fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

The weather's been pretty cold and uncooperative for photography this winter so my camera's been sitting in its bag for the past two months and I doubt I'll be getting it out much before spring.

I last put my camera away with the battery fully charged but I'm wondering if this is a good idea. Numerous articles have dictated I long-term store (over the winter) the lithium polymer batteries for my radio control planes, at about a 50% charge. These are pretty big batteries, though, running 22.2 volts at 5,000 milli amp hours.

What's your opinion on how much charge a camera battery should be stored with?

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

I too fly R/C, sailplanes and some power. Storage charge as per your r/c batteries. Maybe I'll post a pic of my airforce.

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

I doubt that it is a good idea to store batteries in the camera. I have never had a camera battery leak but one never knows. I have a couple of strobes I picked up at the local thrift store that had been stored with batteries that leaked. I had to do a lot of cleaning with bicarbonate of soda to make them usable again.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Many camera manuals discuss this very subject. Suggest you check there first, Best of luck,

BebuLamar

I don't have a pro camera which has user replaceable clock battery so I keep the main battery in the camera to prevent the internal battery becomes so discharged and went bad and I have to send it to Nikon for replacement.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

(I check my batteries monthly if I don't take them out.)

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've never had a problem long term storage, but that 50% figure is a good one. you might have noticed that when you buy a new battery, it is at about 50%. From what I've read, batteries like to be between 20% and 80%. It puts more strain on the battery when it's charged to 100%. It would be nice if chargers had the option of charging a battery to 80%.

It's also not good to leave a battery on a charger. It will get to 100%, and the charger will shut off. Over time, it will lose enough charge to activate the charger. This is stressful for the battery.

In terms of how many charges a battery can take, it counts by 100%. If the battery is charged from 0 to 100%, that's one charge. Going from 50% to 100% counts as one half a charge. So it's not the number of times you charge it, but the number of times the battery gets a full charge.

BebuLamar

Yes and if it goes low I charge it.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

So what does one do if one stores the batteries at 50%, charges them before use, and one never gets used during the outing?
Now it's "full".....

Since I check mine ~monthly, I just put them away with the camera.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

NiCad batteries were vented, so they have a built-in path for the electrolyte to leak out. Overcharging, excessive discharge, and simply wearing out could lead to leakage, and I've had it happen a few times over the years in various devices. I do not recall ever having a NiMh or later technology battery leak. Lithium batteries, in particular, are sealed. Swelling is a much more common problem with them. That's a good thing, because lithium is one of the most chemically active of all elements, even to the point of spontaneously combusting when exposed to air.

A more pressing problem is making sure that the batteries don't self-discharge to the point that safety circuits in the battery or charger interpret them as having failed and preventing them from being charged at all. If this happens, it can sometimes be corrected by a long period of trickle charging at a very low current. Many times, though, it turns out to be fatal, and the battery just has to be recycled.

I don't know of any argument against the 50% charge guidance. Just be aware that modern batteries self-discharge relatively quickly. You'll need to check often and recharge when the storage level reaches around 20%.

None of my chargers are smart enough to do anything but a full charge. So I have periodic "battery parties" and recharge any that are below 40% or so. I still have the original battery that came with my D200 in the rotation since 2007. The ProMaster that I bought when Nikon batteries were unavailable died long ago, however.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I would not care to go someplace on the spur-of-the-moment with half charged batteries because I don't have time to charge them.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Battery (energy storage) technology is changing all the time. There used to be a few different basic types- disposable, rechargeable, lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and lately Lithium-Ion cells. Each of these types has various incarnations and variations with different characteristics as to charging rate, charging cycles, long-term storage capacity and longevity.

I, therefore in good conscience, will make any blanket recommendation that would apply to all batteries. I do have, in my studio, so many battery-operated devices- cameras strobes, speedlights, radio slaves and lord knows what else. The pencil sharpener in the office works on batteries. Based on this situation and experience and a few bad occurrences, here is my advice:

Never leave batteries in any camera or device in long-term dormant storage. There is no logical reason to do that. Take the time to do a bit of research on each type of battery you use in your more costly cameras and electronic flash gear. The battery manufacturer should have data on what percentage of charge must be retained to maintain battery health. When you find out the correct information you can devise a maintenance schedule.

If you don't look after your batteries they can fail at the most inopportune times or worse leak into the camera, battery grip, or the flash unit. If that happens, the cost of battery replacement will seem minuscule compared to the repair bill for the damaged camera or unit. It is best, never to charge a battery in the camera or unit if that possibility exists. Camera batteries are not physically large in size but it's amazing how hot, swollen and messy they can get if there is a short circuit if they are overcharged, or otherwise mishandled.

I am not certain that specific battery data is included in all camera and flash gear manuals. Aftermarket or 3rd-party batteries may have different characteristics as to charging and charge retention even the voltage and ampere/hour rating are the same.

Attaced is a shot of my battery testing station. Batteries became a major expense so I deced to monitor the usage more carefully. I keep the label maker handy because I date all new batteries and keep tabs on usage. I can check charging rates, etc. I am not the world's greatest authority of energy storage, far for that, but I have learned how to extend battery longevity, preclude unexpected battery failure, and avoid costly equipment repairs. A stitch in time saves nine- my mom used to say!

Bill_de Loc: US

Terrible waste of a nice woodworking bench.

Other than that, nice post.

---

BebuLamar

If you have the schematic of the battery tester I would like to build one.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

t
Thanks! I go to two of the benches in a charity shop for 20 bucks. The other one is in the workshop.