I recently bought a digital camera. It's very nice!
The salesweasel at Best Buy was explaining that most cameras they make these days will last a good long time, but the reason that most people buy new ones are because the 1) the battery dies in them and 2) the replacement batteries aren't made anymore.
So if I were to buy a replacement LiON battery for my camera NOW, while they're available, would it be just as good in an unopened package in a few years as it is today?
Thanks.
"phaeton"
** The short answer is no...... Phil
Those batteries start deteriorating the moment they come off the production line (capacity gradually diminishes).
That's why I make sure that my appliances take AA cells (NiMH). Not the smallest or lightest, but I can afford to have a few spares charged and ready, and I will be able to get them in 10 years' time.
If you ever do try to store a Lithium rechargeable battery, remember that they will be permanently ruined if they ever get completely flat - the internal chip will refuse to charge the battery if the voltage goes below a certain threshold, for "safety" reasons. The chip in the battery pack will gradually flatten the battery due to its own power consumption, so if you leave it stored for a year or so, it will probably be permanently disabled afterwards. On the other hand, if you keep the battery fully charged, it will deteriorate faster than if it is at a medium state of charge. I have read the recommendation that it is best to charge the battery to 40% state of charge before storage, and then every few months (or more often if the chip in the pack is especially thirsty) top it up to 40% state of charge.
If you can measure the voltage then you can tell when it needs topping up. With my bare lithium cells that I store, I check the voltage regularly and charge them if they get below 3.00 Volts (per cell). It is possible to float charge these cells too, but read the cell manufacturer's recommendations about this.
Chris
Get the battery, determine how the manufacturer recommends storing it (fully harged, partially charged, etc), put it in the proper state, seal in doubled freezer bags, place in fridge. The cold will slow down deterioration.
Or do what a lot of people do - keep both batteries charged so you always have a fresh battery and replace the camera every 5-6 years...
John
From what I've read & past experience I do a combination of what was suggested here. I store my li-ion packs in the refrigerator (usually in a zip-lock bag to keep it safe) and with 40% charge. Every other month or so I check the voltage to make sure it doesn't drop too much, and if need be I charge it back to 40%. For the batteries I very rarely use, I will cycle them (charge, discharge, charge to 40%) once in a while (6-12 months). I have a laptop battery I got in early 2002 that still can hold around
35% what it used to do new, which is quite a bit for an almost-7 year old battery.I recall a while back seeing a page that reported how battery lasted in the long-run depending on charged & temperature of storage. It was on Asus' EEE PC web page, you could always try to find this if you want some numbers.
Garth
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