If my device has a 5volt / 2.1 amp max charger capacity...on a 7.900mAh Li ion battery, (charger has gone missing) does this mean I can happily use any 5 volt charger with an amp rating less then the max?
for example I have to other chargers of the same make that are 5v output with amp ratings of 1.5 and 2.0 amps?

pandana - 2021-04-19 09:21:00

should be able to, they will just take longer to charge the device

king1 - 2021-04-19 09:33:00

ah thanks.. had been told not to use the wrong charger as it would ruin the battery faster... but they are talking about over 5v/ 2.1 amps I presume:)

pandana - 2021-04-19 09:35:00

The amp rating should be more than, rather than less than, the original capacity.

2.0 amps isn't much less than 2.1 amps, the maximum of the original charger may have been more than the device actually draws. If the replacement charger gets too hot to hold, smokes, or is puny in size compared to the original then I wouldn't expect it to last.

gyrogearloose - 2021-04-19 09:36:00

pandana wrote:

ah thanks.. had been told not to use the wrong charger as it would ruin the battery faster... but they are talking about over 5v/ 2.1 amps I presume:)

that one is always a calculated risk unfortunately, i can't imagine why it would cause problems, but obviously can't guarantee it won't, but i'd probably stick with the 2 amp one. There *may* be something special about the original charger, who knows...

king1 - 2021-04-19 09:40:00

That's a big battery. What's the device ?

nice_lady - 2021-04-19 09:56:00

gyrogearloose wrote:

The amp rating should be more than, rather than less than, the original capacity.

2.0 amps isn't much less than 2.1 amps, the maximum of the original charger may have been more than the device actually draws. If the replacement charger gets too hot to hold, smokes, or is puny in size compared to the original then I wouldn't expect it to last.

If the replacement charger gets too hot to touch then it's defective. Period.
Even using too small a charger will do no harm it'll just take longer. But if a smaller charger gets that hot then it's design is defective as safe design should current limit.

tegretol - 2021-04-19 09:57:00

The member deleted this message.

nice_lady - 2021-04-19 09:58:00

A lower amp rating means it'll take longer to charge. No harm done. Higher means it will change faster. The device will only draw whatever amps it's designed to do at max, so a higher rated charger won't hurt it. DO NOT plug in a charger of a different voltage.

nice_lady - 2021-04-19 10:01:00

nice_lady wrote:

A lower amp rating means it'll take longer to charge. No harm done. Higher means it will change faster. The device will only draw whatever amps it's designed to do at max, so a higher rated charger won't hurt it. DO NOT plug in a charger of a different voltage.

thanks, yes the chargers I have found are both from the same manufacture for different devices, but both are 5 volt and less amps then the rated max for the device.. so I am all good with a slower charge... my smart devices tend to last me years.. because I don't have them in my hand 24/7... and still have a real life hahah

pandana - 2021-04-19 10:51:00

For some folks a 'real life' and the device in their hand a lot is inescapable - a necessary evil, if you will.

nice_lady - 2021-04-19 11:04:00

The slower you charge a battery, the less it stresses a battery, or so a guy who does a lot of RC racing told me.

tygertung - 2021-04-19 19:38:00

tygertung wrote:

The slower you charge a battery, the less it stresses a battery, or so a guy who does a lot of RC racing told me.

I'm sure your man uses Lithium Polymer batteries, rather than Lithium Ion.

gyrogearloose - 2021-04-19 19:46:00

They charge them pretty fast, but he reckoned that 1C was really safe, like 1 timnes the capacity, so a 1 amp hour battery would be charged at 1 amp, but even slower is better. At RC meets they would charge them at much higher rates.

tygertung - 2021-04-19 20:14:00

i put a usb charger in my consol only to find out that its only pushing 1amp so takes hrs to charge

kavebunny - 2021-04-30 03:58:00

kavebunny wrote:

i put a usb charger in my consol only to find out that its only pushing 1amp so takes hrs to charge

All such chargers have their specs written on them somewhere. so it is easy to check before you use it.

nice_lady - 2021-04-30 16:38:00