The Elf Bar Mate 500 is the new pre-filled pod system by Elf Bar, the maker of the world’s most popular disposable vape. Although disposable vapes are without question the vaping devices that people most commonly purchase today, they have a significant drawback in some areas of the world. In markets such as the United Kingdom and the European Union, vaping products that are pre-filled with e-liquid are limited by law to a maximum capacity of 2 ml. That severely limits the affordability of disposable vapes because 2 ml of e-liquid is only enough for about two days of vaping at the most. If you need to replace a disposable vape every day or two, there’s a chance that vaping can actually be more expensive for you than smoking would be.
In regions that limit the capacities of pre-filled vaping products, the Elf Bar Mate 500 is the perfect alternative to disposable Elf Bars because it has the same tasty flavors that have made the Elf Bar brand famous in a package that’s much more affordable. A pack of Elf Bar pods costs about the same as a single Elf Bar disposable vape but includes double the e-liquid, effectively cutting your cost to vape in half. Also, being a rechargeable device, the Elf Bar Mate 500 is much less wasteful than a disposable vape.
If you’ve made the decision to switch from disposable devices to the Elf Bar Mate 500, it’s possible that you’re using a rechargeable device for the first time – and if that’s the case, you want to be certain that you’re using the device correctly. What should happen when you connect the charging cable to your device? How long should the Elf Bar Mate 500 take to charge? For that matter, what’s a normal charging time for any vaping device?
The Elf Bar Mate 500 has a battery capacity of 500 mAh and charges with a current of one amp via the built-in USB-C port. Therefore, it should take about a half hour to charge. To learn how we determined that, you’ll have to continue reading.
How Do You Know How Long a Vaping Device Should Take to Charge?
Vaping equipment can sometimes be a little temperamental, and it’s likely that you’ll have to troubleshoot a few occasional problems during your time as a vaper. Charging issues are particularly common with vaping devices because the battery cells and charging circuits used in the devices are often quite inexpensive. If you encounter a charging issue with a vaping device, one of the most important things you can know is how long the device should take to charge. That’s determined by two factors. Those are:
- The battery’s capacity, measured in milliampere-hours or mAh.
- The charging current, measured in amperes or amps.
One amp is the same as 1,000 milliamps. Therefore, if a vaping device has a capacity of 1,000 mAh and charges with a one-amp current, it has a charging time of about one hour. To determine the charging time for any vaping device, you just need to find those two bits of information – both of which should be in the instruction manual – and do a bit of math. Most vaping devices charge with a one-amp current, but faster-charging devices have become more common in recent years.
How Do You Charge the Elf Bar Mate 500?
To charge the Elf Bar Mate 500, all that you need to do is connect it to your computer’s USB port using the charging cable included in the package. When you connect the charging cable, the device’s indicator light will turn on. The light will turn off when the charge cycle is complete. As mentioned above, a full charge takes about a half hour.
Is It Possible to Make the Elf Bar Mate 500 Charge Faster?
It’s not possible to make the Elf Bar Mate 500 charge faster. If you find that you can’t use your device as often as you like because it always seems to be charging, consider buying a second device. That way, you can charge one while using the other. The Elf Bar Mate 500 has onboard charging circuitry that regulates the incoming current to a maximum of one amp. You can charge the device more slowly – by connecting it to a half-amp wall charger, for instance – but you can’t increase the charging speed. Don’t try to make your Elf Bar Mate 500 charge more quickly by connecting it to a high-speed charger like the one that you use for your smartphone, as a fast charger can potentially cause a vaping device to overheat.
What Should You Do If Your Elf Bar Mate 500 Isn’t Charging?
If your Elf Bar Mate 500 doesn’t light up when you connect the charging cable, the battery isn’t charging. Don’t panic. People commonly report charging issues with this device, and they’re usually resolved easily. Try these steps to get your Elf Bar Mate 500 charging again.
- Use a different USB cable. The cable should have a USB-A connector on one end. People have reported that the Elf Bar Mate 500 won’t charge if you try to use a USB-C to USB-C cable. If you’re using a USB-A to USB-C cable, make sure that you’re not using a data-only cable.
- Clean the Elf Bar Mate 500’s charging port with a toothpick.
- Try connecting the Elf Bar Mate 500 to your computer rather than a wall charger. If you’re already doing that, try using a different computer or a different USB port on the same computer.
How Can You Tell if Your Elf Bar Mate 500 Has a Battery Problem?
You can expect a vaping device like the Elf Bar Mate 500 to last anywhere from several months to a maximum of about one year depending on how often you charge it. Eventually, though, the battery will stop holding a charge – and at that point, it’ll be time to replace the device. How can you tell when your Elf Bar Mate 500 has reached the end of its life? It’ll most likely display one of these two symptoms.
- You’ll notice that the Elf Bar Mate 500 never seems to finish charging even though it’s been connected to a power source for much longer than a half hour. This means that the device can’t finish charging because the battery can’t reach its target voltage.
- When you connect the Elf Bar Mate 500 to the charger, the light will turn off after just a few minutes – and when you begin using the device, it’ll die almost immediately. This means that the battery’s capacity has been permanently reduced due to chemical degradation within the cell.
