shelf life of batteries?

[solardrgn]

how long would our batteries last?? i dont mean a maintaining a charge but how long can i leave it in a drawer and have it still work in the future.

ADDED INFO - i have a few minis 320mA and a couple 900mA fireflys, more than i need at the moment since i dont vape that much haha. the 300 cycles of the battery will more than last me half the year each. i guess what i meant to ask was if i were to use them or give them to friends in a year or so will they still last?

 

[yzer]

What is YOUR battery? I use single cell protected cylindrical Li-ion 3.7V batteries and they have lasted more than three months without the slightest sign of aging. I use a good DMM on them to monitor aging.

 

[yzer]

I don't Tweet.

 

[yzer]

Why I don't Tweet.

 

[Nomoreash]

It won't hurt to store them as along as it's in a controlled environment and they don't freeze or get to hot, so keep em out of the freezer and oven. Over long periods of time they will loose some of the charge and if that gets to low could hurt the lifespan. I would just put them on the charger every month or so if you're not using them to top them off.

 

[solardrgn]

What is YOUR battery? I use single cell protected cylindrical Li-ion 3.7V batteries and they have lasted more than three months without the slightest sign of aging. I use a good DMM on them to monitor aging.

i have a few minis 320mA and a couple 900mA fireflys, more than i need at the moment since i dont vape that much haha. the 300 cycles of the battery will more than last me half the year each. i guess what i meant to ask was if i were to use them or give them to friends in a year or so will they still last?

 

[DC2]

This is from How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University...



In other words, store lithium-ion batteries in the freezer when you aren't using them.
And if possible, drain them down to 40% charge before storing them.

 

[CraigHB]

Not the freezer, too cold, refrigerator. Li-Ions freeze around -40F. A good home freezer can cycle as low as -20F. That's why the chart only goes down to 0 degrees centigrade. Very cold temperatures even above freezing temperature of the electrolyte damage the cells.

That chart is for a Lithium Cobalt chemistry (ICR). It has the shortest shelf life. The Lithium Manganese (IMR) and Lithium Polymer (flat cell) chemistries hold up around 50% better in both cycle life and shelf life.

A Li-Ion is considered worn out when it has 40% of its original charge capacity. For an ICR cell stored with a full charge at room temperature, you can see from the chart that's 3 years. For a cell at 40% charge stored in the refrigerator, it's almost 10 times longer. For a cell with 40% charge stored at room temperature, it's 5 times longer.

Some battery makers recommend against putting cells in cold storage longer than a year since the cold can damage electrolytes over the long term. Manufacturers typically store cells with 40% charge at room temperature in their warehouses.

Like any rechargeable battery, Li-Ion cells have cycle life. For an ICR cell, it's usually 300 full charge-discharge cycles. So, for example, if you routinely run one down half way then charge it, you'll get 600 charges out of before it gets to 40% of its original charge capacity. Personally, I start to really notice a reduction when they get to around 70% of their original capacity so half those numbers would be a more realistic cycle life for me.

Oh, 40% charge is approximately 3.8V measured at the cell with no load. It varies a bit depending on chemistry, but 3.8V will get you close enough. You don't want to store them with too low of a charge since they lose capacity with age. Also, protected cells have a tiny full time draw due to the protection circuitry. For example, storing a cell at 3V for a year could result in the cell dropping below critical voltage. Low voltages damage Li-Ion cells and if discharged deep enough, they will not recharge. Though, voltages as low as 3.5V would probably still be fine for the long term.

 

[DC2]

Not the freezer, too cold, refrigerator. Li-Ions freeze around -40F. A good home freezer can cycle below -20F. That's why the chart only goes down to 0 degrees centigrade.

Wow, I didn't know that, thanks!

For some reason I just assumed that a freezer ran at zero degrees.

 

[CraigHB]

I think most people assume household freezers run just below the temperature of frozen water, but that's not the case. I never realized that myself until I bought a couple industrial refrigerator/freezer thermometers to optimize my thermostat settings, you know energy concerns and all. Turns out, ideal temperature for a freezer is -10 to -20F. Ideal temperature for a refrigerator is 33 to 36F. My Frigidaire in the kitchen runs at -10F for the freezer and 35F for fridge. That's with the freezer thermostat at 7 out of 9. It can go to -20F at the maximum setting.

 

[solardrgn]

thank you everyone! i guess ill take them out every once in a while, use then fully charge them back up and store again