Battery Question

[Masseter]

I usually put batteries im not using in the refrigerator. Does this help extend the life of the battery or does it hurt it?

 

[Tater Rocket]

My guess would be neither. At least, the extension would be a minute percentage because alkalines have a high internal resistance anyway, plus it is hard for a redox reaction to occur unless there is a path for the electrons to flow... If it is in the fridge it shouldn't HURT it, except unless you try to use them immediately after taking out of the fridge as they perform poorly when cold and you may think they have prematurely expired and toss them out when all they need is to be brought back up to ambient.

Spud

Also, check here for an ongoing discussion of this very topic.

 

[N4aeq]

Nicads & Nimh may have higher capacity than
non rechargables but the have alot shorter shelf life.You can slow down the self discharging by
keeping them cooler but they still discharge at
a hight rate.

 

[Deleted member 684]

If the temperature approaches zero and below, the self discharge rate is almost as good as alkalines. I have some set that I have inside my fridge for years that I only took out to use when I experienced power failure (Only happen twice in all my 18 years) They still work okay. They retained at least 70% of their energy in them.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The quick answer is that all batteries can have their life slightly extended by storing in a cool dry place. The refrigerator is cool, but quite humid, so seal the batteries in a tight bag and stick a silica gel pack in to keep them dry.

You can read me article about caring for your batteries here:

http://www.zbattery.com/batterycare.html

FYI, Alkaline, NiCad and NiMH batteries all perform poorly in freezing temperatures. Their internal reaction process is slowed down to a crawl and thus the poor performance. Freezing too deeply can stop the process from every picking up again and thus permenantly damage your battery. Lithium batteries are able to stand a much lower temperature and still have an efficient chemical reaction. Deep freezing can still damage a Lithium battery permanantly.

Hope this helps.

Bryan Noonan
"The Battery Guy"
http://www.zbattery.com
[email protected]