Originally Posted by
CaptCarrot
Agree - as I pointed out in another thread on here, even if we take a fraction of the rated life cycles of a rechargeable, they go on for ages.
let us assume a battery is rated for 1000 charges, but we only get 1/4 of that in reality due to abuse and poor charging regime.
that is still 250 charges. At 1 charge a week that is nearly 4 years, at 1 charge a fortnight that is 8 years and at 1 charge a month that is nearly 16 years.
Lets say you charge weekly and look after your batteries and get the full 1000 cycles, that is nearly 20 years!
Let's look at another use case, the daily commuter. Battery won't quite stretch to two days' commute, so it's charged nightly. Four months a year, 20 days a month, 80 charges per year. That 1000 cycles is developed for a charge of 50% oritinal capacity at room temperature; on cold days it's de-rated 50%. (Yes, unfortunately, manufacturers play games like this!) That battery is good for no more than three years. Freeze it in the garage, cook it a time or two, and you'll be lucky to get two years out of that same battery.
Even though I wasn't commuting as much back when I used battery lights, I never got more than three years out of a battery.