Battery charging question

[jjcordone]

My Riva 901 lasts the entire day without needing a charge. I've been putting it on the charger every night anyway, figuring I'd be starting the day with a full charge. A coworker told me I'm better off using the battery until it blinks empty then charge it. He said it was better for the battery. He told me putting it on the charger before it's actually in need of a charge will shorten the amount of time it will hold a charge and shorten it overall lifespan. Is this true? I'll switch to only charging when needed if it's the best cycle to be using. Thanks!

 

[CBB]

No Recharging more often is actually better for Li-ion batteries. If you have a fully charged battery it is actually better to switch it and keep your batteries as charged as possible. Ni-Cad batteries would build a memory and required full discharging before recharge Li-ion do not.

 

[jjcordone]

Thanks! I'm glad I asked. I just switched from KR808's to this fat battery and I wasn't sure.
With the KR808's they always needed charging every night.

 

[Analog1990]

No Recharging more often is actually better for Li-ion batteries. If you have a fully charged battery it is actually better to switch it and keep your batteries as charged as possible. Ni-Cad batteries would build a memory and required full discharging before recharge Li-ion do not.

Concur.... Li-ion cells are pretty dummy proof... Especially protected cells as available for flashlights. If anything, you do not want Li-ions to drain completely and sit for any length of time. Every Li-ion I have ever bought came charged as they need to be kept.

 

[jjcordone]

I'm going to keep the two Riva batteries in a rotation, nightly charging the one I used that day and keeping the other in a charged state waiting for its turn to be used. This appears to be the best cycle to keep them going strong.