How do u charge ur batteries?

[jwanderer]

Thanks for starting this thread, it's really useful!

I just got my camera not long ago and as I don't use it often, I just keep the battery (Li-ion) stored away. I followed the manual as that's what was mentioned.

Will the battery still need any charging now and then even though it's stored away just to keep it to it's maximum life?

 

[PrimePhotog]

Great thread!Shouldn't the mods make this a sticky?

 

[calvinklein]

I charge them by leaving them out in the sun.

 

[ronaldlee007]

it depends on what type of batteries...

for SLA battery, you can't let it totally flat out, it will be dead forever if you do it that way. charge it full after used, and charge it every 3 months if not in use.

for Li-ion battery, use on most cameras, always keep it fully charge will help prolong battery life.

for NiMh batteries, use on flashes, since most of them won't retain power very well, charge it before use, and run conditioning charge and discharge periodically.

Agreed. Li-ion battery is the best battery that allowed to charge at all time w/o affecting the battery life. :thumbsup:

 

[tester99]

Okay science,
There are many kind of rechargable, but now we take about 2 of them
1) nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH)
2) lithium-ion (Li-Ion)

Both type has different way charging which your charger will handle. At different voltage, the charging current and voltage will change.

NiMH has memory effect is battery term is cyclic memory, which mean it remember how many times it have been charged and discharge. As the number of cycle increase, the voltage output and total energy discharge decrease.
This happened because chemical inside the battery form crystal onto the electrode plate, it will happen no matter what you do. This crystallization increase when the battery is charged for too long or it is not totally discharge before charging.
To remove these crystal, a process call conditioning is used. A small discharge current of low voltage is pump into the battery, it will "exercise" or breakup the crystal. Some advance battery charger will do that. Otherwise, try to discharge the NiMH every 3 months use or no use to increase it life.

Li-Ion battery dun have the memory effect, thus it can be charged at anytime. But due to old thinking, manys discharge totally. Being discharge totally actually cause strain to the battery, as the chemical do not like heat. It is the heat that cause aging. The battery actually like slow charging and little charging as possible. So you should charge as soon as you can. Total charging and discharge cause a lot of heat to the battery.
Another tip, remove the battery from laptop once it is charged, if u are still using it. The heat from laptop age the battery.

hey bro,

abit OT here - but what's the best way for a laptop Li-on battery to survive? i read before that you should charge it to 40%, and leave it in ur freezer if not using for a long time. is that true?

i bring my laptop out only like once a week. when using at home, i connect to AC, battery removed. before going out, i do a full charge. is this good? :think:

 

[engrmariano]

i charge may batts until cam & flash turns off.

 

[shaoken]

I'm using a 2-hr fast charger.
Mostly I charge all my batts when not in use for quite some time.

Even though have a power but don't know how much, I also charge it.

 

[SK1968]

I hv grips for the cams so can charge the drained one when the cam switches to the fresh one.

 

[jonathan920]

HAHAHHAHAHAHAA! i just thought of something .. donno why. For those who chose others as an option. How do you charge ur battery. On and off switch every 5min interval? or i'm just laughing at me self for being stupid o.o

 

[Aimevous]

hey bro,

abit OT here - but what's the best way for a laptop Li-on battery to survive? i read before that you should charge it to 40%, and leave it in ur freezer if not using for a long time. is that true?

i bring my laptop out only like once a week. when using at home, i connect to AC, battery removed. before going out, i do a full charge. is this good? :think:

You should never freeze your battery. I tried freezing my laptop battery and it died instantly. And I took care to ensure it was not the condensation that killed it. If I'm not mistaken, there are morphological changes in the active material and yada yada your battery is permanently damaged.

Also, many battery pple I've spoken to says if you wanna store for months, keep it at 50%. My PhD friend specialising in batteries says Li-Ion should be discharged before recharging to prolong the lifespan. It has to do with more chemistry stuff. I think can find most of these info on batteryuniversity.com

We have $20,000 battery tester in my lab and it kinda confirms that.

 

[Reportage]

"Dun care just charge even still have power."

seen plenty of people who will splurge for phone/laptop/camera but wont spring for a original battery.