Does placing your batterys in the freezer really prolong their life?

Woodland Detectors

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Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

Let's see.

Hmm It all depends.
Mostly it's a myth

Putting batteries in the freezer or refrigerator doesn't necessarily prolong their life

Alkaline batteries stored at "room temperature" self discharge at a rate of less than two percent per year. So normally refrigerating or freezing them will only help maintain their charge by a tiny amount. Hardly worth the effort of chilling them. However, if alkaline batteries are stored at higher temperatures they will start to lose capacity much quicker. At 85 degrees F they only lose about 5% per year, but at 100 degrees they lose 25% per year. So if you live in a very hot climate or are storing your batteries in a very hot detecting site, it may be worthwhile for you to store your alkaline batteries in a a cooler instead.

**However,

NiMH and NiCd batteries self discharge at a MUCH faster rate than alkaline batteries. In fact, at "room temperature" (about 70 degrees F) NiMH and NiCD batteries will self discharge a few percent PER DAY. Storing them at lower temperatures will slow their self discharge rate dramatically. NiMH batteries stored at freezing will retain over 90% of their charge for full month. So it might make sense to store them in a freezer. If you do, it's best to bring them back to room temperature before using them. Even if you don't freeze your NiMH batteries after charging them, you should store them in a cool place to minimize their self discharge. So, there you have it...
 

sniffer

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

if you have batteries around longer than a year, you need to buy them as you use them. otherwise you're wasting money
if you store them at a comfortable temp. for you, than the batteries should be okay for about a year and a half
 

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

I found this on the subject.

RE: Does Putting Batteries In The Freezer Extend Their Life?
By The Fox (12)


Storing Batteries

Jim Tessmar is the owner of The Battery Hut in Burbank, Calif. Here he offers us advice on how to store batteries properly:

* Myths. According to Tessmar, there are a lot of battery storage myths out there, but the most prevalent one is that you should keep your batteries in the refrigerator or freezer. While this may have been sound advice in the old days, battery technology has changed over the years, and cold storage is no longer the place for batteries.

* Room temperature. The best place to keep batteries is somewhere thats dry and at room temperature, like a kitchen cabinet.

* Heat and flame. Never keep your batteries in extreme heat or near an open flame. Tessmar believes that the chances of explosion due to heat are slim, but it does happen, and youre always better off safe than sorry.

* Long life. Quality batteries are made to have long shelf lives. Stored properly in your kitchen drawer or similar location, batteries can last from 3 to 5 years and still work great when you put them into a device. Many brands have sell-by dates on the package, and these can help you determine if youve still got fresh, strong batteries on your hands.

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/reju ... cle/0,1663,FINE_1422_1466497,00.html
 

poorhunter78

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

I know if I leave my charged cell phone $20 trac-fone out in the car overnite when its cold out it will drain overnite. But in the same day when it warms up the power will increase a bit.
 

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Woodland Detectors

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

poorhunter78 said:
I know if I leave my charged cell phone $20 trac-fone out in the car overnite when its cold out it will drain overnite. But in the same day when it warms up the power will increase a bit.
I've noticed that too!

Good info s-Man
 

poorhunter78

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

I also have a rechargeable mag-light. It does the same thing as with the cell phone. Now regular batteries dont seem to drain as fast to me as the others do.
 

desert dog

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Re: Does placing your battery's in the freezer really prolong their life?

I ALWAYS PUT MY BATTERIES IN THE FRIDGE. WHEN I TAKE THEM OUT I WAIT A FEW MINUTES BEFORE USING AND THEY ARE FINE. :headbang: :thumbsup:
 

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