Kindle Oasis Battery Problem

[Richwood]

I suspect that this was probably self caused. My Kindle Oasis from 2019 has developed a swollen battery, causing the bezel to separate from the metal case, worst in the corner with the charging port. I normally read in one spot in the house and have made a habit of leaving the charging cable permanently attached. Apparently not a good idea as this is my first Kindle reader that developed this problem. I did have a similar problem develop with a Kindle Fire keyboard that was also left charging permanently so continuous charging appears to be a NO NO with lithium polymer batteries.

[Desertway]

Thanks for the warning. I have an aging Oasis 3, battery life diminishing. I'll make sure to keep to best practices and not leave it plugged in.

[Frogm4n]

There are 3 things that are known to kill LiPOs:

Constant charging

Left uncharged/discharged for a long time

Letting it get hot

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

There are 3 things that are known to kill LiPOs:

Constant charging

Left uncharged/discharged for a long time

Letting it get hot

So I found out the hard way!

[Richwood]

I have repaired the lifted bezel with JB Weld and multiple clamps applied while it set. Used the slow curing version so have left it to cure for almost 24 hours. No idea how long the Oasis will last in this condition but found a listed as Very Good used condition one on Amazon which is on the way, due Friday.

[Quoth]

Modern chargers in a gadget actually stop charging entirely or the LiPoly would go on fire. The controllers also typically disconnect if the cell is too low. If the cell get completely discharged it may never recharge, but that doesn't usually make it swell.
They can swell simply with age, number of cycles or temperature.

Kindles have no off setting, only a screen blank, so most iOS, Android and non-Kindles will hold a charge for months longer when unused and off/shutdown.

[Frogm4n]

Yes, the charge controller will stop, but then it will also float charge at some percentage. So it will constantly go between something like 95-100% when left constantly on a charger. It's still racking up charge cycles even without using it. It's always best to let it charge and then disconnect it. Then if you don't use it, charge it back up every couple of weeks or once a month.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

Yes, the charge controller will stop, but then it will also float charge at some percentage. So it will constantly go between something like 95-100% when left constantly on a charger. It's still racking up charge cycles even without using it. It's always best to let it charge and then disconnect it. Then if you don't use it, charge it back up every couple of weeks or once a month.

Only ancient rubbish controllers. Decent ones will let it fall considerably. There is no concept of float charge on Lithium of any kind, only on Lead Acid (gel much much lower), NiCd and NiMH. Some NiMH have catalytic recombination, but still need a lower float current than NiCd. Higher capacity and all long life charge hold (like Eneloop) NiMH can only have a tiny float current, maybe a 1/10th of regular NiMH, which need to have less than NiMH.

An LiPoly on a decent controller will last 1 year to 10 years depending on cycles and quality. An LiFePO4 will now last about 4000+ complete cycles, which is why they are replacing other lithium tech in vehicles and everything for UPS and Solar (so maybe 12 to 20 years on current models).

Lead Acid Gel / SLA is the worst for deep cycles. Not even quoted on cheap ones.

Kindles do have the worst battery life time of any ereader or Android device I know, (for rarely used things) though it varies a lot because of cell quality.

Never leave in the car or on a windowsill or near a radiator.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Kindles have no off setting, only a screen blank, so most iOS, Android and non-Kindles will hold a charge for months longer when unused and off/shutdown.

However, kindle Oasis 2 and later hibernate, which is effectively off, and their cell will lose very little charge after several months, Also, any jailbroken kindle can be powered off.

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Modern chargers in a gadget actually stop charging entirely or the LiPoly would go on fire. The controllers also typically disconnect if the cell is too low. If the cell get completely discharged it may never recharge, but that doesn't usually make it swell.
They can swell simply with age, number of cycles or temperature.

Kindles have no off setting, only a screen blank, so most iOS, Android and non-Kindles will hold a charge for months longer when unused and off/shutdown.

I agree about the non-Kindles low drain when off as I just pulled out multiple Sony PRS T2 and T3 units and found several that still powered up, at least briefly, after multiple years sitting on my shelf. Recharged fine but I noted that they are a bit picky regarding charger and cable as some more modern USB Micro cables would not charge them.

[drofgnal]

I have an Oasis 3. I'm considering retiring it and only using it to download books from it to Calibre for DRM removal and getting another device, probably a paper white. I want to save its lifetime for that purpose.

The charger I always use on the oasis 3 is an old small apple iPhone usb charger with a usb a to micro usb cable. The small iPhone charger is very reliable and low wattage. I just let it take its time charging. No issues so far.

[Sirtel]

I use an old Kindle charger I bought in 2011 to charge all my ereaders. Also no issues.

[DNSB]

For charging most of my devices, I have a charger with multiple USB C and USB A ports. For some of my older ereaders, I use an antique 6 port powered USB hub that supplies 5V@500mA. A habit based on an old music player that got warm when I plugged it into a charger capable of supply 5V@2A.