Do you ever top off your rechargeables?

[NotSoBrightBob]

I use most of my lights for play and occassional convenience use. Plus I always carry at least two on me. I have also converted almost all my EDCs with guilt free lumens from rechargeables.

The other day I was showing off one of my torches and it decided at that point to do the battery dump. I got a hard time from my buddy, all in fun of course "Yea Yea super bright with a 3 minute run time ha ha". I knew the problem and he probably did to. I got the full use out of a cycle of the rechargeables but I was just unlucky as they were spent right at that moment.

I got to thinking that would not be a good experience if I actually needed the light and yes I have a backup but it would still be a hassle.

MY QUESTION: Does anyone top off their batteries in their EDC, say part of a weekly routine or every other day type of thing? I use both nimh and 123 rechargeables.

I'm not really worried about losing some of the recharge cycles as my usage is small enough that even the good cells aren't going to cost me that much in the long run. But I'm sure it's different strokes for different folks.

Thanks for the input

Bob

(This may belong in batteries and electronics so I apologize Admins if I have the wrong section.)

 

[Moonshadow]

Rather than 'topping off' what I do is maintain two sets. One loaded and in use, and the second set freshly charged.

I tend not to let them run completely dry. When I feel the ones I'm using are getting low, I'll swap them over and put the ones I've just taken out onto a refresh cycle (discharge then charge). They then become the new backup set.

That way I've always got a spare set on the go.

I'm sure there are many other ways to do it. As with so many things in life, the details of the system probably don't matter so much as actually having a system.

 

[GreySave]

I do top off every one to two weeks for that very reason. I cannot afford to be caught with low or dead cells. Now most of mine are protected 18650s. I do have a few AA powered lights but I generally use akalines in them as I found the self discharge rate of the NIMH to be unacceptable.

I use rechargebales in a few key lights that see workhorse duty around the house and the balance which are used for my volunteer activities are al on primary cells.

 

[CARNAL1]

I never let my rechargeables get below 60%. I use the ZTS Multi-Battery Tester. I'm not an electronics wizard and its display is easy for me to understand. It works very well for all of my Nimh and Li-ion batteries. I would recommend it to any who are electronically challenged like myself. I like having guilt-free lumens in my lights. Just my 2 cents.

Happy Dark Trails

 

[Backpacker Light]

Good question, Bob.

Are your NiMH batteries the LSD (Low Self Discharge) type?

If they are LSD, you should not need to top them off, just recharge when they get about half used up, based on your normal usage patterns. As you say your usage is usually small, this will probably not be every week, but that depends on how much you used your light that week, and your light's efficiency.

More to my point, if your NiMH's are not the LSD's, you probably DO need to top them off, and that is why alot of member's are moving towards using the LSD type 100% of the time. The non-LSD will lose power as time passes, even while not in use. And I have read here that the higher the mAH listed (usually above 2000 mAH), and the older the battery is, the worse the self-discharge problems become.

 

[NotSoBrightBob]

Thanks for the comments so far. Backpacker I have some LSDs and will eventually get them all converted but my problem is since my usage is so sporadic (slow day at work, torches get more play time :) type of thing and then rotating several different EDC's I never can remember how much I used one torch over another. Plus I just don't think I'm smart enough to "SEE" an X% dimmer beam.

Thanks again for the education

Bob

 

[Moonshadow]

Sounds like just the situation for a regular routine. You can adjust the interval (daily, weekly, fortnightly) until you find a happy medium where you are not running a set fully empty too often.

Say you end up swapping between two sets on a weekly basis. That means each set gets recharged once a fortnight - that's only 250 complete cycles after ten years ! So you shouldn't have to worry too much about wearing the cells out.

 

[foxtrot29]

Or you could run the batteries down 5% everyday, and top them up every day -- as far as I know, it really doesn't matter! I think the newer batteries like being topped up frequently -- as long as you don't have a crappy charger that over charges them.

 

[Oddjob]

Like CARNAL1 I don't let my batteries get below about 60%. I use a ZTS tester for my NiMh and primary cells and a Digital Multimetre for my Li-Ions. I have a little drawer of charged cell and another for partially discharged cells. If I feel I have use a light a lot I just pop in a new cell and put the partially used one in the appropriate drawer. If I go to use a light and I am not sure how much is left in the battery I just take it out and test it. On a day to day basis I am not usually concerned about a battery dying on me since I carry multiple lights but if I travel I always make sure I have fresh cells or I put in primaries. So far I have never had a battery die on me.

 

[powernoodle]

I just stick fresh Eneloops in my EDC light once or twice a week, and throw the old ones in the charger until the red light turns off. Somehow, that seems to work.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Shallow discharge cycles are much kinder than deeper dicharge cycles so mine get topped off frequently, very often daily in my EDC. Nothing to be gained by running them down. I use mostly LSD AAs in my EDC but on occasion use Sanyo 2700s when I expect to be running in hight output mode more than normal.

I am also a long time firm beliver in doing a maintaince cycle every 3 months if the cells need it or not. SilverFox has convienced me that Eneloops only need a deep cycle every 6 months so will try that for awhile and see.

The only cells I do not routinely cycle are LiFePO4s and NiMH which are in cold storage.

 

[VidPro]

ever top them off, I am always topping off something, almost every day, cant go to a job with even 80% batteries, that last 20% could be the difference between on and off

 

[Juggernaut]

Same for me, It's blasphemy other wise! I stopped using primaries because of this need to always have full capacity. Your light can have a 100 hour run time, but if you don't recharge after every use then that figure means nothing. This definitely applies to short run time lights. If my EDC will only run for 45 minuets that's not a problem if it is always toped off:thumbsup:, I'll never use it for that long anyways.

 

[Owen]

I rotate cells fairly frequently.
Work light's R123s get swapped out and charged every other night, every night if I'm using the light a lot.
EDC light uses the same batteries, has twice the runtime, but less than half the use, so its cells get rotated maybe once a week.

 

[Egsise]

I carry 2 lsd nimh as a backup, in everyday use i have some noname 2000mAh cells that i recharge/top every day.

 

[alfreddajero]

I like to top mine off every other day depending on usuage......i use my AA light almost everynight and so it gets topped off everyday before i go too work. My 123 light gets charged everyother day depending on usuage of course.

 

[EvilPaul2112]

My duty li-ion 18650, from my TK11, gets rotated with one of three fully charged cells every night. If my 2C Li-ion ROP or 3C Li-ion M@G85 sees action, they also get topped off. Every time I leave the house, all my duty lights are full and ready for the unexpected.

Ive used AW's Li-ion cells for years and have found that frequent, shallow charges prolong battery life and provide long life cycles.

 

[Sgt. LED]

YES!

I have 2 18650s on the Pila now actually. And it's time to put 2 more in.

 

[SuperTorch]

I thought if you charge them while they still have juice, that they develop a memory which is bad. I have new Duracell LSD AA for my radar detector should I drain them completely(Leave them in till it wont turn on) or just top them off at at 60% of charge left.

 

[powernoodle]

I thought if you charge them while they still have juice, that they develop a memory which is bad.

Depends on the chemistry, but I'm not sure if any of them still have memory issues. Even Steamlight is now saying not to worry about memory with their nicad batteries (Stinger LED, for example), and they used to be regarded as the most memory-prone.