Imagine this scenario: You have a vape battery that’s been on the charger for a long time. It seems to have been charging for much longer than usual. The light is still glowing red, though, which indicates that the battery isn’t done charging yet. You’ve been staring at the light for a while waiting for the battery to finish charging, and you’re now beginning to suspect that there might be a problem. What’s happening? Is the battery overcharged?

We’ll start with a bit of good news: It’s very unlikely that your battery is overcharged because a vape battery generally has an intelligent charging circuit that automatically stops the charging process when the battery reaches its target voltage. In other words, there should generally be no way for a vape battery to exceed its maximum voltage during charging.

Electronic devices do have a tendency to behave in unexpected ways occasionally, though, so it’s wise to remain wary. Try touching the battery. It’s normal for a lithium-ion battery to become slightly warm during charging. If the battery feels painfully hot to the touch, it’s possible that it’s overcharged. Because overcharging can cause permanent chemical changes within a battery cell, the safest thing to do in this case is recycle the battery immediately. If a battery overheats, there’s no way to guarantee that it can be used safely.

Assuming that your vape battery hasn’t overheated, though, the fact that it hasn’t finished charging in the expected amount of time is probably a minor issue that you can fix fairly easily. In this article, we’ll explain what you should do.

First, though, what’s the safest way to charge a vape battery?

How to Charge a Vape Battery Safely

We’ll begin this article with a short overview of how to charge a vape battery properly. As we mentioned above, it shouldn’t be possible to overcharge a 510-thread battery because the charging circuit should automatically shut off when the battery reaches its target voltage. It’s still better to be safe than sorry, though, because an overheating lithium-ion battery is a serious fire risk.

The best way to charge a vape battery is by connecting it to your computer’s USB port. If your battery uses a USB cable for charging, you can use any cable that’s certified for power delivery. If the battery uses a proprietary charger, you should only use that charger or an identical replacement from the battery’s manufacturer.

You should never charge a vape battery while you’re sleeping or out of the house. In the unlikely event that the battery overheats, it’s important for you to be aware of what’s happening, so you can take quick action before a fire starts.

Check the Amperage of Your Charger

If you’re using a wall adapter to charge your vape battery, it’s important to ensure that the charger has the correct voltage and amperage for the battery you’re trying to charge. You can probably find the battery’s charging specifications in the instruction manual, and in some cases, the specifications are printed directly on the battery. Most commonly, a vape battery is designed to receive a 5-volt, 1-amp charging current. In this case, if you’re using a wall adapter that delivers a 0.5-amp current, the battery will take twice as long as expected to charge.

Charging your vape battery through your computer eliminates any possibility of an incompatible charging current because the battery automatically communicates via USB to negotiate the correct charging current with the computer’s USB host controller.

Make Sure the Battery Has a Solid Electrical Connection

For any vape battery to charge successfully, it needs to have a solid electrical connection to a power source. If there’s a problem with the cable or with the battery’s charging port, the charging amperage received by the battery may be much lower than normal – and in this case, the battery will take much longer to charge.

A vape battery may have a built-in USB port for charging, or it may charge directly through the threading at the top of the battery. This page has several examples of what both types of 510-thread batteries look like.

Regardless of what type of charging connection a battery uses, it’s important for the connection to be clean and free of debris or leaked oil. If your battery uses a USB port for charging, you can remove dust and lint from the charging port with a toothpick. If it charges through the 510 threading, you can remove corrosion and oil using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol.

Remember that if a cartridge has leaked and contaminated your vape battery’s threading with oil, you may have transferred oil to the charger when you attempted to charge the battery. In this case, you’ll need to clean the charger as well.

If your battery still seems to take too long to charge, replace the charger or USB cable. Users frequently complain that USB cables suffer from poor durability, and a cable that has damaged internal wires won’t deliver power at the correct amperage. Replacing the cable will probably resolve your charging issue. If your vape battery charges through the 510 threading, don’t try to use a generic replacement charger – purchase a new charger from the battery’s manufacturer to guarantee that it’ll have the correct specifications.

Learn How to Diagnose a Failed Vape Battery

If you’ve tried all of the tips in this article and are still unable to get your vape battery to finish charging, it’s time to consider the possibility that the battery has reached the end of its life. If a battery never finishes charging, it could be because its capacity has degraded to the point where it is no longer able to hold a useful charge. If your vape battery doesn’t finish charging – and it dies immediately when you try to use it – it’s probably time to recycle the battery. Given that a lithium-ion battery usually lasts for around 300-500 charge-discharge cycles, you should always be ready to replace a vape battery when it is around a year old.