Hi all, a little background then a question:
The need: I live in Florida in an area prone to extended power outages (in fact, I just recently got power back after being down a week after Irma). I also go camping once or twice a year. I have a bunch of handhelds that run on 18650's, but lanterns and fans are also a necessity and they run on D's. I have Siege lanterns and o2cool 10" fans - the sieges take 3 D's each and the fans take 6 D's each (I would love to consolidate to all 18650, and CL30R's would be an option for lanterns, but there are no decent options for 18650 fans, so I'm stuck with 6 D cell fans or jobsite fans with horrifically expensive proprietary battery packs for now). So, I need to keep a bunch of D cells around, often times for 6 months or a year between uses, but when I need them I might run them and recharge them several times over for a week or two straight.
The equipment: I have an ample supply of rechargeable D cell batteries. Some are Maha (Imedion) 9500, some are Tenergy 8000, and all are LSD (I never mix the two in the same device). For chargers I have a Maha 808m and a Xtar VP4 Plus Dragon. I top everything off when hurricanes approach, and I have an electric car that I use as a 90 kwh power bank when the power goes out, so recharging batteries is not an issue. However, sometimes the need arises without warning.
The issue: Storage! I very much prefer storing these batteries charged. The LSD batteries advertise that they "retain 85% of their charge after a year in storage" and that they can "be stored for 12-24 months with a high capacity percentage left." Thus, I'm assuming storing them fully charged is an option. My chargers have a "battery conditioning" mode. Currently I'm just topping them off every July and January if they haven't been used in the previous six months.
The question(s): On these LSD batteries, is storing them fully charged a reasonable option? Also, is there some recommended procedure/preventative maintenance that I should be performing periodically (monthly? semi-annually? annually?) to keep the cells as healthy as I can for as long as I can? If anyone has any insight on this issue it would be greatly appreciated!
The need: I live in Florida in an area prone to extended power outages (in fact, I just recently got power back after being down a week after Irma). I also go camping once or twice a year. I have a bunch of handhelds that run on 18650's, but lanterns and fans are also a necessity and they run on D's. I have Siege lanterns and o2cool 10" fans - the sieges take 3 D's each and the fans take 6 D's each (I would love to consolidate to all 18650, and CL30R's would be an option for lanterns, but there are no decent options for 18650 fans, so I'm stuck with 6 D cell fans or jobsite fans with horrifically expensive proprietary battery packs for now). So, I need to keep a bunch of D cells around, often times for 6 months or a year between uses, but when I need them I might run them and recharge them several times over for a week or two straight.
The equipment: I have an ample supply of rechargeable D cell batteries. Some are Maha (Imedion) 9500, some are Tenergy 8000, and all are LSD (I never mix the two in the same device). For chargers I have a Maha 808m and a Xtar VP4 Plus Dragon. I top everything off when hurricanes approach, and I have an electric car that I use as a 90 kwh power bank when the power goes out, so recharging batteries is not an issue. However, sometimes the need arises without warning.
The issue: Storage! I very much prefer storing these batteries charged. The LSD batteries advertise that they "retain 85% of their charge after a year in storage" and that they can "be stored for 12-24 months with a high capacity percentage left." Thus, I'm assuming storing them fully charged is an option. My chargers have a "battery conditioning" mode. Currently I'm just topping them off every July and January if they haven't been used in the previous six months.
The question(s): On these LSD batteries, is storing them fully charged a reasonable option? Also, is there some recommended procedure/preventative maintenance that I should be performing periodically (monthly? semi-annually? annually?) to keep the cells as healthy as I can for as long as I can? If anyone has any insight on this issue it would be greatly appreciated!