Lithium - ion batteries

Hi,

Could the group tell me if it's best to store Lithium ion
batteries fully charged or discharged ?

Chris

 

http://www.greenbatteries.com/documents/Li-ion_Battery_FAQ.htm#Storing Li-ion

 

Not all experts agree. Check newsgroup sci.chem.electrochem.battery.
Remember having read neither 0% nor 100% is best, but 20...50%. My personal
experience: Li-Ion cells degrade over time, doesn't make much of a
difference whether they are used or not.

Markus

 

Word has it that on Thu, 23 Oct 2003 12:07:18 +0200, in this august

The oldest device I own that uses Li-Ion batteries is my Nokia mobile
phone (an 8210), which is a little over 3 years old now. It seems to
hold a charge just as well now as it did when I first bought it, despite
me making zero effort to treat the battery well.

My advice would be to follow the instructions for the battery or device,
if there are any, otherwise just don't worry about it.

 

That's what I've been doing. Wing it.

 

Just about anything that depends on chemical action, especially where
the chemicals are packaged together, will degrade over time. It's kind
of the nature of the physcial universe, entropy, you know.

 

Hi all:

Looking at information from the makers of Lithium ion batteries, what I see
is this:

Lithium ion batteries have a shelf life. They go bad just sitting, even if
they have never been used.
How long that shelf life is, seems to be unclear as I see no firm numbers.
It maybe manufacture dependent.

Lithium ion batteries, have a limited number of FULL discharge cycles before
they go bad, some 300 to 500 times. Partial discharge cycles are not as
harmful as full discharge is. Therefore to keep your batteries for the
longest time, never allow them to completely discharge. Re-charging often is
good for Lithium ion batteries.

Lithium ion are NOT like ni-cad or nickel-metal-hydride batteries. What
works to keep them healthy is bad for Lithium ions batteries.

For storage of Lithium ion batteries, it makes some sense to me to fully
charge them and store them in a refrigerator, (not a freezer) as cold slows
down almost all chemical reactions. Or to just put them in a charger and
leave them there as you can't over charge a Lithium ion battery in a proper
charger. The reason for that is an over charged Lithium ion battery is a
fire and explosion hazard and the chargers are designed to prevent that
happing.