Will you use the Turbo Charger as your daily charger?

[Masheen]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Depending upon what else is going on while it is on the turbo-charger it can get pretty hot. For example, Google+ backup for pictures and videos, other syncs, MMS messages. I've seen my phone get to 46 degrees Celsius once (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Usually, it doesn't go over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

 

[anon(5630457)]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

I've only used it once in the week I've had my Turbo. I use my wireless charger as my main charger, and I use it when I'm sleeping.

 

[Masheen]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

I've been using a normal USB charger over the turbocharger. Yes, the turbocharger is safe and Moto would not ship it otherwise.. your phone is not going to catch fire because you're using it. The point is, it's not a matter of "causing irreparable hardware damage," it's about maximizing battery life. It's known that keeping a Li battery at high temperatures is going to lower it's life span (read How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University). The turbocharger is clearly outputting higher wattage to charge faster, which must generate more heat than a standard charger (that's just physics, you can't really get around this). And higher temperatures are going to lower the batter lifespan.

How much of an effect this will have I can't say. I don't know how much hotter the battery gets with either charger (although speaking of this, it's pretty easy to monitor temps and I should do so...). For all I know, this newer battery is much better at handling high temps, but I haven't heard anything about this. So for now, I'll stick with a normal charger unless I need the turbo.

That Battery University website is one of the first hits on Google when you search for how to prolong Li-Ion batteries. They have great information, however, the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 is too new of a tech, and Battery University does not make a mention of how that type of tech would affect a phone like ours. I linked the Qualcomm website because they had UL extensively test the Quick Charge 2.0 tech after developing it, and I confide in them to give us a product that will not significantly lessen our battery's lifespan when used. I rationalize it by assuming they (UL & Qualcomm) know the temperature level that will harm the type of battery they use, and aim for a max temp lower than that. Also, if the tech has advanced to the point where Quick Charge is available, they may have also developed a type of Li-Ion that insulates and protects itself against temps that would normally damage that type of battery. I didn't allow myself to ruminate any longer over it. I don't keep a phone for more than two years, and the way tech advances, I'll be using something else before any sign of real battery deterioration occurs, if any at all.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

I've been using a normal USB charger over the turbocharger. Yes, the turbocharger is safe and Moto would not ship it otherwise.. your phone is not going to catch fire because you're using it. The point is, it's not a matter of "causing irreparable hardware damage," it's about maximizing battery life. It's known that keeping a Li battery at high temperatures is going to lower it's life span (read How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University). The turbocharger is clearly outputting higher wattage to charge faster, which must generate more heat than a standard charger (that's just physics, you can't really get around this). And higher temperatures are going to lower the batter lifespan.

How much of an effect this will have I can't say. I don't know how much hotter the battery gets with either charger (although speaking of this, it's pretty easy to monitor temps and I should do so...). For all I know, this newer battery is much better at handling high temps, but I haven't heard anything about this. So for now, I'll stick with a normal charger unless I need the turbo.

That's a good point, especially if the phone is being used to do other things at the same time.

I've definitely noticed my phone gets warm while charging, but it's no worse than when I'm using it for GPS directions, for example.

My normal habit is plug my phone in after dinner in the evening, get it to a full charge, then unplug it. Especially with this phone that'll get me through until the next evening, but I do keep an old Blackberry charger at my desk at work for emergencies. I plan to keep using the turbo charger.... But I've been keeping an eye on just how hot it gets.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Masheen]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

That's a good point, especially if the phone is being used to do other things at the same time.

I've definitely noticed my phone gets warm while charging, but it's no worse than when I'm using it for GPS directions, for example.

My normal habit is plug my phone in after dinner in the evening, get it to a full charge, then unplug it. Especially with this phone that'll get me through until the next evening, but I do keep an old Blackberry charger at my desk at work for emergencies. I plan to keep using the turbo charger.... But I've been keeping an eye on just how hot it gets.

Posted via Android Central App

Very true. My phone gets just as hot, if not hotter, while using GPS.

 

[kmf1]

I will stick with the supplied turbo charger.

Sent from my Droid Turbo 64G using Tapatalk.

 

[Snareman]

My phone goes on the Tylt at night as I don't need a speed charge then. The Turbo charger will likely come on vacation with me. I just wish the prongs folded in to make it more compact. Its a bit large.

 

[1Coopgt]

Yup works fine .

 

[pdisme]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Is it both pieces that make it turbo charge or is it the part that plugs into the wall?

The cable that comes with the Turbo is very short. I just swapped to the Turbo from an S4 and attempted to use the white usb cable that came with my Samsung charger; the Turbo was charging at regular 1a speed with that cable. Put the original back in place, it switches to fast.

I'm kind of wondering if perhaps the turbo functionality requires a certain gauge cable and it measures resistance to determine what is in there, etc. I haven't tried additional cables yet.

 

[ZONGMAN]

As a previous iPhone user, I wondered the same about charging the phone at 5v 1a to maybe preserve battery life, so in goes the iPhone power supply coupled with the turbos cord. Charged from 6% to ~23% and it stopped charging. Never again. Please forgive me turbo...

Vrrroooom pssshhh! *Droid Turbo posting sound*

 

[NoahForeman]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Very true. My phone gets just as hot, if not hotter, while using GPS.

I got the VZW Quick Charge car cable. That + GPS = hot!

Posted via the Android Central App on my Droid Turbo.

 

[travaz]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

I was using the Ghost Qi charger that I bought for the MAXX. It would never charge to 100%. It would go to 99% and it bugs me. Lately the Qi charger wont charge the phone very good. I left it on the charger all night. I put it on the Qi at 45% battery charge. When I woke up it was down to 35% and very warm. I don't know why as it was properly aligned and showed the animation that it was charging. I went to Verizon Monday and talked to a rep that had a lot of knowledge about Qi and Turbo Charge. He said the Ghost Qi charger was made for the max but not the Turbo. he said it won't charge that big of a battery very well. He also says that the Tylt Qi charger was made for the bigger battery of the Turbo. They had one that worked in the store and I put my Turbo on it (battery was about 55%) and it hooked up instantly and started charging. I didn't leave it on very long so I can't talk about how fast it would charge the phone. He also said that the Turbo Charger was made to plug in and leave all night. He said at the training they had on the Turbo that leaving the phone plugged in to the Turbo Charger would have no negative impacts on the phone or Battery. He said the charger actually shuts off when the battery is full. if it discharges a bit it keeps a trickle charge on it. I have been using the Turbo Charger and it doesn't get that warm when in sleep mode. I forgot to charge it last night and when I woke up I plugged it in at 45% and in about 2 hours I was back to 100%. I am waiting for the TYLT charger as they are way backordered at VZW.

 

[camachinist]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Yeah, I'll be using the charger but won't be purposely running down the battery between charges. Right now, in normal use, it's been going 50-50 hours before getting to 10-15% but I'm choosing to put it on the charger each evening whether it needs it or not. I've noted, above 50-60%, the phone doesn't get warm on the charger so apparently the charger isn't pushing as much voltage to it. I haven't tried any of the other Moto chargers I have simply because there's really no reason to. The included one works fine. I've also charged it tethered to my laptop with the included cable and it does charge, albeit slowly.

 

[mobrules]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

I will use it when the battery drops way down yes, but for regular use I have been using a 2.1 amp charger from monoprice. I originally bought it for family members apple products. It seems to work fine although slower than the turbo charger. Does this cause a problem for the turbo battery? I havent seen or read anything that says so. If anyone has info I would appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[dusoccer10]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

The cable that comes with the Turbo is very short. I just swapped to the Turbo from an S4 and attempted to use the white usb cable that came with my Samsung charger; the Turbo was charging at regular 1a speed with that cable. Put the original back in place, it switches to fast.

I'm kind of wondering if perhaps the turbo functionality requires a certain gauge cable and it measures resistance to determine what is in there, etc. I haven't tried additional cables yet.

It's not the cable, but the charger head that determines fast charging.

 

[MA2GA28]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

It's not the cable, but the charger head that determines fast charging.

Not exactly correct. The charger has a lot to do with it, but without the proper cable (the one that came with the Turbo charger) you will just get a slow 'regular' charge and not the quick charge.

 

[Masheen]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Charging at 4C (a 15 minute charge means charging the battery at 4 times its capacity) and, I believe, a non-user-replaceable battery, is design-by-throwing-darts (and missing the target by more than a few pubs). Watch all the dead battery complaints in about a year (if we're lucky and we don't have another Sony bonfire catastrophe). Even charging at 3C lowers the battery life to about 360 cycles (people who need that kind of fast charge are exactly the ones who are going to charge more than once a day, so the battery is going to last less than a year). See Fast and Ultra-fast Chargers - Battery University Cadex does a lot of battery analysis - they know what they're talking about.

That site has great information. Some of the articles are confusing because they cover so many different types of batteries. There are many types of Lithium Ion, does anybody know which one the Turbo uses? According to BU-205a of Battery University, most mobile phones and laptops use Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO). I want to know if Qualcomm and UL, the company that tested and certified it, have done anything to prevent reduced capacity and faster discharging after a long period of turbo/quick charging.

Battery University states: "An ultra-fast charger can be compared to a high-speed train that is capable to travel 300km per hour (188 mph) on a track built for it. The tracks, and not the machinery, govern the maximum speed. Adding power to a charger is relatively simple; the intelligence lies in assessing the condition of the battery and applying the right amount of maximum charge. A properly designed ultra-fast charger will lower the current when certain conditions occur. In essence, only newer batteries can be ultra-fast charged.
Do not ultra-fast charge batteries if possible and charge at a more moderate rate of 1C or less. (A maker of the 18650 Li-ion recommends 0.7C.) Makers of electric cars prefer if EV owners charge at an eight-hour or 16-hour charge, both of which are below 1C. The 30-minute charge with a three-phase 440V outlet charges the battery at above 1C and this method should only be used if no other option exists (1C is the current rating of a battery. A 1C charge or discharge of a battery rated at 1Ah is 1A.)
Figure 1 compares the cycle life of a lithium-ion battery when charged and discharged at 1C, 2C and 3C. A 1C charge and discharge cycle causes the capacity drop from 650mAh to 550mAh after 500 cycles, reflecting a decrease to 84 percent. A 2C accelerates capacity fade to 310mAh, representing a decrease to 47 percent, and with 3C the battery fails after only 360 cycles with 26 percent remaining capacity."

I sent an email to UL asking them what they thought were the long term effects, if any, of frequently using Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 feature in their new chipsets. Maybe Qualcomm relies on hope that people will upgrade their device before it shows significant signs of depreciation.

Maybe the Turbo charger really should only be used when absolutely necessary and don't have the time to slow charge.

Edit: A good article pertaining to Quick Charge 2.0: http://www.androidauthority.com/quick-charge-explained-563838/

Edit: Found a well-written comment on an article: "Turbo Charge 2.0 uses different arrangement of resistors, capacitors and inductors than regular chargers which makes it capable to produce higher output voltage without increasing current flow and hence has no to very less effect on battery!"

 

[MA2GA28]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

That site has great information. Some of the articles are confusing because they cover so many different types of batteries. There are many types of Lithium Ion, does anybody know which one the Turbo uses? According to BU-205a of Battery University, most mobile phones and laptops use Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO). I want to know if Qualcomm and UL, the company that tested and certified it, have done anything to prevent reduced capacity and faster discharging after a long period of turbo/quick charging.

Battery University states: "An ultra-fast charger can be compared to a high-speed train that is capable to travel 300km per hour (188 mph) on a track built for it. The tracks, and not the machinery, govern the maximum speed. Adding power to a charger is relatively simple; the intelligence lies in assessing the condition of the battery and applying the right amount of maximum charge. A properly designed ultra-fast charger will lower the current when certain conditions occur. In essence, only newer batteries can be ultra-fast charged.
Do not ultra-fast charge batteries if possible and charge at a more moderate rate of 1C or less. (A maker of the 18650 Li-ion recommends 0.7C.) Makers of electric cars prefer if EV owners charge at an eight-hour or 16-hour charge, both of which are below 1C. The 30-minute charge with a three-phase 440V outlet charges the battery at above 1C and this method should only be used if no other option exists (1C is the current rating of a battery. A 1C charge or discharge of a battery rated at 1Ah is 1A.)
Figure 1 compares the cycle life of a lithium-ion battery when charged and discharged at 1C, 2C and 3C. A 1C charge and discharge cycle causes the capacity drop from 650mAh to 550mAh after 500 cycles, reflecting a decrease to 84 percent. A 2C accelerates capacity fade to 310mAh, representing a decrease to 47 percent, and with 3C the battery fails after only 360 cycles with 26 percent remaining capacity."

I sent an email to UL asking them what they thought were the long term effects, if any, of frequently using Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 feature in their new chipsets. Maybe Qualcomm relies on hope that people will upgrade their device before it shows significant signs of depreciation.

Maybe the Turbo charger really should only be used when absolutely necessary and don't have the time to slow charge.

Edit: A good article pertaining to Quick Charge 2.0: Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 technology explained

It's interesting to wonder, but the major thing would be VZW and/or Moto would be on the hook for a lot of complaints and refunds if the quick chargers burn out the batteries quicker. So, part of me says they wouldn't be dumb enough to include it as the ONLY charger if it was going to negatively affect the battery over, at least, a typical 2 year contract. But, part of me also thinks they may not care. Keep us posted what you hear.

 

[dusoccer10]

Re: Will you use the turbo charger as your daily charger?

Not exactly correct. The charger has a lot to do with it, but without the proper cable (the one that came with the Turbo charger) you will just get a slow 'regular' charge and not the quick charge.

Actually, the cable has nothing to do with it. The Turbo Charger is just Motorola's fancy name for a charger based off Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0. You can buy other chargers that incorporate the same technology (see Car Charger Lightning Cable-4.8 Amp High-Speed | Incipio for example), but require a buyer to provide their own cables. It's the charger head, CPU processor in the phone, and the right drivers in the software that determine Quick Charge.

 

[graygr]

I suppose there are a number of issues discussed here. For one, the heat generated by running power hungry apps is not necessarily internal battery heat, so not sure it has the same implications. As for "charge memory", I recall reading that li-Ion batteries are not subject to that. The Turbo charger will charge my Maxx, but not at the higher output. I do believe the technology has been well tested, but I prefer the convenience of a qi charger and will continue to use that option for daily charging. I'm looking for a qi with a higher output. Thought I had read about one rated at 2 amps but now I can't find it. Power transfer on most of them is only 70%.

Posted via the Android Central App