Let Li-ion rest before charging?

Batteries and Chargers Rechargeable Batteries
1

Is it good practice to let my 18650s rest until voltage settles before charging or can I take it out of the light and put it straight on the charger?

I couldn’t find anything regarding this on BatteryUniversity but the datasheet I have for my LG 4.35V 3000mAh state in their test conditions letting cell rest 20 min after discharge.

I might just be interpreting the datasheet incorrectly.
Do any of you practice letting cell reach resting voltage before charging?

Thanks

2

I don’t practice it and don’t remember reading about it. IMHO, with a good brand, even if the cell is from a high discharge device, it’ll only take a minute for the voltage to settle so it’s not a priority for me at all.

3

I let the cells rest.

Actually Panasonic mentions CHARGE / DISCHARGE REST TIME : 20min. on the Cycle Number graph for the NCR18650A cell.

4

I don’t believe it matters much, but the main thing is never charge a hot Li-ion battery or cold (below freezing). Many advanced electronic battery packs have temperature sensors and will not let you charge if it detects a hot or freezing pack.

5

This article mentions resting and temperatures too:

6

As always with chemical reactions, it depends on the temperature. If the cells are burning hot from high power discharge, let them rest to cool down to safe levels. If the cells are very deep discharged they should be recharged as soon as possible, to keep the damage taken at lowest possible level. An intelligent charger recognizes this situation and charges at strongly reduced currents until the cell reaches a certain level, before it starts charging at top level.

7

I wait for whatever time is needed to return the cell to 30C or lower. So for me, the resting period depends on the cell temperature. Usually five minutes or less, often zero.

8

I don’t let them especially rest.
There are even guys out there which heat them up to charge/discharge lipo batteries…

9

Thanks everyone for the info on cell temps and charging.

Ok so this is the same as what LG states.
My cells can take up to 15 min for voltage to reach resting state.

Chloe, appreciate the link!