Battery Life Enhancement

I am passionate about energy storage technology & I want to help you get the most life out of your rechargeable batteries. Here are some simple tricks to get long life out of rechargeable batteries 


1. Always fully charge a new rechargeable battery 

2. Keep Lithium Ion batteries 30-80% charged for long life  

* Avoid regularly fully charging Li-Ion & NiMH 

* Avoid overnight charging ( I charge when I am eating ) 

* Avoid camping on the charger after 100% charge achieved 

High heat harms lithium ion batteries : do not put your phone in direct sun for long periods : avoid car dashboards (the become really hot when exposed to direct sunlight) : Water also harms lithium ion batteries and electronics : do not get your batteries or electronics wet!

Why 100% charging harms Lithium Ion 

Anode & Cathode shrink swell bending occurs as a result of repeated fully charging to 100% : as the anode & cathode breaks apart, the broken parts get into the electrolyte oil, increasing the internal resistance, causing side reactions that increase heating of the oil, the oil expands which bends the anode and cathode and causes the casing to swell : in polymer batteries the flat rectangular shape starts to bulge as the end stages of the cells life. The limitations of lithium ion batteries can be attributed to mechanical physical shrink swelling bending deformation and chemical material degradation : nothing lasts forever. You can dramatically enhance the life of your smartphone, tablet or laptop battery by keeping the charge between 30 & 80% charged Long Life mode!

Paperclip Bending Analogy 

Think of bending a paper clip a little bit back and forth : it keeps bending : if you bend the paper clip all the way one way then all the way the other, it will crack and break. Limited lithium ion batteries are like paper clips : every time you fully charge them after the initial charge, a small amount of accelerated capacity loss occurs. Over time abusive repeated fully charging will cause Lithium Polymer batteries to swell up : inside a phone or tablet computer this can cause the screen to delaminate from the frame : inside a laptop this can distort the keyboard : in the worse cases the cell swelling can cause the polymer case of the LiPo battery to rip or rupture which under the right circumstances can cause "venting with flame" : emblematic of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 & Boeing Dreamliner batteries fires : burning Hoverboards & the battery fire that destroyed NASA's Romosimian robotic arm.

Toyota NiMH Hybrid Long Life Proof 

The battery controller in Toyota Hybrid vehicles keeps the NiMH traction battery between 30-80% charged because the research Toyota conducted proved that a well made shallow cycled NiMH battery can last 10,000-50,000 cycles or about 20 years of use if it is cycled between 30-80% and kept bellow 120 deg F and above 30 deg F.

NiCD Long Life 

Store NiCD @ 1vdc per Cell : the Nominal Voltage is 1.2vdc so a 12v NiCD pack should be stored fully discharged at 10vdc

Fully charge NiCD at 1C rates 2 hours before your plan on using your tool battery! The tool charger that came with your NiCD battery is a high rate charger optimized for fast charging.

Never store a NiCD on the charger or fully charge

Fully deplete NiCD batteries then store them dead

A fully charged NiCD battery that is camped on the charge will last 3-5 years : a NiCD battery that is stored dead can last up to 23 years.

SLA : Lead Acid : Lead batteries 

Keep fully charged at 13.26vdc using an automatic battery maintainer for long life : the maintainer keeps the sulfuric acid from corroding the plates with sulfate crystals.

Always recharge a SLA battery to full after using it : if you use them for a robot, trawling motor, HAM radio or other application where sealed lead batteries make feasible sense.

Never fully discharge Lead Batteries : deep discharges greatly shorted Lead Acid battery life.

Most gas engines use lead batteries for starting. If you have a vehicle that is not used for 3 hours per week, hook the battery up to an automatic maintainer : this will enhance the vehicle starting battery life by 3x or more.

A poorly maintained Lead acid battery will fail in just 2 years

A excellently maintained fully charged Lead acid battery can last up to 13 years (assuming you have it held at 13.26vdc the whole time)