Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

We do not recommend leaving the lithium battery connected for long periods of time. I cannot say that is what caused the battery failure, though it is not generally good for the battery.

In my mind, I can't think of anything else that would have caused it. 100% my fault. Somehow I never even realized the special instructions were there, I was following the storage procedures I had always used from the older VII systems. The Mini was always stored at 100% and plugged in. Now I will follow the damn instructions!!

New batt works perfectly BTW, thanks guys!

When storing your Vagabond Mini™ Lithium, verify that it contains more than 25% charge.
If the charge status is lower than 25%, apply a partial charge to 50%, turn the system OFF,
disconnect the battery charger, disconnect the battery and store in a safe, cool, dry place
away from flammable materials. While the battery can be stored safely in any state
of charge, it should be used and partially recharged every three months for best
battery life, and to avoid ruining the battery’s components. Do not charge the
battery to 100%, and then store it.

The VML battery should last for 300-400 charge/recharge cycles. This is slightly longer life than SLA batteries.

There are higher cost LiFePo batteries that are more expensive, larger and heavier per watt hour, but they offer about four times the charge/discharge life. Also, they are the safest type of Lithium batteries available. We plan to use these in future VML versions.

BTW, the LiCoxNiyMnzO2 (NMC) type Lithium batteries used in VML are far safer than the older LiPo batteries that recent caused all the Boeing aircraft problems and the early iPhone and laptop "exploding" batteries.