When to recharge

[maddogg]

I put a lithium battery in my LX6 it was charge up to 14v. Now I used it 3 times and it says I still have 12.2 volts left.I know the lithiums don't drop off gradually like a lead battery so how long do I go before I should recharge? Or should I recharge after every use?

[Kevin23]

12.2 you probably have less than an hr left, about 10% or so.. definitely on the sharp decline at the end of the charge.

You'll need to charge it to 14.6V to fully charge, thats when the BMS inside will cut it off as the cells are full. 14V will only get you about a 95% charge, which is okay but not ideal for long term use.

Should run for most of its charge at 13.0-13.2, then drop off pretty sharply to cutoff voltage (around 10v) in a matter of a few minutes to an hr depending on draw. If its really cold it may run at 12.8-13.0 normally before dropping off.

[Ice_Fly_Guy]

I recharge every time unless I've only been out for a couple hours.  I don't want to be out next time and have a dead battery halfway through a good day....or bad day.

[kpd145]

I put a lithium battery in my LX6 it was charge up to 14v. Now I used it 3 times and it says I still have 12.2 volts left. I know the lithiums don't drop off gradually like a lead battery so how long do I go before I should recharge? Or should I recharge after every use?

You need to find the working voltage range for the Marcum. If its 12.2, that's when its going to cut out, my garmin cuts out at 10.8 volts. If its lower, you got more battery you can use.

The charging voltage for lithiums is normally between 14.4 and 14.6 volts, charging amperage. Once you remove the charger, the battery is going to drop to its NOMINAL voltage, what the voltage is after unplugging everything and letting it sit for about 10 minutes, I figure it should be around 13.5 volts.

As far as amount of time, do some math, find out what the draw is with 50% brightness and divide that by the AH of your batteries. So if you are pulling .5 amps off the Marcum with a 5ah battery at 12 volts, you will get 10 hrs of use, this may vary by brightness as well. Screen back lighting uses a lot of power, I use a black background and keep my brightness as low as I can.

[bigstorm]

I recharge every time unless I've only been out for a couple hours.  I don't want to be out next time and have a dead battery halfway through a good day....or bad day.

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