Finding a 12 Volt Lithium Ion Battery
Lithium-ion batteries are often used for rechargeable devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Their long battery life and consistent amp hour capacity allows them to be used and recharged hundreds of times.
What is the Difference Between a Lithium Battery and a Lithium-Ion Battery?
While lithium and lithium-ion batteries are somewhat similar in composition, they have several key differences.
- Chemical Make-up: A lithium battery uses pure lithium as its energy storage. A lithium-ion, or Li-ion battery uses a lithium compound instead. This compound is much more stable than pure lithium, which allows it to sustain recharging.
- Rechargeable: The main difference between these batteries is that lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable, while their lithium battery cousins are not. This is mainly because of the lithium compound they use which allows them to be recharged up to hundreds of times.
Advantages of Li-ion Batteries to Other Rechargeable Batteries?
Overall, lithium-ion batteries have a lot of benefits since they are a powerful and longer-lasting kind of battery. Some aspects, such as the amp hour, are relatively the same across the different rechargeable batteries but some of the Li-ion battery benefits include:
- Energy Density: Lithium-ions usually have a higher energy density compared to other types of rechargeable batteries, so they can store more energy than another rechargeable battery of the same size and weight. This means that less batteries need to be used.
- Self-Discharge Rate: Other batteries, such as nickel-cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries, lose anywhere from 1-5 percent of their charge per day even if they are not being used. Li-ion batteries can hold their charge and do not self-discharge at a rapid rate, so they tend to have a longer battery life.
- Memory Effect: Other batteries, such as NiCd batteries, suffer from what is known as "memory effect," in which the batterys voltage will drop to the point in their charge cycle where recharging began. These batteries need to be used until dead before recharging, while lithium-ions do not need to be completely drained before recharging because they can resist the memory effect.
Disadvantages of Lithium-ion Batteries to Other Rechargeable Batteries
While a lithium-ion battery may seem like the perfect fit, keep in mind that these batteries also have their disadvantages, including:
- Cost: Lithium-ion batteries tend to be much more expensive. This is because these batteries include special circuitry built-in to protect the battery from damage created over or under charging it. It is also not compatible with other chargers and often requires its own specific, sophisticated chargers.
- Volatility: Because of the amount of power and volts in a lithium-ion battery, they also can be far more dangerous. While batteries from alkaline metals may leak or burst, lithium-ions can actually ignite and explode. People should be careful when handling Li-ion batteries especially if they notice a bulge in the battery.
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