Li Ion rechargeable cell charge life

[geekswithguns]

Anyone know how long Li Ion rechargeable cells (I'm thinking of the 10280 specifically) hold their charge? Meaning specifically if I charge one up and put it in a light- how long - without use- will it still be at full or close to full charge?

thanks

 

[D-Dog]

Li-ions discharge around 3% a month, so a long while

 

[LEDite]

D-Dog;

I use a lot of lithium-ion cells and have found the shelf life to be very good.

I just tested some Sony and Sanyo cells after a year of storage.

They were still @ 4 volts from an initial 4.2 volts. Storage was in a cool location.

Larry Cobb
LEDite

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Geekswithguns,

Welcome to CPF.

Here is a test that I ran on that subject.

Tom

 

[bfg9000]

The latest Li-ion cells seem to retain charge so well that it may well last the three year life expectancy of the cell (traditionally it is 3-5% loss per month). Lifespan is generally defined as the point when the cell can only deliver 80% of its original capacity, and for Li-ion this is typically three years from date of manufacture, regardless if it is used or not. While deep-cycling or operating it under elevated temperatures will kill it faster, nothing really delays the inevitable degradation except storage at less than full charge (~40% charge is best).

I should point out that some recent high capacity NiMH cells have lasted far less in use than three years, and at least Li-ion doesn't require frequent recharging.

 

[geekswithguns]

Excellent- thanks for all the info

 

[LEDite]

I've been using many Sony cells for over 5 years now with only about a 15% loss of capacity.

LEDite

 

[bfg9000]

I have some Li-ion cells that are nine years old, and have always been stored fully charged. Capacity is about 40% of new but they still work fine.