Lithium-ion batteries are a part of nearly every modern gadget, and unfortunately, over time, they degrade.
Lava Computers is an Etobicoke, Ontario-based company that aims to protect your gadgets’ batteries from overcharging and degrading with a simple 60mm x 231.1mm x 45mm device.
Most modern smartphones are already designed with battery optimization in mind. Although they stop drawing power once they reach a full charge of 100 percent, the battery will still lose some power while it sits on the charger, not charging. This causes the charger to kick in again and restore the phone to full charge once it has lost some power.
If you leave your phone on the charger for an extended period of time, this cycle of power loss and charging will continue, leading to an increase in the device and the battery’s temperature, which can cause ion decomposition, off-gassing, and ultimately, battery swelling that leads the battery’s performance to degrade prematurely.
On the other hand, Apple offers optimized battery charging. The feature was first added to the iPhone with iOS 13. It essentially reduces the amount of time a device spends overcharging by monitoring the user’s charging habits. When the device is initially plugged in, the feature charges the iPhone to 80 percent before charging the remaining 20 percent within an established time frame. The software predicts when the user will unplug their device and starts the remaining charge an hour or two before that time, based on the established pattern. Google’s Pixel phones have a similar feature called Adaptive Charging that delays reaching until close to when a user’s alarm will go off.
It’s essential to note that optimized battery charging has its limitations too. In situations where the user does not disconnect their device at the expected time, overcharging may still occur. Additionally, the algorithm may take up to 5 days to learn a new charging pattern or establish an initial one. As a result, this feature is most effective when there is a consistent charging routine that is consistently followed.
Enter Lava Computers’ Charge-Check.
The Charge-Check is a small external device that aims to prevent your gadgets, including phones, tablets, speakers, cameras, controllers and more, from overcharging. It’s a simple plug-and-play adapter that is compatible with virtually any USB charging device.
The device uses what Lava Computers calls CABM (Continuously Active Battery Modulation). “CABM is a plug-and-play battery modulation technology built into LAVA’s u Series family of adapters. Designed to improve the longevity of mobile devices, CABM protects Lithium-Ion batteries from overcharging and swelling,” reads the company’s website. The feature monitors your device’s battery and waits for it to reach the trickle stage, where your device stops charging when it’s near 100 percent, but automatically charges again when a little bit of battery has been drained. This normally happens between 92 and 99 percent charge.
With Charge-Check connected, the device automatically cuts off the power supply when it detects your device is near 100 percent and allows the device’s battery to discharge. The main feature of the Charge-Check device is that you can preset the number of hours after which the device would allow electricity to pass through your gadget again and initiate its next charging cycle. This way, you can keep your gadgets plugged in 24×7 with minimal battery degradation.
The timeout length can be customized by the user between one hour to five hours. Essentially, once your gadget has reached near 100 percent charge, Charge-Check will cut off the charging and resume it after one to five hours, depending on your selection (default is three hours). The timeout time can be configured using a black button on top of the device, with custom inputs for different timeouts mentioned below:
The Charge-Check resides in a white plastic casing that doesn’t flex and feels durable. Further, it ships with a Micro USB to USB-A cable to connect to the power source. It is available to order now for $29.99 USD (roughly $41 CAD). Learn more about Charge-Check here.
Image credit: Lava Link
