Is it a bad idea to charge the Blade overnight?

[Guest Shahmatt]

I sometimes plug in my charger and don't disconnect until after I wake up about 8 hours later. The phone overcharges for a few hours in this way.

I know that in the olden days overcharging affects the battery lifespan, but do we know if the Blade battery is this way also?

How do you guys like to charge your phone?

Would it be USB at the office computer; a few hours before bed time; or do you guys do the overnight charge too?

[Guest Watashi_PT]

I always do the overnight and it seems to have normal behaviour...

[Guest iKrautDroid]

Jup, I need it all day so I can only really charge at night...

[Guest Maxsas360]

I do it too. No unexpected behaviour. I think the phone is powered from the charger when it's charged. I think I know why. You can turn the phone on with the charger plugged in and without the battery.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Maxsas360

[Guest Shahmatt]

Well on my previous phone, a Nokia E51, the battery kind of became bloated after around 2 years. The battery life had dropped maybe around 20% by this time. I checked with the Nokia service center and they told me that the battery was spoiling and that there was a chance that chemicals could leak from it and spoil the phone circuitry. I was advised to buy a new battery which I did.

My Blade is about 10 months old and I happily see no bloating so far.

What about you folks? Does your battery show signs of bloating up? If so for how long have you been using the phone?

[Guest agpoli]

With Li-ion batteries there is no such thing as overcharge.

[Guest hahawas]

Since my battery life is so good, i hardly need charging. I put my blade on airplane mode and charge it when i'm getting ready in the morning

[Guest oxyg3n89]

true. the times of NiCd technology is in the past:)

With Li-ion batteries there is no such thing as overcharge.

[Guest targetbsp]

As above, you can't overcharge a Li-Ion battery. Mostly because the result of doing so is fairly disastrous! So they are designed not to.

[Guest mickey megabyte]

going off-topic a bit, but i remember reading somewhere on this forum (too lazy to search for it now, but it was nearly a year ago ) that you get a longer lasting charge if you replenish your battery through a computer's usb port, rather than directly into the mains.

obviously charging takes longer this way, but it takes longer to run out too.

i've never actually tested this, but those that had reckoned it was true.

[Guest jventura]

Hi,

here is a link to a good web page which talks about how to prolong Li-ion batteries: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries :rolleyes:

[Guest brookergray]

going off-topic a bit, but i remember reading somewhere on this forum (too lazy to search for it now, but it was nearly a year ago ) that you get a longer lasting charge if you replenish your battery through a computer's usb port, rather than directly into the mains.

obviously charging takes longer this way, but it takes longer to run out too.

i've never actually tested this, but those that had reckoned it was true.

Nope. It only takes longer because the power output of a standard USB port is lower than the mains charger's.

[Guest Maxsas360]

Nope. It only takes longer because the power output of a standard USB port is lower than the mains charger's.

Charging with lower power output is great for the battery longevity. Battery life? Nope. Where did I find this? My hobby is rc planes lol. I use 1800mah 3 cell batteries and I charge them slow when I am preparing the batteries for winter. I charge them faster If I need to in cost of battery longevity. Flight times are the same if I charge slow or fast.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Maxsas360

[Guest shakerist]

Charging with lower power output is great for the battery longevity. Battery life? Nope. Where did I find this? My hobby is rc planes lol. I use 1800mah 3 cell batteries and I charge them slow when I am preparing the batteries for winter. I charge them faster If I need to in cost of battery longevity. Flight times are the same if I charge slow or fast.

Well I had a 2m usb extension cable I used to charge my phone with, it took a lot longer a bit slower than usb charging , but I believe that it did have a positive effect on battery life. Also I know if u use a quick charge station of electric cars it significantly reduces battery life whereas if you charge it from your mains at home (which takes a lot longer) the battery has a longer life. Dont remember where i got this from, maybe top gear but maybe this is the case for phones as swell

[Guest Nick Rhodes]

I have not got the link at the moment. But all devices that charge a battery themselves need to regulate the charging for safety reasons (battery overheating and leaking being the common issue of over charging from a fast charge). If the devcices provide a rapid charge (like mobile phones, laptops battery chargers), they need to have the built in ability to stop rapid charging, by cycling to a lower charge current that won't damage a battery if left to charge forever AND/OR cycling of the power.

I think the Blade is not so accurate at gauging when to stop rapid charging (when using the mains charger) - it seems to loose track easily of how much charge capacity is - a simple calibration (running flat and then leaving charging whilst turned on over night) every week or so helps prevent this.

So when the Blade is charged by the rapid charging and says is fully charged, leaving it to cycle/trickle charge seems to add a bit extra charge, but until you do a calibration run it will inaccurately report the amount of charge left (some people note sticking at 100% for a long time, I find my phone can spend a very long time at 10% and below before getting so flat it turns itself off).

The battery seems quite durable, had my Blade nearly a year and a half with no noticeable loss in life (differences in day to day usage more significant).

Cheers, Nick

[Guest brookergray]

^

The phone intentionally stops charging. Many devices do this, it's not a bug but a feature to decrease the wear on the battery during charging.

[Guest agpoli]

I have not got the link at the moment. But all devices that charge a battery themselves need to regulate the charging for safety reasons (battery overheating and leaking being the common issue of over charging from a fast charge).

Please do not mix what your phone says about the battery and what does the battery really do. Every Li-Ion battery has it's own circuitry for charging to prevent overheating, leaking, overchargeing, etc. There is no way that your phone can control this. It's a low-level built in feature and it can't be controlled by any software.

Edited January 22, 2012 by agpoli

[Guest Nick Rhodes]

Please do not mix what your phone says about the battery and what does the battery really do. Every Li-Ion battery has it's own circuitry for charging to prevent overheating, leaking, overchargeing, etc. There is no way that your phone can control this. It's a low-level built in feature and it can't be controlled by any software.

I did not say it was software controlled.

Every device has to have to capability to control charging to prevent overheating/leakage etc, be it in the charger (like with your AA/AAA chargers) or in the battery like you state :) or passively by design (trickle chargers).

I was also clear to point out that there IS a difference in what the phones says against what the battery is really doing. :)

Cheers, Nick

Edited January 22, 2012 by Nick Rhodes

[Guest Davidoff59]

while there is built in circuitry to protect the battery, no circuit is 100% safe so its a good idea to periodically check your battery for swelling. Any signs of swelling and the battery should be replaced immediately. The easiest way to check is to put it on a flat surface and if you can rock it back and forth, then its starting to fail.

I have seen a blackberry battery bulging so bad that it was pushing the rear cover off. I advised the owner to replace it immediately. The contents of a li ion battery are highly toxic and extremely flammable so these things are not to be taken lightly.