Battery Reconditioning?

[TonyH]

Does anyone have tips on resurecting D70 batteries that have been rarely used and no longer hold a charge?

I've got 2 (generic) batteries that worked perfectly when purchased and when I came to using them over the easter weekend died very quickly. They were charged before going away. They are both about 12 months or so old. Have taken 500 shots between them at the outside.

It seems a little wasteful to just throw them in the bin.

Cheers

Tony

[LOZ]

Tony The only thing that comes to mind is wrap them in plastic bag and place them in the deep freezer for a couple of days and try to recharge this could be one for myth busters

[TonyH]

Thanks Loz,

Unfortunately I've tried this one with other batteries without success. But thanks for the tip.

However, maybe the mythbusters do need to look at this one..... to give a way to do it if nothing else.

Tony

[Grev]

I think the Lithium ions are past shelve lives already...

[Steffen]

Just FWIW, a quote from my personal favourite battery info site (buchmann.ca):

Aging is a concern with most Li-ion batteries. For unknown reasons, battery manufacturers are silent about this issue. Some capacity deterioration is noticeable after one year, whether the battery is in use or not. Over two or perhaps three years, the battery frequently fails. It should be mentioned that other chemistries also have age-related degenerative effects. This is especially true for the NiMH if exposed to high ambient temperatures.

Storing the battery in a cool place slows down the aging process of the Li-ion (and other chemistries). Manufacturers recommend storage temperatures of 15°C (59°F). In addition, the battery should only be partially charged when in storage.

Extended storage is not recommended for Li-ion batteries. Instead, packs should be rotated. The buyer should be aware of the manufacturing date when purchasing a replacement Li-ion battery. Unfortunately, this information is often encoded in an encrypted serial number and is only available to the manufacturer.

Manufacturers are constantly improving the chemistry of the Li-ion battery. Every six months, a new and enhanced chemical combination is tried. With such rapid progress, it becomes difficult to assess how well the revised battery ages and how it performs after long-term storage.

(quoted from http://www.buchmann.ca/chap2-page7.asp)

Cheers
Steffen.

[big pix]

Storing the battery in a cool place slows down the aging process of the Li-ion (and other chemistries). Manufacturers recommend storage temperatures of 15°C (59°F). In addition, the battery should only be partially charged when in storage.

.

.... do we keep our spare battries in the fridge ????........

[Yi-P]

High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss. Improvements in chemistry have increased the storage performance of lithium-ion batteries.

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm


You might check this out, i find it quite informative and helpful.

[whiz]

Lithium Ion batteries are known to die from the time that they're manufactured.
Look at the people doing class action lawsuits against Apple because their ipods have bugger all battery capacity after a period of time.
(Hence the aftermarket ones available from Dick Smith)

Your ONLY hope is to buy new ones.
Sorry.
Millions of ipods and mobile phones can't be wrong....