New Battery Charging Style

I was wondering how everyones charging style is like when you first take out your battery/batteries from the package?

Mine...

  1. Full Charge
  2. Full Discharge for mAh, Volltage reading info
  3. Full Charge
  4. Use

If its for stock I just put them in a battery carrier or box. If its for immediate use then I do full charge and then go straight to use and abuse.

Full charge and use for me

Ditto.

Ditto, full charge and then use.

If they are NiMh

- open package and check voltages.

- use if needed to fully deplete then recharge.

  • after 5 full cycles I never fully deplete them

If they are Li-Ion or LiLi-Poly

- open package and check voltage.

- the ones that I dont need to use, I store them and leave them as they are from factory if voltage is 3.8 volt (storage condition)

  • the ones that I plan to use, fully charge and recharge asap

Unless I’ve been waiting for it and want to use it ASAP:

1. Measure voltage
2. If it’s 3.2V or more, just store it
3. Otherwise charge to about 3.6V and store it

if emergency .use
or charge .then use

I think I’ll omit my Discharge part. Maybe I’m just being a little paranoid :wink: .

I have been using my version of the BLF member Barkuti method of battery management. When a 18650 or 26650 battery arrives, it gets charged to around 3.9 to 4.0 volts and used in a light– they then get recharged or replaced around 3.6 to 3.7v unless I am on a multi day hike. If not being used I store at 3.6 to 3.8v.
Apparently, research shows keeping a battery above around 4.0v is not a good idea for internal chemistry and for battery longevity. Some people say to charge in an ammunition bunker or you can destroy a small village (well, that may be a slight exaggeration, LOL). So the least I can do is to avoid stressing the batteries and to buy from reliable sources. Might be an overly safe charging protocol, but I sleep better.

But aren’t you all interested in the true battery capacity? At least once?

If they come from a reliable USA supplier, which almost all of them do, then usually I do not bother testing capacity. Maybe one per batch gets tested, if that. Many people test all of them and that might be a good thing. But it is unlikely that I will return any, so I want them as safe as possible whatever their capacity and am careful not to stress them. Perhaps when the day comes that they are older and capacity is tested, I will wish I had the original figure. But none are very old now and I will have to assume they were approximately the same as what people post for capacity. If one is out of line, it will just get tossed into the bin later and I will not cry about the five or ten dollars. And the voltages of batteries out of rotation are tracked and logged to help reveal problems.

Of course, this approach might change over time, especially if bad battery reports increase. Flexibility is a good thing and it is understandable for other people to consistently test new batteries. I posted what I do, not necessarily what I recommend for others. I am fairly new and learning every day.

I don’t have a way to test battery capacity which is why it’s just “charge and use” for me. I’m holding out some hope for the charger by BlueSwordM though. If that charger comes to fruition, there’s a couple old batteries I have that I’d test their capacities; but for my new batteries I’m not worried about them at this point.

This is what I do as well, from reading on the Battery University site. For regular use around the house, I generally only charge to 4-4.05v. Only do full charges if camping or something where they’ll see a lot of runtime right away.

I’ve never bothered to test capacity as all my cells are name-brand from reliable vendors.