JoeBhoy wrote:

I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.
I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

They don't take very kindly to going as flat as this one's likely to be:
there's a possibility that one (or more) of the cells will no longer
hold charge, having become reverse-polarised. Unlikely to blow up when
you put it on charge, though, so suck-it-and-see (assuming you still
have the relevant charger!) is fair enough. For future reference, it's
better to put unused 'spare' rechargeable packs on charge a couple of
times a year than to leave them in their Original Packaging...

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 18:00:08 GMT, "JoeBhoy"
wrote:

sorry - I know it's OT but you guys seem to know all sorts of sh*t (-;

I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.

Could it be 'Presario' ?

I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

Had it been charged now and again it *could* still be useable. If it
hasn't (and if it's still in it's packaging the chances are it hasn't)
then it could be shot. ;-(

The only real test is to charge it up (it might say 'charged' very
quickly) then run it flat (would be just a few mins). Charge it back
up again and see it it takes longer (then discharge it again) and so
on. It *could* pick up at last long enough to put it on eBay as
'working' ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

sorry - I know it's OT but you guys seem to know all sorts of sh*t (-;

I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.
I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

cheers

Joe.

Stefek Zaba wrote:
JoeBhoy wrote:


I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.
I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can
keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

They don't take very kindly to going as flat as this one's likely to be:
there's a possibility that one (or more) of the cells will no longer
hold charge, having become reverse-polarised.

Not saying you're wrong, but how would it get reverse polarised if it
hadn't been on load? (I'm aware that the first cells to discharge in a
battery on load will get reverse-charged by the other cells until the
whole battery reaches equilibrium.)

AIUI NiCds are quite happy about being in a disharged state for extende
periods, unlike Lead acid which sulphate up.

John Stumbles wrote:


Not saying you're wrong, but how would it get reverse polarised if it
hadn't been on load?

err, mumble, little conductive green elves linking arms between + and -
terminals, maybe? umm, maybe, mumble, when first plugged into the
charger? um, mumble, creeps away...

I still wouldn't be surprised to find an unloved, discharged, multicell
battery to have lost most of its capacity when left at the back of a
cupboard for several years, rather'n having been tickled into holding
charge a few times in that period. But I'd welcome correction from
anyone with more knowledge; hmm, maybe that new-fangled Berners-Lee
InterWeb thingumy has something to say? Lessee... there's a
semi-authoritative-seeming NiCd FAQ at
http://www.verinet.com/~dlc/battery.htm
which suggests NiCds are optimally stored long-term discharged, cold,
and shorted - but the NASA-quoted proceedcakes there require access to
each individual *cell*, not just shorting the whole battery! Panasonic's
guidelines at
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/...recautions.pdf
say (on p.2) that batteries should be charged once or twice a year when
being stored long-term, but other manufacturers - according to a
collection of quotes at
http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm
- are less paranoid, though all agree that several charge/discharge
cycles are likely to be needed after long-term storage to restore
something like the initial capacity.

Isn't the infosuperhypenetwebway just wunnerful? ;-)

Stefek

"Stefek Zaba" wrote in message
...
JoeBhoy wrote:

I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.
I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can
keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

They don't take very kindly to going as flat as this one's likely to be:

I like to read your sensible postings, but I have to ask...

As it has never been charged, how can it go flat?
The OP does say that it is in its original packaging, so...

AIUI a NiCad pack that has never been charged just requires conditioning and
it will be happy to work for another 1000 (?) charges, or 2 years tops, of
use.

HTH


Dave

Dave wrote:


I like to read your sensible postings,

- which, as you point out, are a strict subset of all my postings ;-) Thus:

As it has never been charged, how can it go flat?
blushyes, I guess keeping it in its original, as-shipped condition is
about the kindest way you could store it, ass-U-ming it wasn't 'test
charged' before shipping or some such/blush

AIUI a NiCad pack that has never been charged just requires conditioning and
it will be happy to work for another 1000 (?) charges, or 2 years tops, of
use.

More like than not! Thanks for the gentle use of cluestick...

That was my plan - stick it on Ebay - I just don't have a presario....

don't want to do it though if they are goosed!

cheers
Joe.



"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 18:00:08 GMT, "JoeBhoy"
wrote:

sorry - I know it's OT but you guys seem to know all sorts of sh*t (-;

I have an old Compaq presarion laptop battery which is still in the
packaging.

Could it be 'Presario' ?

I was wondering - is there a time limit to how long these things can
keep -
this ones about 5 years old. Mint condition though.

Had it been charged now and again it *could* still be useable. If it
hasn't (and if it's still in it's packaging the chances are it hasn't)
then it could be shot. ;-(

The only real test is to charge it up (it might say 'charged' very
quickly) then run it flat (would be just a few mins). Charge it back
up again and see it it takes longer (then discharge it again) and so
on. It *could* pick up at last long enough to put it on eBay as
'working' ;-)

All the best ..

T i m