New cells usually are at 3,7 V when they arrive, so they can often go directly into storage.
I may test one or two on my OPUS and in a flashlight. And then charge using the lowest current and check now and then to see what the voltage is at. And remove for storage when the voltage is close to 3,7 volts.
As long as the cells shows 3,7 volts after perhaps half an hours rest, it should be fine for long time storage.
Read post #498 here again. The important concepts are there.
If you discharge them at a high rate, they terminate sooner and bounce back higher. You really don’t know what the capacity is for sure. The older, more abused the cells with higher internal resistance makes the problem worse. The voltage simply sags and the discharge terminates. That’s one way of knowing the cells is on it’s way out > no voltage support.
Similar thing if you charge them at a high rate to storage, though not nearly as pronounced as the charger ‘ramps down’.
Storage is ‘approximate’. 3.7v is not a magic number. Anything from 3.6-3.9 will work, especially for relatively short term storage. For really long term shoot for 3.7v, done at a low rate (charge or discharge), then put them in a Ziploc and in the fridge, minimally avoiding higher temperatures at least. High temp + full voltage is the worst scenario.
Thanks, I had for some reason missed that post on that thread. As I was discharging at 1A and bouncing back to 3.7V I’ll just assume everything is fine, and store them. Discharge results at 1A have all been between 2000mAh and 2300mAh, and as far as I know they are 2600mAh rated cells (red Sanyo with blue tops).