Can you charge and use a battery at the same time?

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No, a battery can't be charged and discharged at the same time. If a battery is connected to a charger delivering 1 A and a load drawing 3 A, then the battery will be discharged at 2 A. There is no simultaneous charging and discharging going on. Draw out the circuit and follow the currents.



In respect to this, can you charge a battery while using it?

There is no such thing as "drawing power from a battery while simultaneously charging it". Current can either go into the battery (charging) or out of the battery (discharging). You cannot have it both ways at the same time.

Likewise, can you charge and use a LiPo battery at the same time? It's possible, BUT the charger would need to be able to provide enough current to charge the LiPo and carry the load at the same time.

Consequently, what does do not charge and discharge at the same time mean?

Technically, you can't charge and discharge a battery at the same time, as current is either entering (charging) or leaving the battery (discharging). Having said that, I will assume you mean what happens if you have a battery with a load connected and drawing while also having a charger connected and supplying.

Does trickle charging reduce battery life?

First, continuous trickle charging of a full battery can cause plating of the metallic lithium, which reduces stability in the long term and can lead to system-wide malfunctions and reboots. Secondly, it leaves the battery at the higher stress voltage when at 100 percent, as we just mentioned above.

26 Related Question Answers Found

Can you leave a battery charger on overnight?

1) Lead Acid battery can be put to charge for an entire night. Even if it is overcharged then there is not risk of fire. Leaving these batteries on overnight charge will not do any harm as the charging process will be controlled by the charger itself. If you are talking about a mobile battery then you don't have worry.

Why do batteries lose charge when not in use?

Self-discharge is a phenomenon in batteries in which internal chemical reactions reduce the stored charge of the battery without any connection between the electrodes or any external circuit.

What happens if you leave a car battery charger on too long?

A: If you leave the charger connected continuously, even at a mere 2 amps, the battery eventually will die. Overcharging a battery causes excessive gassing — the electrolyte gets hot and both hydrogen and oxygen gas are generated. On sealed batteries, the buildup of gases could cause the battery to burst.

Can you overcharge a 12 volt battery?

A 12V lead-acid battery will not be damaged by overcharge if the voltage is kept low enough to avoid electrolysis, and the charging current is kept below 0.2C (5 times less than the Ah capacity). If it can put out more current than the battery can take then the battery may overheat.

Does charging battery too much kill?


Myth: Charging Your Battery Overnight Kills the Long-Term Battery Life. In the same vein as calibrating your battery, it used to be possible to ruin a battery by “overcharging,” or leaving it plugged in all the time. These days, chargers and smartphones are smart enough to prevent this from happening.

Is trickle charging bad?

According to Battery University, leaving your phone plugged in when it's fully charged, like you might overnight, is bad for the battery in the long run. Once your smartphone has reached 100 percent charge, it gets 'trickle charges' to keep it at 100 percent while plugged in.

How do you keep a car battery charged when not in use?

Use an all-weather car cover if you cannot leave your car in a garage. Get the car washed and waxed before placing it in storage. Be sure to fill up the gas tank and add a gas stabilizer if you will be storing the car for more than 30 days. Use a battery tender to avoid having to jump-start the battery.

Should you let battery run down before recharging?

So, if you let your battery drain completely every day, it will last 500 days. If you charge it before it drains and top it off throughout the day, you'll stretch out the time those 500 charges will last. If it “dies” when the battery icon is showing a positive charge, it means the battery needs to be recalibrated.

Does constant charging damage phone battery?

It's complicated, as leaving your battery plugged in all night certainly isn't dangerous but it might make your battery age slightly faster. In the days of yore, lithium-ion batteries would overheat if you left them charging for too long. This did, in fact, cause damage to the battery and reduce performance.

How do you discharge a battery bank?


Specifically, if you want to fully discharge a typical car battery (12V, 60 A hr), all you need is a 20 ohm, 10 W resistor (or equivalent), and connect it across the battery terminals. Leave it connected for about 4 days, and with a voltmeter verify that the voltage is zero.

Can you overcharge a lithium ion battery?

Overcharging Li-ion batteries is not a problem and does not affect the battery life span. This is why the Li-ion batteries are more expensive. The only way for the Li-ion battery to overcharge is if the charging system malfunctions, and then the battery will heat up while in the charger.

Can you leave a power bank plugged in?

The answer is a simple yes. With advancements in technology, power banks can charge overnight when either plugged into a wall or plugged into a USB port. With the addition of built-in protections, you won't have to worry about overcharging or undercharging the power bank.

What should a 12 volt battery read when fully charged?

When the battery is not being charged and not delivering charge to a load, this is the rule of thumb. For a 12 volt, leadacid battery, the voltage measured between these two points should be between 11 and 13 volts. The closer the voltage is to 13 volts, the closer the battery is to being fully charged.

What happens if you don't fully charge a battery the first time?

2 reasons the battery charging myth is outdated
Before the first use, you had to “form” NiCd batteries by fully discharging and fully charging. Then they had to be regularly charged to full before using – consistently charging the battery to only 75 percent, for example, would cause the battery to lose capacity.

How do I know if my battery is charging?


If the battery cannot reach higher than 10.5 volts when being charged, then the battery has a dead cell. If the battery is fully charged (according to the battery charger) but the voltage is 12.5 or less, the battery is sulfated. Sulfation is the natural byproduct when the battery discharged.

Can slow charging damage battery?

A slower charge will increase battery life (but is obviously less convenient) The first thing is the myth of “memory” which means people used to say its best to completely discharge the battery , before re-charging. This myth came about from Nickel Cadmium batteries, but doesn't apply to Lithium Ion.

How do you balance a Lipo battery?

Charging your battery
  1. Connect your Battery's T-Connector to the T-connector-to-Banana-Plug Cable.
  2. Connect the Balance Connector to the 3 Cell port in the LiPo Charger.
  3. Plug your 12v 5A power supply into the Balance Charger using a 2.1/5.5mm Jack to 2.5/5.5mm Plug Adapter.
  4. Press the Batt.
  5. Press the Inc.