Using a wall charger from another phone - dangerous?

[jmacdo]

I got an app on my phone (Ampere) that displays the charging current. Using the charger that came with my Nexus 5, I get around 700mA. Using the charger that came with an old Samsung phone, I get around 1000mA.

So, assuming that a larger charging current is going to charge my phone quicker, either:

1) My Nexus charger isn't charging my phone as quickly as it safely could.
2) My Nexus phone is allowing a charging current that is above a safe level and is potentially dangerous or harmful.

any thoughts? Thanks,

 

[Rukbat]

The Ampere is evidently designed to draw more than 700mA to charge, but the Nexus charger can't supply more. The phone will draw whatever it's supposed to draw, as long as the charger can supply it.

The only 2 "dangers" are

1) If the charger is supplying less current than the phone is using, the battery isn't charging, it's discharging slower.

2) If the charger supplies little enough current, it's wasting your time waiting for the phone to charge.

My "charger" is normally a 30 Amp bench supply. My phones draw what they're supposed to. You can't "push" more current into the phone than it's designed to draw. (Read The Care and Feeding of Lithium Polymer Batteries.)

 

[jmacdo]

Thanks for that link, very useful info. I didn't know to keep the battery charged above 50%.

but the Nexus charger can't supply more.

I guess this is more of a rhetorical question, but why would they ship the Nexus with a charger that supplies much less current than the device can safely handle. My phone is going to take longer to charge, and there doesn't seem to be any benefit to that.