Do quick chargers kill battery life?

[erwaso]

Just curious if there has been any instance or proof that quick chargers deplete the life of a battery faster because of the input power to charge it faster?

I signed up for a free Zero Lemon quick charger on XDA and wondered about this. So if the life of a battery is 1000 charges then would it be less by using a QC?

 

[Almeuit]

Over the course of time it will degrade the battery but -- with the G4 having a replaceable battery it isn't that bad. Also by time I mean 2 years or more (which most of us upgrade by then).

 

[erwaso]

True lol. So many options nowadays!

 

[RedOctobyr]

This has been debated many many times regarding lithium-based batteries used for a hobby of mine. With no real conclusive results.

Usage patterns and conditions are so different, that it's almost impossible to compare without structured, controlled testing. And no one does that, or if they do, they don't share the results. I personally feel that yes, quick charging is probably a little tougher on the battery. But if it gets you what you need (eg- topping-off enough, quickly, to make it through a heavy-use day), then go for it. I probably wouldn't choose to use one for my overnight charger.

Especially if the battery is replaceable, I wouldn't worry about it. Replace it when it eventually doesn't do what you want.

If you want to go easy on it, you could also keep a normal charger around for the places where you normally charge. When you're driving home from work, and are still at 70%, use the normal charger. When it's noon, you're already down to 20%, and only have a half-hour of charging time available, use the quick charger.

Alternately, you could use a charge-only cable for slow (gentle) charging with a quick charger. QC 2.0 requires data communication to the charger, to enable fast charging. A charge-only cable doesn't have the data pins, so would not enable faster-charging. If you wanted to have options, while only using Quick Chargers.

 

[GrooveRite]

This has been debated many many times regarding lithium-based batteries used for a hobby of mine. With no real conclusive results.

Usage patterns and conditions are so different, that it's almost impossible to compare without structured, controlled testing. And no one does that, or if they do, they don't share the results. I personally feel that yes, quick charging is probably a little tougher on the battery. But if it gets you what you need (eg- topping-off enough, quickly, to make it through a heavy-use day), then go for it. I probably wouldn't choose to use one for my overnight charger.

Especially if the battery is replaceable, I wouldn't worry about it. Replace it when it eventually doesn't do what you want.

If you want to go easy on it, you could also keep a normal charger around for the places where you normally charge. When you're driving home from work, and are still at 70%, use the normal charger. When it's noon, you're already down to 20%, and only have a half-hour of charging time available, use the quick charger.

Alternately, you could use a charge-only cable for slow (gentle) charging with a quick charger. QC 2.0 requires data communication to the charger, to enable fast charging. A charge-only cable doesn't have the data pins, so would not enable faster-charging. If you wanted to have options, while only using Quick Chargers.

What hobby if you don't mind me asking?

I used to frequent flashlight forums way back before smartphone forums. I have an addiction to very small and powerful LED flashlights, lol! Learned a lot about battery tech in those forums!

 

[RedOctobyr]

My apologies for drifting off-topic:

Radio-controlled helicopters, using LiPo (lithium polymer) battery packs, up to ~50V.

Which need a lot of power (high-current with minimal voltage drop) for short bursts. And must be lightweight, to keep the heli nimble in the air, and maximize flight times.

The battery outputs are impressive, I've drawn spikes of 130A and 3,000W (4hp) from mine, the battery weighs about 1.5 lbs. Bigger machines can pull over twice that, from larger batteries.

But fast-charging them in 20 minutes is fairly common, so this discussion comes up often. As the batteries degrade over time, they supply less current, with a greater voltage sag, and less overall capacity, so they become less useful.

The debate is charging more slowly, for more total cycles, vs charging more quickly, for more flying time when at the field (some people bring chargers and generators).

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[GrooveRite]

My apologies for drifting off-topic:

Radio-controlled helicopters, using LiPo (lithium polymer) battery packs, up to ~50V.

Which need a lot of power (high-current with minimal voltage drop) for short bursts. And must be lightweight, to keep the heli nimble in the air, and maximize flight times.

The battery outputs are impressive, I've drawn spikes of 130A and 3,000W (4hp) from mine, the battery weighs about 1.5 lbs. Bigger machines can pull over twice that, from larger batteries.

But fast-charging them in 20 minutes is fairly common, so this discussion comes up often. As the batteries degrade over time, they supply less current, with a greater voltage sag, and less overall capacity, so they become less useful.

The debate is charging more slowly, for more total cycles, vs charging more quickly, for more flying time when at the field (some people bring chargers and generators).

Posted via the Android Central App

Nice! I have a good old friend who flys them. He used to have a few T-Rexs but now he is building and flying hexacopters. He likes them because they're more stable to fly especially with a cam on them! Its a really fun hobby!