Hi there guys!
I don't do message boards too much but this one has been nagging me for a while:
What's all the hype about constant current li-ion chargers? I've just built a simple voltage regulated power supply using an lm338 and a 4 ohm limiter to see if I could charge a li-ion cell and i'm getting some nice current flow when the battery is discharged(obviously) that slowly falls as the battery gets more charged(great according to specs).
My question is how would a constant current "phase" improve things since i'm already supplying 4.2v and letting the battery take as much as it can carry? It seems to me that a constant current regulator would hit the 4.2v ceiling trying to increase current and essentially become as good as a fixed 4.2v rail.
The extensive internet reference to such chargers is making me think i'm missing something here...can someone give me a physics lesson?
thank you,
73
I don't do message boards too much but this one has been nagging me for a while:
What's all the hype about constant current li-ion chargers? I've just built a simple voltage regulated power supply using an lm338 and a 4 ohm limiter to see if I could charge a li-ion cell and i'm getting some nice current flow when the battery is discharged(obviously) that slowly falls as the battery gets more charged(great according to specs).
My question is how would a constant current "phase" improve things since i'm already supplying 4.2v and letting the battery take as much as it can carry? It seems to me that a constant current regulator would hit the 4.2v ceiling trying to increase current and essentially become as good as a fixed 4.2v rail.
The extensive internet reference to such chargers is making me think i'm missing something here...can someone give me a physics lesson?
thank you,
73
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