> Being a Lithium-Ion, it actually prefers to stay charged; so charge it
> whenever you like. You don't need to do deep cycle charging to avoid memory
> effect as you would with NiCad or NiMH batteries.
>
Neither NiCd nor NiMH have appreciable memory effects for how they
are used in consumer products... it's all a big bunch of collective
misunderstanding. Loss of battery capacity comes from a variety of
sources:
- Voltage depression from chronic *overcharging* (generally from people
concerned about memory effects leaving them on the charger all the time
for fear that if it discharges at all they need to full discharge it)
- Weak cells. Stupid battery/charger designs (i.e. 99% of all consumer
battery packs) simply run all the battery cells in series and charge the
ends. If one cell is weaker, it will get chronically undercharged and
overdischarged and become damaged/lose capacity. That one weak cell
effectively limits the capacity of the entire pack. Having individual
cell charging and equalization minimizes this chronic problem.
- Normal cell aging. Consumer batteries rarely survive this long as a
*whole* pack because one or two cells get abused and die prematurely as
explained above.
That's why I'm unhappy about the choice of battery packs in the
K10D. With AA's, you can buy a good charger that charges each cell
individually. That keeps the whole pack in top condition.
Also, Li-ion cells begin to destroy themselves the moment they are
produced. Whether they're used or not, after about 3 years, they're shot.
Short answer for the OP: Don't even worry about it. Charge it
when you feel like it, discharge it to random levels, charge it back up,
etc. The only thing is do *NOT* leave batteries on the charger for
storage... once they're charged, take them off.
-Cory
--
*************************************************************************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
*************************************************************************
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