How do you know when your batteries are history?

[bushmaster]

Charged two batteries a couple days ago and went to put one of them on today before heading out for a spectacular
Saturday. Both were under 3.8 volts. I'm pretty sure my Pila charger is up to snuff. They are both old with hundreds of cycles behind them. Any definitive tests that I should do before sending them to the recycling bin? Just wondering.

 

[nerak]

Charged two batteries a couple days ago and went to put one of them on today before heading out for a spectacular
Saturday. Both were under 3.8 volts. I'm pretty sure my Pila charger is up to snuff. They are both old with hundreds of cycles behind them. Any definitive tests that I should do before sending them to the recycling bin? Just wondering.

You could try topping them off, using till they drop to 4.0 and topping off again. They are probably ready to retire though.

 

[redeyedancer]

I am no battery guru its to bad you dont have another charger to compare . Are all your batteries coming off the charger at 3.8 volts ?

 

[Justice]

Try giving them a refresh charge. When the light shows green on pila press the little button beside the lights then let charge again till green. See what happens.

 

[bushmaster]

Try giving them a refresh charge. When the light shows green on pila press the little button beside the lights then let charge again till green. See what happens.

That sounds interesting. I'll do it right now--I've got two reading green.

 

[bushmaster]

Well, I hit the re-set light on the Pila and the charging lights went to red momentarily, then back to green. I've pulled my AW IMR 18650's off the charger and they read 4.13 and 4.12 respectively. Now my Pila has never charged above 4.16 since it was new. That said, it has never shown a fresh charge this low. The batteries I just charged are from my first set of AW's probably bought in the fall of 2010. I have a later set bought in the fall of 2011. I'll charge a couple of them and see if there is a difference.

 

[Justice]

I remember reading somewhere. Maybe I read the pila instructions it's supposed to refresh the batts. I know with car batts a blast of high amp charging once in awhile will do the same.

 

[FisherPal]

Wow! Seeing as the two AW IMR 18650's are the first I have ever bought, it's great to hear how long they last! Need to get at least couple of more though to have on hand to charge up for those camping trips coming up this summer.

 

[bushmaster]

I remember reading somewhere. Maybe I read the pila instructions it's supposed to refresh the batts. I know with car batts a blast of high amp charging once in awhile will do the same.

Yeah Darrel, if I remember right, hitting that button will reset it and allow it to fully charge a battery that already reads at or above 4.0 volts.
I'm not sure about that and I don't have the ambition to look it up--its just what I think I remember.

 

[Justice]

Yeah Darrel, if I remember right, hitting that button will reset it and allow it to fully charge a battery that already reads at or above 4.0 volts.
I'm not sure about that and I don't have the ambition to look it up--its just what I think I remember.

I likely save the manual but who knows where I put it now that I have a permanent house maybe I should buy a big filing cabinet just for manuals

 

[bushmaster]

Wow! Seeing as the two AW IMR 18650's are the first I have ever bought, it's great to hear how long they last! Need to get at least couple of more though to have on hand to charge up for those camping trips coming up this summer.

A key deal to long life with AW batteries is to not over-discharge them. These are not ni-cads that need to be drawn down from time to time. According to MR. AW himself, its good to charge these batteries early--it doesn't count as full lost cycle of the 500 or so that you can expect from your battery when you charge it early. Charge early and often.

 

[bushmaster]

For anyone bored enough to have followed my battery saga, I found that my newer batteries charged to 4.15 and 4.17. That is in accord with what my Pila has always charged my batteries. So I guess my older batteries are usable but failing after a little over 2 years. The faithful old beasts never let me down. I got no complaints.

 

[FisherPal]

A key deal to long life with AW batteries is to not over-discharge them. These are not ni-cads that need to be drawn down from time to time. According to MR. AW himself, its good to charge these batteries early--it doesn't count as full lost cycle of the 500 or so that you can expect from your battery when you charge it early. Charge early and often.

I have just made it a habit to charge each battery at the end of a day's usage. That way I always have a fresh battery to start the day with. Tonight I am going to try to remember to actually check the voltage before slapping it on the charger to see what it is actually running down to at the end of a typical day.

 

[garyinco]

Here's a link to the Pila Charger owners manual.