Lights storage

[EvFlow]

Hi guys with daylight savings now about its time to pack up the lights till next year and was just wondering weather it's best to charge the battery's before packing them away pack as they are or weather to run the battery's flat? Or does it make no difference

 

[redbruce]

Hi guys with daylight savings now about its time to pack up the lights till next year and was just wondering weather it's best to charge the battery's before packing them away pack as they are or weather to run the battery's flat? Or does it make no difference

Recommended is half charge on Lithiums I believe.

 

[scblack]

Hi guys with daylight savings now about its time to pack up the lights till next year and was just wondering weather it's best to charge the battery's before packing them away pack as they are or weather to run the battery's flat? Or does it make no difference

You should never run batteries flat. I read that somewhere on the Cygolite website.

Charge them up and give them a couple of cycles before using next year.

 

[willsy01]

Recommended is half charge on Lithiums I believe.

Half charge at a minimum.

Fill 'em up then put them away. That's what i'll be doing.

 

[John U]

Half charge at a minimum.

Fill 'em up then put them away. That's what i'll be doing.

Glad you said that. I've never been arsed to try and work out how I'd know if my batteries were half charged apart from run them on constant from full to flat, and then run them on constant for half that time again, and then store them. That sounds like way too much work.

I store mine fully charged. Top them off and put them away as per willsy.

 

[Ackland]

I made the mistake of storing my Ay-Ups semi charged one year and it completely STUFFED the batteries....

My 6hr went from running its full 6hrs to 1hr.....

Tried cycling it for ages to get more life but no joy...

The Ay-Up website does say to store at full charge

 

[chrischris]

Heat will kill them. Don't store batteries in the garage over summer.

 

[MudRhino]

Your meant to fully charge them and store them away. Then every 4 - 6 weeks charge them again.

Personally I just throw mine under the shelf and forget about them till next season - they still work fine. I am guessing I am one of the lucky ones.

 

[rowdyflat]

I charge mine every month approx + they have lasted for about 5 yrs.

 

[John U]

Lupine recommend storing them in the fridge if not using them for a long time. I keep mine in the door of the beer fridge. Can't verify if it makes much difference but it definitely stops them getting hot.

 

[Jeffgre_6163]

Lupine recommend storing them in the fridge.

^^^^This
Magic shine also recommends keeping the batteries in the fridge

 

[redbruce]

^^^^This
Magic shine also recommends keeping the batteries in the fridge

Mate is an electronics engineer working in the UPS industry. His advice is store in fridge at 40-50% charge (NOT fully charged as chemical oxidation = degradation is highest) and is industry best practice.

 

[miko]

It depends on the battery type. Lithium based will self discharge, more so if they're hotter. If you're leaving them out I'd probably fully charge them so there is more of a buffer time before they go completely flat. If you're putting them in the fridge then half charge is probably OK.

What you do not want is to leave them sitting around for a long time completely flat. Set a reminder on your phone/calender to give them a top up charge in a month or two if you're really worried.

This is good:

http://batteryuniversity.com/

 

[redbruce]

Lithium based will self discharge, more so if they're hotter. If you're leaving them out I'd probably fully charge them so there is more of a buffer time before they go completely flat. If you're putting them in the fridge then half charge is probably OK.

This is good:

http://batteryuniversity.com/

Good link.

The article on prolonging Li based battery life does not support (indeed contradicts) your view however (table 3):

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

Industry best practice for Li batteries is 40-50% charge for storage.

 

[miko]

It's just my two cents. If you're going to leave them, possibly forget about them for a long time, they will self discharge more quickly when they're warm which is why I mentioned buffer time. I'd rather have them more charged than best practice than have them completely discharged for a long time which will definitely kill them. I guess it depends how much spare time you have for battery maintenance.

 

[redbruce]

It's just my two cents. If you're going to leave them, possibly forget about them for a long time, they will self discharge more quickly when they're warm which is why I mentioned buffer time. I'd rather have them more charged than best practice than have them completely discharged for a long time which will definitely kill them. I guess it depends how much spare time you have for battery maintenance.

As the table shows, at every temp other than zero you loose significant recoverable capacity charging to 100% rather than 40% (and thats based on one year storage so an annual battery maintenance is hardly a major impost).

 

[miko]

Fair enough. My thinking was based on an old version of the site which didn't have as much data. Posting the link was the first time I'd been there in quite a while.

Either way, it's useful site. Study it and make up your own mind!

 

[MattDart]

It is recommended to have a 40 percent charge for long-term storage so that the battery can self-discharge a little while still having enough for an active protection circuit, and a cool dry place is the key to longevity. For added protection, I keep mine in an airtight Tupperware box with whatever packets of silicon that I can find lying around.