How do y'all Keep track of all those batteries!?

Hello, I've noticed that some of you seem to be very systematic in keeping track of your batteries. I believe I read one post where someone claimed to actually keep notes notes of them all. I was wondering if you had any particular methodologies in keeping them all in line?

Do you mark them with permanent marker (if so what symbols or just numbers)? Doesn't the markings eventually rub off (at least thats what happened when I tried)? and do you use containers to keep "sets" together?

Just curious.

I just replaced most of my older nimh cells with LSD, now I can start from scratch. :thumbsup:

Create a list of all the lights you have [I know this could be tedious], jot down which flashlights uses which batteries and where your flashlight is placed in the house
ex: {(In kitchen) Surefire A2-HA-WH [Square] [long clip: A31798 , Flat bezel, THC3 LED][Surefire CR123A 06-2012, replaced 01132009]}
I use a wordpad file on my desktop to keep track of 45 flashlights around the house.

When your charging battery packs thats alright, but when your charging cells separately take note of cell position and don't mix the batch]
Record charging conditions
ex: {(In Garage) [On Santa Fe] 3D Mag85 [D3012839206, Enelooped][Last charged 02122009][Batch: N2][Mdocod holder: BH2]}
N2 is written on all the batteries in the holder marked BH2...any time cells gets replaced or the light leaves the garage I would immediately update the info, much like balancing your checkbook, you get used to it after awhile

As for batteries
Theres another notepad for batteries
heres the current log, most of its contents are self explanatory...one of these days I'm gonna convert it to excel
[CR123A][Log: Jan 2009]
12x Energizer [box][Batch: 0608A][Location: Home-Tray 3]
2x Energizer [Jil-tube][Batch: 0608A][Location: BOB]
2x Energizer [Jil-tube][Batch: 0608A][Location: Office]
4x Surefire [SC3][Batch: 01-2016][Location: Office]

[AW][Log: Dec 2008]
2x AW14500 [5 cycle][Batch: 1R14500][Condition: charged][DMM: 4V OCD][Location: Home-Tray 2][Log: 02142009]
2x RCR123A [6 cycle][Batch: 2R123][Condition: used][DMM: n/a][Location: Surefire E2e + LF-EO-E2R (Short Clip: E2e body A274881)][Log: 02142009]
1x 17670 [9 cycle][Batch: 1R167][Condition: used][DMM: 3.9V OCD][Location: Home-Desk][Log: 02142009]
3x17670 [6 cycle][Batch: 2R167][Condition: charged][DMM: n/a][Location: Surefire M6 + 3x17670 + 1185 (M6 Magnumlight A004110)][Log: 02102009]

NiMH[Log: Jan 2009]
6x Eneloop AA [6 cycle][Batch N1][Condition: charged][Location: Mag Instruments 2D [ROP-HI](D2030858468)][Log: 02142009]
9x Eneloop AA [6 cycle][Batch N2][Condition: charged][Location: (3D Mag85) (D3012839206)][Log: 02142009]
9x Eneloop AA [6 cycle][Batch N3][Condition: charged][Location: (3D Mag85) (D3032933836)][Log: 02142009]
1x Eneloop AA [3 cycle][Batch N4][Condition: charged][Location: Zebralite H50][Log: 11252008]
4x Eneloop AA [2 cycle][Batch N5][Condition: charged][Location: Kitchen Osram golden dragon lantern][Log: 01212009]
4x Eneloop AA [2 cycle][Batch N6][Condition: charged][Location: Mstr Bed Osram golden dragon lantern][Log: 01212009]
...

it goes on to include eneloop AAA, elite 1600 AA, AG3, LR44, CR2016, CR2023, Duracell AA, Duracell AAA, N, C, D, 6V lantern, L91, L92

its a pretty big file, and can get chaotic...since it includes the information on every fauxton in the house. But once you build your own library its easy to update it, I look through it everyday, before I log on to CPF, and take an inventory every month. [hey, I warned you about the tedious part :nana:]

I use an Excel spreadsheet.

It's not perfect, but it helps keep track of things.

Here is my current spreadsheet:



I need to add a new column that logs the break-in capacity versus the refresh & analzye or cycle capacity.

I really need to start learning how to use excel!
I learned it back in high school then I never touched it since

Black Rose said:

I use an Excel spreadsheet.

It's not perfect, but it helps keep track of things.

Here is my current spreadsheet:

I need to add a new column that logs the break-in capacity versus the refresh & analzye or cycle capacity.

Click to expand...

Call me lazy if you like, but I would never go through all this "stuff". :wave:

Ray

Raybo said:

Call me lazy if you like, but I would never go through all this "stuff". :wave:

Ray

Click to expand...

I agree. Don't drive yourself crazy, and end up ignoring your loved one's for a bunch of batteries. :thumbsdow

Buy a number of sets of LSD batteries. Keep the charged (ready to go) batteries in a shoe box or such, ready to grab and use.

As you pull the discharged batteries out of your flashlights, put them into a seperate box, and charge them when you get an opportunity.

Raybo said:

Call me lazy if you like, but I would never go through all this "stuff". :wave:

Ray

Click to expand...

OK, you're lazy

When you have over 130 rechargeable batteries, you need to at least know where they all are and when they were last charged, etc.
Maintenance is the key to happy batteries.

I also have another spreadsheet that has the inventory of my lights (currently 44).
It also keeps track of the current draws for some of them with different battery brands and chemistries

Backpacker Light said:

I agree. Don't drive yourself crazy, and end up ignoring your loved one's for a bunch of batteries. :thumbsdow

Buy a number of sets of LSD batteries. Keep the charged (ready to go) batteries in a shoe box or such, ready to grab and use.

As you pull the discharged batteries out of your flashlights, put them into a seperate box, and charge them when you get an opportunity.

Click to expand...

data logging is important when it comes to running alot of cells together as a battery...Personally I don't know what the actual capacity of my cells are, just state of charge. It doesn't take much time after the initial leap in terms of work and maintenance, just provided you synchronize backup copies from time to time.
Hard Drives these days just aren't too dependable and outdated backup copies only add frustration:candle:

Illum_the_nation said:

I really need to start learning how to use excel!
I learned it back in high school then I never touched it since

Click to expand...

If you use Google Spreadsheet you can update or refer to your data from any internet access point!

Joypog said:

Do you mark them with permanent marker (if so what symbols or just numbers)? Doesn't the markings eventually rub off (at least thats what happened when I tried)? and do you use containers to keep "sets" together?

Click to expand...

If you want to go the permanent marker route for labeling, putting a thin film of clear nail polish over it will make it last longer.

I keep all of my spare charged batteries in see-through plastic holders. Some, the most recent inexpensive purchases from DX, are interlocking so they are easier to stack and move. Loose batteries get charged in order to get them back into the neat and clean boxes.

I'm adding 18650s to the mix, like some others (I note that they are best sellers on DX now), in order to reap their benefits. I only have the one host, ElektroLumen's EDC with MC-E, but I have another on order and I am mooning over the TK11 R2.

Here, take a gander at my pile of stored power:





oregon

I put them either in small press-close clear plastic (I bought a giant box of them years ago at a supply house and won't run out for another 2 decades!) or in any of the 1/2 dozen or so 4 cell plastic boxes I got from Thomas Distributing when I bought some Powerex AA's.

Being a database programmer I have a personal information management system that I programmed from scratch. It has over two hundred tables. Only one of them is dedicated to rechargable batteries. I wrote code for this table specifically to keep track of the cells. There's one record/cell. Every time I charge a cell using either discharge or refresh, Test, whatever (I have the La Crosse BC-900 charger), I record the charge rate used, method used (e.g. Discharge), the cell capacity as shown by the charger. The program inserts everything else I need and puts the latest values in a memo field that contains all the previous charge data. So, I have a good idea what each cell is doing.

Is this overkill? Arguably, but I find it fun to do this and I am not in the dark about my rechargables. I have over 60 rechargables, including a number if NiCDs.

You could probably do this sort of thing in Excel if you use macros. I learned Lotus 1-2-3 years ago, but rarely do anything with spreadsheets now. I work in Visual FoxPro database management software.

To mark cells I use this system: Suppose I have 8 Eneloop AAA's. In the table they are marked such as this (actual values):
AAA Sanyo Eneloop 1 purchased Amazon 2/2009
AAA Sanyo Eneloop 2 purchased Amazon 2/2009
AAA Sanyo Eneloop 3 purchased Amazon 2/2009
...

On the positive end of each cell I put dots. Cell 3 gets 3 dots made with a thin black CD marking pen. Up to this point 8 is the maximum number of cells I have of any type, so this works fine for me.

Here's a sample of the memo field for one of my Powerex AA's:

AA Powerex 7 2300 mah 02/15/2005 from Thomas Distributing Rated cap: 2300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Mode Charge rate Measured capacity
03/31/07 Test 500 2260
10/10/2007 Test 500 2270
06/11/2008 Discharge 500 2610
06/17/2008 Discharge 500 2550
09/12/2008 Discharge 500 2710
10/22/2008 Discharge 500 2520
11/04/2008 Discharge 500 2650
01/13/2009 Discharge 500 2510 Since last charge: 2.30 months

I added the bit about "Since last charge:" just about a month ago. Future entries will all have that statement. If I want to (sometimes I do), I can type in additional notes into this memo field. Such as this one:

AA Powerex 4 2300 mah 02/15/2005 from Thomas Distributing Rated cap: 2300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Mode Charge rate Measured capacity
03/28/2007 Test 500 2270
07/14/2007 Test 500 2260
10/08/2007 Discharge 500 2600
11/20/2007 Discharge 500 2490
05/22/2008 Discharge 500 2460
11/04/2008 Discharge 500 2470
01/13/2009 Discharge 500 ???? Since last charge: 2.30 months (Power outage before I could get the mah reading)

I do mark my cells, initially with dots and dashes but not long after that with the date of purchase and A or B etc.

For a time I tried keeping notes. But my 4 most used chargers are known quantities and the main use I use is 2 at a time in my GPS.

I keep them in "matched" pairs in 8AA holders I got at Frys.

Interesting note: I took the 9AA-3D holder out of my Mag85 and checked Fa on all the cells (older Rayovac 1800s).

7 of them were 6+, one 5+ and one 4+

I had 8 others and got two of them that also go 6+.

I have a 10bay AA/AAA charger that ends cells at 1.41V and has never hurt a cell charging them now.

rala said:

If you want to go the permanent marker route for labeling, putting a thin film of clear nail polish over it will make it last longer.

Click to expand...

Sweet

Alan B said:

If you use Google Spreadsheet you can update or refer to your data from any internet access point!

Click to expand...

Of the 3 computers that I use, only one as internet connection
the best firewall is to pull the plug:thumbsup:

Black Rose said:

OK, you're lazy

When you have over 130 rechargeable batteries, you need to at least know where they all are and when they were last charged, etc.
Maintenance is the key to happy batteries.

I also have another spreadsheet that has the inventory of my lights (currently 44).
It also keeps track of the current draws for some of them with different battery brands and chemistries

Click to expand...

I "use" to have more cells than you, and I have more lights than you at the moment :nana:

When I discover a bad or weak cell it goes to my recycle box, i'm currently in the process of replacing most of my older (3+ year old) nimh batteries with LSD's.

No spread sheet needed! :thumbsup:

Ray

Illum_the_nation said:

I really need to start learning how to use excel!
I learned it back in high school then I never touched it since

Click to expand...

I learned it back in school too. I've forgotten most of it. But I'm finding it interesting to sort-of learn it again. Keeps my mind fresh.
Although, I'm just keeping things really simple and figuring out what to put in as I go along. (Which I feel further helps keep the mind fresh - varying activities.)

Raybo said:

Call me lazy if you like, but I would never go through all this "stuff". :wave:

Click to expand...

I was saying that exact same thing to myself for well over a year, but now here I am.. (I used to keep thinking to myself -- "um yeah.. ok... I'll never, EVER be anal enough to label my batteries.")

However, I find that by matching capacities, one can get much, MUCH longer runtime out of any device rechargeables are used in that it definitely makes it worth it. Much more than buying bigger capacity batteries could EVER do!
How much you want to do is up to you though.. In this area, just a little can go a LONG ways, let me tell ya.

Best way to label batteries IMO - 1/2" x 3/4" permanent labels [from Walmart]. If you need to remove them, they still come off easily. And they don't seem to affect the fit in any devices I've come across yet - put on horizontally. (The 'removable' type come off way too easily.)

Black Rose said:

I use an Excel spreadsheet.

It's not perfect, but it helps keep track of things.

I need to add a new column that logs the break-in capacity versus the refresh & analzye or cycle capacity.

Click to expand...

I take it you number your cells and use something like a sharpie to mark each cell?

By the way, very nice spreadsheet. I think I'm going to have to start one. You could have a formula to calculate and flag batteries that haven't been cycled every three months or whatever amount of time you desire, based on the date of last charge/cycle.

Alan B said:

If you use Google Spreadsheet you can update or refer to your data from any internet access point!

Click to expand...

Excellent idea! Access from home or work!