DIYbanter - View Single Post - Ni-Cad Battery Storage

Twayne

wrote:
snip

When storing batteries for more than one year, charge *at least*
once a year to prevent leakage and deterioration of performance due
to self-discharging. When using a rapid voltage detection charger
carry out charge and discharge at least once ever 6 months.
-------------------------------

" charge *at least* once a year" snip "deterioration of performance"
The above is if you plan on taking the batteries out of storage and
using them at that time. If your storage is truly long term and you
can take the time to charge and discharge a few times to bring the
battery back into service and back to their rated capacity then there
would be no reason to " charge *at least* once a year" You only get
so many cycles out of a Ni-Cad. Why waste them?

You should read the rest of the article/s, not just an excerpt. A pair
of tool batteries will typically last quite a bit longer than a year, so
if the other two are neglected for that entire period of time, they may
not even be batteries any longer, just crystalized resistors that can't
be recovered. RTFM applies here; don't expect everything handed to you
on a silver plate; do your own work and the act accordingly and you'll
be a lot happier. The xxx discharge/charge cycles, if you read the
article, are not going to happen unless they are treated properly.
That's why the scheduled rotation works best to get the maximum life
from them, and that life will be much longer than storing, forgotten,
for a couple of years.