On the basis that a disposable electronic cigarette only costs a pound from Poundland or Pound World it seems pretty pointless to try and reuse one. But when you consider that you are using what is generally a fully rechargeable lithium cell for just one cycle and then binning it, it seems horribly wasteful. And then there's the pleasure of tinkering with technical stuff. So yes. It is viable to recharge a disposable cigarette, purely for the fun of it.
Every single disposable cigarette I have disassembled has had a fully rechargeable cell in it. This is because the rechargeable cells in this shape and size are mass produced for the e-cig industry and it would probably be more expensive to use a single-use cell.
This isn't to say that every e-cig is guaranteed to actually have a rechargeable cell in it, so proceed with caution at your own risk. Especially if the cell looks different from a typical rechargeable type.
The equipment required to recharge the cell is either a dedicated current limited lithium charging module with automatic 4.2V cut-off. Or you can use a good bench PSU with programmable voltage and current so the cell charges in constant current mode, but tails off as it reaches 4.2V.
The disposable cigs are pretty much a full rechargeable e-cig but without the detachable vaporiser socket that doubles as the charging port. On the basis that the control chip can detect a low cell voltage and flash a warning, I wondered if it had any charge control too. But it doesn't. That is in the e-cig chargers. It does however have a diode to allow charging of the lithium cell via the vaporiser connections.
Every single disposable cigarette I have disassembled has had a fully rechargeable cell in it. This is because the rechargeable cells in this shape and size are mass produced for the e-cig industry and it would probably be more expensive to use a single-use cell.
This isn't to say that every e-cig is guaranteed to actually have a rechargeable cell in it, so proceed with caution at your own risk. Especially if the cell looks different from a typical rechargeable type.
The equipment required to recharge the cell is either a dedicated current limited lithium charging module with automatic 4.2V cut-off. Or you can use a good bench PSU with programmable voltage and current so the cell charges in constant current mode, but tails off as it reaches 4.2V.
The disposable cigs are pretty much a full rechargeable e-cig but without the detachable vaporiser socket that doubles as the charging port. On the basis that the control chip can detect a low cell voltage and flash a warning, I wondered if it had any charge control too. But it doesn't. That is in the e-cig chargers. It does however have a diode to allow charging of the lithium cell via the vaporiser connections.
this answered my question, thanks Mr.Clive
Finally, vaping technicals from the standpoint of electronics hobbyists. Thanks Mr Clive for this simple but information loaded vid. 👍
Bet
Thanks for explaining the "microphone" thing, I've recovered many disposable eCigs and gotten cells out of them, and now I know what the little can actually is!
Wait a min he doesnt say if he is putting the positive on the switch line or the positive line? I have a huge 4000 puffs E-CIG and the battery died out and i can see it's a little more then half full i just need the battery to have more power so i can smoke the whole thing and not just half. I took it back to the store and i was told to just buy another one. I'm not buying another one if the 1st one doesn't work. My other question is he doesn't show what those 2 clips are connected to. Did he just plug them into the wall? I'm going to try to connect my wire to an e-cig trickle charge that i got from a logic e-cig starter kit a few years ago. I didn't need the trickle charge because i already had one so it's practically brand new. Ok so i guess i'll just put + wire to + wire and – wire to – wire that has always seemed to work before….well with other things but this is the very 1st time i'm going to do this.
Blu Disposable — I got one that was DOA. Just like this video shows, the design is the same.. Leads on the front next to the LED. 4.2v at 100mA charge, etc.. But my DOA Blu became apparent as to why it died. As soon as it got to about 3.2v, the LED started to flicker and i could hear the sizzling sound of the heating element where it died again. I charged using a desktop bench power supply and i could monitor the voltage and could see it dropping as it activated. So basically, it was like filling a bucket with a hole in it. I finally fixed the issue by blowing air backwards through it, then on the LED end, providing suction thinking that the switch was stuck. Even tapping on the end of it to knocking the blockage loose, which got it to stop activating. Now its finally charging.. As soon as it got to about 3.5v, the charging slowed.. As the charge increases, it slows that much more… So it may take about an hour, maybe 2, to get to 4.2v. — As to how i am hooking it up, i soldered two leads to the left and right pads, keeping everything else intact… just added two wires that will hang out the end. I will have to be sure to not let them touch while smoking. Once charged, i will update the status on this. —- Update —- Charging worked great.. Only issue was that the switch was bad. So i soldered in momentary switch to the left and center leads.. That is, the Positive (red wire) to the middle wire. At least i don’t have to throw it out. —- With any of this, do it at your own risk… had this been an issue with the battery, such as a fault in the cell, this could have ended up badly.
I use an imax b6 to recharge mine and it works great. Excellent explanation as always
i have used pops and puff bars which are disposable and when it goes out i just take them apart, used a spliced wire and hold the respective positive and negative ends in the battery and it’ll charge for extra use
So, I have a Blu disposable e cig, aluminum cylinder, pretty much the same thing you have, but, since I'm not really well taught on the wire concept, if you could, show me how to recharge one who is a Blu brand disposable? I know how to refill them, but not the charging aspect. I'm probably not seeing something in your video, but I want to make sure everything is as said, otherwise, I'll just have a wasted $10
OR if you guys have a HQD or a STIG disposable vape then you can take out the batter strip the vape cartilage get a wire strip the black and the red wires. the you can get more hit while you wire it
Your videos never disappoint Clive!😁
Omg ive litterally been looking everywhere for this video. I needed to know how to refill them cause i have a bottle of juice and all that but these batteries last way longer then the juice
such a good explanation, for us in the states with the standard cell charger 5V 500mA, couldn't someone just calculate the time it would take to charge these cells to their lower 4V capacity? or at least half full to be safe??
hi can i buy one of these from china ? i want to try e cigarettes before i buy a serious one
man… for real…