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Why do my batteries suddenly discharge?

Why is it better to fully discharge rechargeable batteries before recharging?

  • I've heard this over and over, but I've never heard why this is how to best extend your rechargeable batteries' lives.

  • Answer:

    What is "battery memory". Basicly the idea is that if you only use 1/2 the charge then recharge, then use 1/2 the charge and recharge, rinse & repeat, the materials in the battery will 'think' that 1/2 a charge is all there is. So if a fresh battery would give you say 4 hours of ipod time, it will now only give 2. However batteries of today usually don't suffer from this problem, due to new materials and construction. Most people mistake bat memory for 'voltage depression' which is more of a misuse problem. If the batteries aren't old and seem to have a shortened life try this: -Discharge them fully -wait a day and then use them up again -do a full charge, take them out of charger and then put them in again and let them charge again However no battery will last forever, so if your battery is old and you notice that you get less and less of a charge each time, it may be time to replace it.

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Annoying isn't it when people tell you something without explaining it. Chance are they don't know just parroting stuff they have heard before. Your answer is simply imagine a battery has a memory and you only use half of its power, then when you run it down again it will stop where it left off and so on and so on until it is no good. So therefore fully use its power, it will still degrade but as long as you do this it will degrade at a minimum rate. Does the make sense to you?

scorpiotoo2000

It really depends on what type of rechargeable battery they are - it is not so important with the newer types of battery (Li-ion etc.) but was very important in previous times with Ni-cad batteries. Electricity is produced in a battery by chemical action and when you recharge you reverse the process so that more electricity can be produced. If you do not fully discharge a Ni-cad in particular the chemicals begin to remember the point at which you stopped discharging, This is actually reffered to as "The memory effect" even by battery experts. So the battery "remembers" that you stop using it at a certain point and when you are using it it stops giving out electridity at that point - so you do not get a full charge into or out of the battery and it will not produce electricity for long as you expected it to Discharging fully before recharge remind the chemicals of the state they need to reach to be fully discharged so that you get the full use from your batteries. Only happens because batteries rely on chemical action - so they can have a bit of a mind of their own. + -

BRIAN C

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