Battery shelf life

[Frankie]

Loving these things I might be throwing money away, because I do not use all of them all the time. So, my big question now is: What approximately is the battery shelf life? How long before an unused / rarely used device is dead? Is it better to use/charge often, even if the device is rather a special occation use item? Seems more than one, but you know what I mean. Advice, please

 

[Bertrand]

You're meant to discharge it to 40%, store at 0 C and then lose about 2.5% capacity per year.

 

[usehername]

You're meant to discharge it to 40%, store at 0 C and then lose about 2.5% capacity per year.

Should a new battery still be charged the reccomended 12hrs even though it is planned to be stored? What would indicate 40% discharge?

 

[Bertrand]

No you shouldn't charge it if you plan to store it. It's likely to come out of the factory at 40% (the retailer may charge it though). You can use the voltage to estimate the state of charge, but it is temperature dependent and fairly inaccurate. Having said that, what else you gonna do? At room temperature you should be looking for something around 3.4V.

eg. Inaccuracies of Estimating Remaining Cell Capacity with Voltage Measurements Alone - Maxim

 

[tribalmasters]

Just leave erm hanging around as is they will be just fine! No technical explanation needed hehe!

 

[turbojunk]

Abstract: Implementing a battery fuel gauge can be done in a variety of ways including using voltage measurements or coulomb counting. Although the use of voltage measurement has been a popular method of choice, it does not produce the most accurate results available. This application note studies the voltage-based method of fuel gauging for both Li-Ion and NiMH battery cells. Data is provided that demonstrates the high degree of error introduced when implementing voltage measurement as a fuel gauge method when the battery is subjected to real world conditions of varying temperatures and discharge rates.

8-o

I'm with Tribalmasters.

Kev

 

[Bertrand]

hehehe. They did ask.

All you need to do to prolong storage life is run it down a bit and put it in the fridge. Fully charged at room temperature will die about 10 times as fast. Up to you.

 

[MagusSteele]

Keep it Dry, even if you throw it in the fridge.
If it does not corode up on you, they will be fine for at Least a year.
They do loose (so i was told) up to 2% a year sitting, but that means years of shelf life if chilled. I worked with Eveready for a while on battery machines, lithium as well as carbon. They do suggest if your storeing batteries for a long time, to throw in the fridge, or at least the Cliche "Cool, Dry Place, out of direct Sunlight"

 

[Bertrand]

Keep it Dry, even if you throw it in the fridge.
If it does not corode up on you, they will be fine for at Least a year.
They do loose (so i was told) up to 2% a year sitting, but that means years of shelf life if chilled. I worked with Eveready for a while on battery machines, lithium as well as carbon. They do suggest if your storeing batteries for a long time, to throw in the fridge, or at least the Cliche "Cool, Dry Place, out of direct Sunlight"

2% / year is under optimum conditions.

[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Permanent Capacity Loss versus Storage Conditions Storage Temperature[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, monospace] 40% Charge 100% Charge[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, monospace]0 °C (32 °F) 2% loss after 1 year 6% loss after 1 year[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, monospace]25 °C (77 °F) 4% loss after 1 year 20% loss after 1 year[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, monospace]40 °C (104 °F) 15% loss after 1 year 35% loss after 1 year[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New, monospace]60 °C (140 °F) 25% loss after 1 year 40% loss after 3 months[/FONT]

 

[usehername]

Wow Bertrand !
Great post. Never would have thought that. All mine are over 4 volts still in the plastic. Now does that mean I should bring thme down some and then store or should I first do the initial 12 hour charge and then bring them down????

 

[Frankie]

So out with them to the cold!

(I always thought low temperatures were harmful to batteries. Thanks for correcting me.)

 

[sonnyinbc]

I can`t post so thought maybe get some info here?

When people say that their battery lasts for 4-5 hours after charging/do they mean four hours of usage, or four hours of just siting idle before another recharge is neccessary?

Like a trip to the mainland, means crossing the water on a ferry, visiting relatives, if I take 3 charged batteries and only use one at a time will that last me for the whole trip? (15 hours). Or do they start discharging immediately after being charged? Even without being used? Or do they just begin losing power after you begin puffing?

Naivette question, I know, but I have only begun my ecig journery less than 6 weeks ago

 

[Sun Vaporer]

I can`t post so thought maybe get some info here?

When people say that their battery lasts for 4-5 hours after charging/do they mean four hours of usage, or four hours of just siting idle before another recharge is neccessary?

Like a trip to the mainland, means crossing the water on a ferry, visiting relatives, if I take 3 charged batteries and only use one at a time will that last me for the whole trip? (15 hours). Or do they start discharging immediately after being charged? Even without being used? Or do they just begin losing power after you begin puffing?

Naivette question, I know, but I have only begun my ecig journery less than 6 weeks ago

Hi Sonny--it means after use--they do not need to be charged if not used unless they have been sitting around a long while--never hurts to top them off--Sun

 

[F marks the spot]

Shouldn't you exhaust the batteries before storing them? I have a video camera and the instructions for storing the batteries for long term states to deplete the battery and store in cool dry place

idk.... And if you really need to charge them to 40%.. how do you go about doing it?

A suggestion would be to find out how long it takes for the battery to get fully charged and then fully deplete it and charge it for 40% of the time it need to be fully charged. Theoretically speaking....

EG: if a battery takes 20 min to be fully charged.

Use it till it is "flat" and then charge it for 40% X 20mins = 8min

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Shouldn't you exhaust the batteries before storing them? I have a video camera and the instructions for storing the batteries for long term states to deplete the battery and store in cool dry place

idk.... And if you really need to charge them to 40%.. how do you go about doing it?

A suggestion would be to find out how long it takes for the battery to get fully charged and then fully deplete it and charge it for 40% of the time it need to be fully charged. Theoretically speaking....

EG: if a battery takes 20 min to be fully charged.

Use it till it is "flat" and then charge it for 40% X 20mins = 8min

F Marks--our battery type likes to be stored with a partial charge-- For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level. See How to prolong lithium-based batteries for a full run down--Hope that helps--Sun

 

[F marks the spot]

F Marks--our battery type likes to be stored with a partial charge-- For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level. See How to prolong lithium-based batteries for a full run down--Hope that helps--Sun

Sun

I see, thanks for clearing my doubts, but how do I actually get about charging the batteries to 40% ? Could I use the method I mentioned above?

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Sun

I see, thanks for clearing my doubts, but how do I actually get about charging the batteries to 40% ? Could I use the method I mentioned above?

F Marks--We went around this issue for quite some time and came to the conclution that 1 hour from a full discharge made sense based on our calculation. IMO, that should bring it within the range needed for storage.--Hope that helps--Sun

 

[F marks the spot]

F Marks--We went around this issue for quite some time and came to the conclution that 1 hour from a full discharge made sense based on our calculation. IMO, that should bring it within the range needed for storage.--Hope that helps--Sun

Sun

Firstly, I must apologize for asking so much.

But what do you mean by 1 hour from a full discharge?

Is it 1 hour before the battery runs out of power or to charge battery 1 hour after full discharge?

If it is 1 hour before the battery runs dry, I really do not know how to go about doing it. Please enlighten me.

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Sun

Firstly, I must apologize for asking so much.

But what do you mean by 1 hour from a full discharge?

Is it 1 hour before the battery runs out of power or to charge battery 1 hour after full discharge?

If it is 1 hour before the battery runs dry, I really do not know how to go about doing it. Please enlighten me.

F Marks--That would be running the battery down till it is dead, then charging it for an hour, then storing it in a cool place--Hope that helps--Sun

 

[F marks the spot]

F Marks--That would be running the battery down till it is dead, then charging it for an hour, then storing it in a cool place--Hope that helps--Sun

Sun

Thank you! I'll get about doing it now!

+1 rep lulz~