How to Increase the life of an18650 li-ion battery

There are several vital specs for a 18650 battery including, capacity, discharge current, charge current, and maximum life cycle of the battery.

Here we will see the maximum life cycle of the battery, and how you can use this time to increase the life of your batteries.

A life Cycle of a Battery

When a battery is charged and released charging, this is counted as one cycle. 18650 lithium-ion batteries are charged up to 4.2V and down to between 2V and 3V depending on the cell’s spec for a cut-off charge. To be safe, never discharge your battery lower than 3.0V unless you know your cell’s specification.

To charge a 18650 li-ion battery, you should use a special and original charger for lithium-ion cells.

How Many Cycles Does a 18650 Li-ion Battery Have?

Most advanced 18650 li-ion batteries have a typical cycle life of 300 to 500. When in high-amp or high-drain conditions, this can decrease considerably to 200 cycles.

If you go over the maximum discharge current limit you can reduce the cycle life all the way down to 50 cycles.

Optimize the Temperature of your Battery

The 18650 li-ion cells are rated commonly at between 20 and 25 degrees Celcius. Any variation from this will create a slight loss of inability. A 10-degree variation might account for a loss of 20 or 30mAh.

While the extremes below zero, or above 80 degrees, will see much faster cell depravity. Using a cell at suboptimal heat will reduce its cycle life.

Don’t Overcharge your Battery

If you are concerned about the cycle life of your battery and not capacity, then you might not even do a full charge. You might do partial charging. When you charge your battery only up to maintain 3.8V instead of 4.2V.

You will see the reduced capacity of the battery, put less stress on your cell, and increased cycle life of the battery. Overcharging will see increased capacity, but it’s risky and will reduce your battery’s life.

Lower Your Charge Current

Many chargers can lower charge current. A “fast charge” maybe 1 amp or higher. While this charges your cells faster, it will decrease their cycle life.

Know the Chemistry of your Battery

Various 18650 li-ion batteries can reach 1000+ cycles comfortably in fit conditions. The Samsung 18650 battery chemistry with one of the highest cycle lives is the lithium iron phosphate battery.