How long do charged batteries stay "fresh"?

[BanjoMan]

I'm asking this in relation to mod batteries but I guess it would apply to mini and penstyles as well:

Do lithium-ion discharge at a standard rate when left unused? If I want to full-charge a batch of 10440's or 14500's or whatever how long can they sit on the shelf and still retain say... 90% of their original charge? How often would you toss unused batts back in the charger to top them off?

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Banjoman--on a full chage, lithium battery self-discharges about 5% in the first 24 hours and 1-2% afterwards. Adding the protection circuit increases the discharge by another 3% per month. The protection circuit assures that the voltage and current on each cell does not exceed a safe limit.

So whether it is a 10440, 14500 or a commercal e-cig battery, it really makes no difference. The battery eventually is going to go dead given enough time. They do not come shipped fully charged, and can be stored for a long while like that so topping off new ones are really not necessary. As for the ones you are using, top them off often. Lithium love to be topped off and do not have the memory effect.

Hope that helps.

Sun