Since I work full time from home, I don’t use my flashlights a ton. That being said a number of my lights just sit dormant ready and waiting to be used. How often should I check the voltage on batteries that aren’t used very often (either in lights or in my battery storage box), I was thinking of simply adding a calendar reminder to prod me as needed.
TIA
At least once a year, preferably on Dec., 21st. More seriously, there are flashlights that drain their cell faster than that, and sometimes protected/charger equipped cells drain themselfs due to a defect or design flaw. Or both.
I fear, to be on the safe side, you have to test your equippment.
Depends on the flashlight. I’ve taken to unscrewing tailcaps on ones that are not in the mix. However, 18650 batteries by themselves sitting for 6 months lose very little voltage.
Yep, depends on the light AND the battery.
Some lights have a parasitic draw and will pull down the voltage over time. Those can often be disabled by unscrewing the back a bit and breaking contact.
Old batteries will self discharge faster than newer batteries. Really old batteries may show their ‘character’ by losing even faster.
I put a piece of painters tape, the kind that you can put on for a LONG time and still remove, on the light, note the battery, voltage, and date. I found some bright green stuff that works well for this. The blue is hard to read. I seldom charge over 4.0v for lights that are going to sit for a long time. For stored batteries I take them to ~3.7v and store them in the fridge.
All batteries get checked at least once a year. The batteries in service is more like 3-6 months.
Awesome thanks so much, I was just thinking about putting in a calendar event for every 3 months. So that sounds safe enough. Thanks again
Obviously I will keep an eye on in-use batteries more frequently
Idle cells, I generally just ignore them.
I’m not planning on keeping them in “active status” or anything. If a new batch that gets fully-charged when I test them on arrival holds their voltage well enough a year later, they’re good to go. If I plan to use them in a light, I just top ’em off.
Inside lights, though, I always physically lock ’em out, tailswitch or sideswitch, no different.
Store batteries in the fridge?