How expensive/energy consuming is cycling stored batteries?

I have about forty NiMH batteries of various sizes that I don't currently use. I don't want to get rid of them because I will probably use most of them sometime in the future, and I am willing to cycle them every six weeks or so as recommended to prevent memory buildup. But if cycling uses a fair amount of energy keeping the batteries might not make financial or ecological sense. Should I drop them off at a recycling center or continue cycling them? Thanks for any replies.

Nimh don't get memory buildup, that is a nicad issue. I would not cycle any more batteries than those you are going to use and the amount of energy needed to charge a battery is miniscule compared to running an AC unit or a hair dryer or electric heating element for an hour. As for the cost in recharging.... at 10 cents per KWH if a battery takes 3 watts to charge then you would have to charge 300 batteries for 10 cents or 30 batteries charged cost a penny. So if you charge every 6 weeks in a year you will use up about 8.5 charges x 40 batteries or 360 batteries... cost you a KWH or so... 10 cents.

Moving this to Flashlight Electronics, Batteries included forum for better exposure.

Bill

Niether the charger or the charging process is 100% efficient (it is probably closer to 50%), having siad that even the largest NiMH cells (Size D) are only on the order of 10Ah, so the energy required to charge one from 'Dead' even at 50% efficiency is on the order of 30 watt hours, or .03 Kilowatt hours. With Electricity typically around $0.10 per Kilowatt hour, you can charge a lot of batteries for a dime.
The reality is most NiMh batteries are much smaller than the big D size, typically AA are about 2600mah, so would take on the order of .008 Kilowatt Hours to fully charge one.

In short battery charging is simply not a large consumer of electric power unless you happen to have an electric vehicle.....