

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