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Battery Questions??

bigkim100

Apr 17, 2013
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Im sorry, but I do not understand the chjarging of the batteries that are used in 99% of products nowsadays, and I wish to add one to a project. They usually have balance charging circuits built into the cell (at least the ones I have do). These batteries are flat and triangular, and usually wrapped in silver and tape, and are in 99% of todays devices.
The question that I have is, they only ahve 2 wires coming out of them, so are they wires shared with the charging and voltage output?
If the battery is 6vdc, will it be charged by a standard 5vdc usb Wall-Wart charger?
Thanks in advance for any help you may have,
 

Harald Kapp

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They usually have balance charging circuits built into the cell (at least the ones I have do).
A single cell doesn't need charge balancing. Charge balancing is required for batteries built from more than one cell.
It is unfortunate but very common that in colloqial language the name "battery" is used without making this distinction.

they only ahve 2 wires coming out of them, so are they wires shared with the charging and voltage output?
Yes.

If the battery is 6vdc, will it be charged by a standard 5vdc usb Wall-Wart charger?
Only with a suitable charger circuit that contains a step-up converter. A standard wall wart should never be used to charge a battery without a matching charger circuit.
What is the type of battery you have? Lithium batteries come in many flavors, but a single lithium cell usually has > 3 V, so two cells in series would make for > 6V. Can you upload a photo of your batzery?
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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They usually have balance charging circuits built into the cell
Usually a small PCB mounted inside the heat shrink. Or outside of course.
These batteries are flat and triangular,
Never seen a triangular pack. Usually a square or oblong type bag. These can swell and I suppose could swell into a triangle. Never seen it though. Usually just swell into a bloated bag.
2 wires coming out of them, so are they wires shared with the charging and voltage output?
of course.
If the battery is 6vdc, will it be charged by a standard 5vdc usb Wall-Wart charger?
no. The item in question will have its own charging circuit.
However, the description of battery suggests lithium. A single cell won’t need a BMS.

Martin
 

bigkim100

Apr 17, 2013
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Yes, these style of Batteries are in almost all consumer items. As you can see in my Picture, underneath the yellow tape is the charging circuit. Im not specifically talking about THIS BATTERY, just batteries like this in general.
I made a mistake in my posting, I want to charge a battery , like this to provide voltage to my 5VDC regulator, so it will need to be a higher battery voltage input.
The picture is only to show the style of battery
 

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bigkim100

Apr 17, 2013
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Yes, these style of Batteries are in almost all consumer items. As you can see in my Picture, underneath the yellow tape is the charging circuit. Im not specifically talking about THIS BATTERY, just batteries like this in general.Batt.jpg

And what voltage of battery will I need to feed a 5vdc regulator. I know it will need to be a voltage higher than 5vdc.
Since the circuit, and the Battery use the same "Battery Power Lines" will the regulator and circuit be damaged when the charging power is applied"
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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The battery you showed is a single cell "Li-PO". Most do not have a charger circuit inside them but some have a protection circuit to prevent a disaster. The cell is 4.20V fully charged and a higher voltage will probably cause an explosion and fire if there is no protection circuit inside the cell. 3.7V is the sales and storage voltage which is about half-charged.

Some 5V regulators (LM7805) need an input that is 7V minimum. It is not a battery charger.

A power bank has a Li-PO battery inside. It has a battery charger circuit that has a USB 5V input and it has a voltage boosting circuit so that the power bank output is 5V.
 

bigkim100

Apr 17, 2013
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Ok, the picture was just to illustrate the KIND of battery that Im using.
The question truly is, if I have a circuit that has a 5v regulator in it, how do I charge the battery, without killing the circuit with the higher voltage from the charger??

The real question is
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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A Lithium battery is charged with a Lithium battery charger circuit.
A power bank uses a 5V USB input for its charger circuit to charge its Lithium battery, not a high voltage.
 

Audioguru

Sep 24, 2016
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The cheap no-name-brand ebay charger module is made to charge a much larger 18650 cell phone battery at 1A. Little Li-Po batteries charge at much less current to avoid an explosion and fire.
 

ivak245

Jun 11, 2021
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How about limiting the charge current with an external resistor?
 

Harald Kapp

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Not useful if the cell has a built-in charger / overload protection circuit.
If it hasn't, a resistor is not a good charger for a lithium based battery. You need to take care of overvoltage, overcurrent and (ideally) overtemperature protection when dealing with lithium based batteries.
 
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