Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
Keep in mind that the quickest way to grow crystals around the electrodes is to discharge a cell below 0.95 volts per cell. If you run a NiMH battery down below there, you will incur irreversible crystallization around the electrodes and the cell will be permanently damaged. The more you do it the worse it will be.
So while running them down is probably OK, running them dead is worse than not doing anything.
Is this what happened to my Energizer NiMH AA's? I was in the habit of running them down to zero light, thinking that full discharge was the way to go.
I've used them for about 40 cycles, and now with a full charge they give a weak light on my halogen light (PB 5000x). It seems to me they aren't giving out the right voltage, but I have the same problem on the 'bright' setting (which should double the voltage).
Should I get a new set and just recharge them every time I use the light? When I was using the light/batteries last year, I could get 4-5 h from the lights before recharging (1 week of commuting), which may have caused the problem.