In-depth guide to watch battery - how to choose it

What is a watch battery? How is a watch battery made?

A watch battery is a button or coin-shaped small single-cell battery with flat ends on both sides. The flat small cylinder-shaped watch battery comes in 5 to 25mm diameter and 1 to 6 mm thickness (height). The general model is AG3, with a diameter of about 8mm and a thickness of about 2mm. Its bottom portion will be the cathode in stainless material, and the metallic cap-shaped portion will be the anode.

The outer of a button cell will be stainless steel with a flat base side. There are different types of button cells, but the most commonly available are alkaline, mercury, zinc-air, lithium, silver oxide, and nickel oxyhydroxide batteries. Of the various battery types, the most famous watch batteries are lithium, silver-oxide, and alkaline. Lithium batteries come with more complex chemistry than alkaline and other batteries. Lithium batteries It will use a mixture of propylene carbonate, lithium perchlorate, and dimethoxymethane as the electrolyte.

The anode electrodes will be lithium, and the cathode electrodes will be manganese dioxide, carbon monofluoride, or copper oxide. In alkaline batteries, zinc will be the anode electrode, manganese dioxide will be the cathode electrode, and alkali hydroxide will be the electrolyte. In silver watch battery cells, the electrolyte will be in alkali, and it will be using zinc as the anode electrode and silver oxide as the cathode electrode. The alkali metal consists of lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, rubidium hydroxide, and cesium hydroxide.

Are watch batteries lithium batteries? Which is the best watch battery?

Lithium batteries can not only be used as UPS lithium battery, motorcycle battery, but also watch batteries. Not all the watch batteries are lithium batteries. In addition to lithium batteries, the most popular watch batteries include alkaline, silver-oxide and also lithium ion batteries. If your watch consumes more power and you want to use the battery for an extended period, lithium batteries are recommended. If you look from a cost factor, it will be wise to use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries if your watch has recharging features.

All these watch batteries voltage are available in 1.5 to 3.7V. The battery voltage in the watch is divided into dry cells and rechargeable batteries. Dry cells are non-rechargeable batteries and the dry cells are all 1.5v. The voltage of lithium battery in watch battery is high, the non-rechargeable batteries are 3V and the rechargeable batteries in watch are 3.6 V or 3.7 V. Rechargeable batteries are always better than non-rechargeable batteries.

What are the differences between alkaline and lithium watch batteries?

The chemical compositions of alkaline and lithium watch batteries are different. Alkaline batteries cannot consistently deliver the voltage if used for an extended period, whereas lithium batteries can maintain the voltage without variation till their energy exhausts. The lifetime of an alkaline battery is much shorter than a lithium battery. Also, lithium batteries have high voltage, high specific energy, and long storage life. Alkaline batteries cannot use in hot or cold conditions, but lithium batteries do not have this limitation, lithium batteries have good high and low temperature performance and can be used at -20 ~ 60 ℃.

However, alkaline batteries are safe to use in a permitted environment. While comparing the power generation capacity, lithium batteries can produce higher power than alkaline batteries. The alkaline batteries will be less expensive than lithium batteries because lithium metal is a rare material and costly. When we look into its recharging capabilities, lithium batteries cannot charge, lithium-ion batteries, which use similar materials to lithium batteries, are rechargeable and are now increasingly used in watches, while alkaline batteries are not.

How do I know what battery my watch needs?

The best way to understand the watch battery you can use is by going through the owner’s/user’s manual. It will have the battery specification details, battery number, battery size, voltage, and compatible battery details. Generally, you can select three chemistry types: silver-oxide, lithium, lithium ion and alkaline.

How long does a lithium battery last in a watch? What type of watch battery lasts the longest?

Lithium batteries have more than double the life of alkaline batteries. Lithium watch batteries are engineered to serve about 2-5 years, depending on the power consumption of the watch. A watch with more functional requirements will consume more power. If a watch needs to monitor your diet, heartbeat, etc., it will consume more power than an ordinary watch that shows only the time.Regarding the longevity of batteries, if we consider the three most popular types of batteries, lithium, alkaline, and silver-oxide, the lithium batteries are designed to outperform the rest. Alkaline batteries and silver-oxide batteries are less expensive than lithium batteries, but they have shorten life expectancy than lithium batteries.

Pros and cons of lithium battery in watch

Pros

• Lightweight
• Extended life
• Long battery storage time
• Applicable to a wide temperature range
• High cell voltage
• Low self-discharge
• High density

Cons

• Security needs to be improved
• Expensive

How to charge watch battery?

Watch batteries come in rechargeable and non-rechargeable depending on their chemistry. Most button cell batteries are for primary use, which means they are designed for use only once. Lithium-ion button cells are rechargeable. If you are using a lithium ion watch battery, you can recharge it by following the steps given below:

• Switch off the device.
• Remove the battery.
• Put it in a dedicated charger and switch on the charger.
• When the led indicator turns green or blue (depending on the charger), switch off the charger.
• Remove the battery and use it.

What are the signs that my watch needs a new battery?

It is easy to find some general signs of your watch behavior to decide if your watch requires a battery replacement. The following steps will guide you on this.

• Arrested needle movements
• Show incorrect time
• Seconds needle vibrates or jumps
• Watch case rattling
• Moisture in the watch glass
• Difficult to adjust time and date

If any of the above symptoms appear with your watch, it is time to replace the battery.

Which watch battery size does my watch need?

It does not matter if you use a lithium, silver-oxide, or alkaline battery as long as the size and power match your watch’s specifications. The size of the watch battery will be available in the owner’s or user’s manual. Alternatively, you can manually check the battery number and replace it with the same number or a compatible number.

Routine watch care: Tips to increase battery life

Properly charging is the most important thing you need to do if you are using a smart or battery-powered watch using a rechargeable battery. You must also be aware that a rechargeable lithium-ion battery will have a cycle of 300-500. Remember it’s better not to allow the battery to charge 100% or deplete to zero fully for a longer battery life.

Charging the watch during bedtime is a bad idea. If you charge during sleep, the battery charging will naturally continue even after it is fully charged. The overcharging will harm the battery health. So, make it a practice to charge during day time and keep a watch on the charge position. Stop recharging when it reaches 90% and resume charging if the charge shows less than 20%.

How do I extend the life of my watch battery?

The following methods will help you extend your watch battery’s life.

• Set the screen off for the shortest period.
• Turn off the vibration mode.
• Turn off unwanted notifications.
• Keep on dark mode.
• Set to automatic brightness control.
• Reduce screen brightness resolution.
• Delete unwanted apps.
• Keep the watch in power-saving mode.
• Turn off the timing function
• Check a tab on the use and life of the battery.

How to maintain a lithium watch battery?

Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable, and the battery can serve you for about 2-3 years or up to 4000 cycles. So charging is a decisive factor for the live performance of the battery. It is necessary to charge lithium battery properly and use a battery charger made for lithium-ion batteries.If the battery is frequently recharged 100% and crosses the number of recharge cycles, it will lose the current holding capacity.

Once the battery consumes its maximum cycle, it will lose its capacity, an irreversible process. When the battery loses its capacity to hold power, it will also affect the run time. Therefore, charge the battery per the instruction for better run time, holding capacity, and extended life.

FAQs of watch battery