Vape Blog on Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Lithium Polymer (Li Po) type of batteries:

Supplied for information purposes courtesy of: Martin Do Couto at Seriously Solar (Pty) Ltd:

The detail supplied below and associated recommendations are supplied to assist with getting optimal performance out of your Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Lithium Polymer (Li Po) type batteries. Each type of battery has it’s unique needs that need to be met to obtain reliable service and acceptable battery life. Due to the nature of the specific application I have concentrated specifically on the Lithium Ion (Li-ion) and Lithium Polymer (Li Po) type of battery.

For the record, there is such a thing as a real lithium-polymer (Li Po) battery, which uses a polymer as the electrolyte in the battery instead of other standard liquid electrolytes, these  Li–polymer batteries offer slightly higher specific energy and can be made thinner than conventional Li–ion, unfortunately the associated manufacturing costs are reported to be higher by between 10–30 percent.

What about lithium-polymer batteries? The associated enlightening content in “Lithium Polymer vs Lithium-Ion batteries: What’s the deal?” is supplied courtesy of Scott Orgin and his Scottie’s Tech.Info and batteryuniversity.com:

Lithium Polymer vs Lithium-Ion batteries: What’s the deal?

This is where it gets interesting. It turns out that what marketing departments are calling “Lithium-polymer batteries” are actually “Lithium-ion polymer” batteries.

What the heck does that mean?

In short, it means that so-called “lithium-polymer” batteries are almost exactly the same as lithium-ion batteries, but they are instead contained in a flexible polymer casing. It’s basically just a repackaged lithium-ion battery but there is another difference according to batteryuniversity.com:

Now, you may get longer battery life with your fancy E-Cigarette device with its “fancy” not-lithium-polymer battery, but that’s primarily due to the flexible format and associated designs that allows the manufacturer to stuff more battery cells into the device.

That’s pretty much all there is to it. If you remove the relatively voluminous plastic case with standard lithium-ion cells inside, and you instead stick flat, flexible lithium-ion polymer cells in the same amount of space, you get more power to play with in the same volume – but the basic battery technology itself is the same: lithium-ion. This is what they call “lithium-polymer” these days.

So, if you ever have two choices for purchasing any associated gizmo, and one has a lithium-ion battery and the other has a lithium-polymer, don’t worry: As far as you’re concerned, it’s all the same thing, but in a different package.

Supplied for information purposes courtesy of: Martin Do Couto at Seriously Solar (Pty) Ltd:

Battery: “Do’s and Don’ts” other information and associated considerations

The specific points below summarizes the needs and advises on the recommended proper handling of Li-ion and Li-Po battery types.

Optimal handling will not always be practical in real life. Deviations from the recommended ideal are acceptable but will tend to lower the life expectancy of any battery or battery cluster or bank arrangement to some degree. (With exposure to heat, being the main culprit.)

Lithium Ion  (Li-ion) and Lithium Polymer are typically used in:

E-Cigarette Devices, Cell Phones, Laptops, Video Camera’s etc.

Charging Do’s and Don’ts:

Do: charge this battery often. Batteries last longer with partial rather than full discharges

Don’t: use if pack gets very hot during charge cycle, check charger or device if this occurs

Charging Methods:

Constant Voltage to 4.20V/cell (typical). No trickle-charge when full. Li-ion may remain in the charger (no memory). Battery must remain cool.

No fast charge possible. Rapid Charge = 3 Hours

Discharging:

Avoid full cycle because of wear. 80% depth-of-discharge recommended. Re-charge more often. Avoid Full discharge.

Low voltage may cut off safety circuit.

Servicing Requirements:

No Maintenance needed. Loses capacity due to aging whether used or not.

Storage:

Store at 40% charge in a cool place. (40% state-of-charge read 3.75-3.80V/cell at open terminal.) Do not store at full charge and at warm temperatures because of accelerated aging.

Disposal:

Should be recycled. Low volume household Li-ion may be disposed.