Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Batteries in Refrigerator

Should batteries be stored in the Refrigerator?, i.e, to keep before they are used.

If they were perishable and needed to be refrigerated, do you think stores would leave them at room temperature?

If they were perishable and needed to be refrigerated, do you think stores would leave them at room temperature?

You are new here so I will be gentle. Read this and then reconsider your answer.
http://batteryuniversity.com/index.htm

To the OP: Your question is more relevant than the first replier would lead you to believe. Until I read the information on battery university I was as ignorant as the first responder. It is a dirty little secret that Li-ion batteries begin losing capacity immediately after manufacturer and that it is dependent upon elapsed time, storage temperature and charge level.

http://batteryuniversity.com/partone-19.htm
See figure 1 under How to store batteries(BU20) and you might be storing your Li-ion batteries at a 40% charge level in the refrigerator instead of on full charge at room temperature. Nickel based batteries are okay as long as the temperature is not high.

As Ed McMahon would say, "everything you ever wanted to know about batteries is at batteryuniversity.com". I am sure that I am exaggerating but if you review this site you will be able to know who has a clue about batteries and who doesn't.

Please note that "battery" seems to mean rechargeable battery throughout Batteryuniversity's site. It's not stated explicitly anywhere (as far as I could see at a quick glance), but the fact they say you should store Li-Ion "at a 40% state-of-charge" implies that. Also, they only refer to reusable alkaline in their site, while overwhelming majority of alkalines sold today are non-reusable (as per manufacturers' instructions).

So, if OP is requesting information regarding storage of non-rechargeable batteries, Doohickie's reply may not be ignorant at all.

--J

In fact non-rechargable batteries are perishable as are all batteries. Just like us they have a limited lifetime. They have a shelf life and will self discharge simply sitting on the shelf. The amount of self discharge may allow an extended time on the shelf before the consumer notices the degradation. How do you measure battery life as a user. Most of us it's not measured at all but rather a gut feel as to whether you got a reasonable use time from them. And that varies widely depending on what the consumption of the device is. Many stores where we purchase batteries are air conditioned so are not stocked in excessively high temperatures, at least on the showroom floor, and depend highly on fast turnover so they mostly don't sit around long.

Batteries rechargable or not generate electrical energy by a chemical process. And if you remember your high school chemistry, one of the ways you speed up a chemical process is to add heat (ye ole bunsen burner). All that to say temperature greatly affects battery life and performance. One performance characteristic is shelf life or the ability to retain the ability to generate electrical energy before the cel is used by the consumer. Based on my understanding of the above, I for years have stored my non-rechargable cels in the refigerator. Did I measure any preformance advantage for doing so. No, of course not - who really measures? But I did it because it made sense to me. Then several years ago good ole Consumer Reports (who measures everything) did some testing and measuring to see if in fact (not just gut feel etc) battery life was extended by refrigerating them. As I recall, if it made any difference at all it was so small as not to be significant. So now where I use to store batteries, I store butter. There it does really make a difference including making it hard to spread.

Please note that "battery" seems to mean rechargeable battery throughout Batteryuniversity's site. It's not stated explicitly anywhere (as far as I could see at a quick glance), but the fact they say you should store Li-Ion "at a 40% state-of-charge" implies that. Also, they only refer to reusable alkaline in their site, while overwhelming majority of alkalines sold today are non-reusable (as per manufacturers' instructions).

So, if OP is requesting information regarding storage of non-rechargeable batteries, Doohickie's reply may not be ignorant at all.

--J

Why would a consumer store nonrechargeable batteries? Buy them when you need them from a high volume source so they are fresh.

I buy big packs at Costco so I have them handy. That's why.

Consumer Reports tested this urban legend a few years back and concluded that there's no point in putting disposable alkaline batteries in the fridge/freezer. Rechargeables and perhaps Li disposables are probably a different story.

Don't know if this actually applies to this thread, but it applies to battery shelf life.
A few months ago I bought a new Coleman rechargeable lantern with a sealed wet cell batt. It was advertised to run 6 hours on high and 9 hours on low. (I have another and they are capable of doing so).
After awhile I couldn't get 1 hour out of it. I took a peek inside and noticed it had the older style battery in it.
I called Coleman and was told that this lantern was a few years old and probably had sat around for sometime and was never charged. (Of course, it was new in the box). I offered to swap it out if they would send me a new battery. They don't sell batts but I could send lamp back @ my expense and they would send a new one. The old one would not be rebuilt but junked!
So I brought it back to the store and got my $ back.

Moral of the story:
It is hard to tell the condition of rechargeable batteries that are inside the device you bought. Use it immediately and use it hard to see if it holds up. It may start off fine and then trickle down to nothing like my lantern.

Alkalines in a fridge=waste of time. Does nothing.

NiMh's lose about 1% a day on a shelf. Go with those! You will save a lot of money.

Consumer Reports tested this urban legend a few years back and concluded that there's no point in putting disposable alkaline batteries in the fridge/freezer. Rechargeables and perhaps Li disposables are probably a different story.


Do you have link to this Consumer Reports test? I searched www.consumerreports.org and could not find anything like this.