Li-ion or Lithium Ion batteries are quite the common choices for charging up a plethora of electronic devices like camera, laptop, camcorder, LED lights, etc and also various electric and hybrid consumer vehicles. Having higher capacity with relatively lesser self-discharge as well as a greater number of the charge cycles are some of the advantages of the Li-ion batteries such as the 1.5V lithium AA batteries. However, after a limited period of charging cycles, these batteries too start to lose their performance –powering up might take longer time and exhaustion of power might take place even faster. When your battery dies, you might feel like replacing it but in case you want to save a few bucks (Li-ion batteries are quite costly), deconstructing or recovering the dead ones seem like the best choice.
Reconditioning Li-ion Batteries
With tools like battery charger, metal nails, and clips, safety glasses, USB cord, Voltmeter, power sources like another battery and crocodile clips, you can recondition batteries to make them work efficiently. Follow these steps –
- Take Voltage Reading And Shock The Battery
You have to take voltage reading using a Voltmeter and if the reading is lesser than what the battery is rated, the issue might be that the battery has been drained too much. In case the battery was discharged inside the device during your use, it might go into sleep mode to prevent it from being charged again. Now take another rechargeable battery that is rated at the same voltage and connect the two batteries in +ve to –ve circuit with crocodile clips and check for any sign of damage while ensuring they are not overheating.
If you take a reading of the dead one now, you will see greater voltage that can accept charging. You can also do this by using a USB cable, cut the smaller side to connect the red wire to the +ve terminal and black one to -ve terminal and connect the other end of the cable to the computer to check increasing voltage.
- Fully Charging Or Discharging The Battery
The household batteries like those used in LED lights can be awakened by charging fully. The time needed for this varies according to the types of batteries. Now, wait for the battery to get discharged fully to zero percent (to that extent when it has no power for the reboot). You can use any high voltage electronics to get the battery discharged faster. Now plug in the battery charger and charge it for as long as 48 hours for a better result or opt for the following step.
- Freeze The Discharged Battery
The fully discharged Lithium-Ion Batteries now should be kept in a zip-locked airtight pouch and then kept inside the fridge for about 24 hours. There should be no moisture inside the pouch lest the battery would get wet. When you bring out the batteries from the freezer, wait for around 6 to 8 hours so that they come to the room temperature and get charged fully. This will not only enhance battery performance but also last longer in between the charge cycles.
So, while awakening the batteries, make sure they are not too hot and when they are discharged, they are charged as soon as possible to avoid going to sleep mode. No matter whether they are fully charged or not, regular charging always helps and charging should be done with a good quality charger.