Charge Methods for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Fortunately, "smart chargers" do all the work for us. A smart charger doesn't just charge a lithium-ion battery; it monitors the charge for you and adjusts the charging procedure accordingly. All you have to do is plug in the charger and forget about it. Most smart chargers have a light that indicates when the battery or device is fully charged.

 

What is most important about the charging method is that you use a smart charger that monitors the charge. Laptop computer batteries, for example, monitor the batteries' charging. Trickle chargers cannot be used on lithium-ion batteries. Trickle charges give a steady flow or "trickle" of electrical charge to the battery, regardless of the charged-state of the battery. For other types of batteries this can work, but it isn't so with lithium-ion batteries. If a charger cannot monitor the charged-state of a battery, it should not be used on a lithium-ion battery.

 

The sequence used by lithium-ion smart charges is quite complex, and some smart chargers are smarter than others. Smart chargers don't just protect against overcharging. They protect against reversing polarity, charge current, discharge, over-discharge, voltage, and temperature. While most of those tasks are best left to the charger, it's helpful for us to know just two things. One is that lithium-ion batteries should not be charged when the temperature is below 32 or above 113 degrees Fahrenheit. The second is that it is imperative to have the correct charger for your battery. Do not "wing it." These batteries can explode and/or start a fire if they are not charged with the correct charger. Use the manufacturers charger. If you need to replace it, replace it with a charger specifically built for your device, or reference the precise charger specifications from the manufacturer.