Long-term battery and flashlight storage

M

MG_Saldivar

Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Messages
857
I was reading a thread on another forum re. long-term storage of batteries and flashlights...

Personally, the batteries in my EDC lights change with relative frequency simply due to replacement of spent batteries, but I admit that I don't give much thought to the batteries in my bug out bag light or my truck light. I check them now and again by flicking them on-off (i.e., make sure the batteries are live), but otherwise don't give them much thought.

Here are my new concerns, about which I'd appreciate y'all's thoughts:

1. Some folks described alkalines being sensitive to extreme heat or cold, while lithiums and Li-ions are more resistent to cold. There seemed to be some empirical evidence for this on some of the battery manufacturer's Web sites.
2. I read claims that my kind of battery testing (a quick flick on-off to make sure a light is live) is BAD with lithiums, like the non-rechargeable Energizer lithiums, because when you begin to draw current on one, it is 'activated' and begins a long, slow discharge.
3. A few people claimed they'd had alkaline batteries burst inside their flashlights that were stored in their cars and thus exposed to temperature changes. Aside from having batteries simply die from long storage (inside a flashlight that never got used), I've never had a serious problem with a battery in a flashlight in my truck.

I take everything with a grain of salt, but this battery business has given me food for thought...
 
I definitely don't know much about the subject.

But it seems like I have heard of many people storing alkaline batteries in the fridge or freezer to increase shelf life. Don't know if this is the right or wrong thing to do but I have heard of it.

I had a flashlight with alkaline AA's in it that was only a few months old and resided in a truck. The batteries leaked and ruined the light. I would say this one is pretty plausible but I don't know what to do to prevent it.

Just thought I would put in my crummy 2 cents since no one has replied.

Ryan
 
I cycle the torches in my house and car. Heat hasn't materially reduced the life of a torch in a car for a month (over 100f in the shade) but I then use that torch for every night work and then replace the batteries.

This would get interesting that I am going onto the LEDs for the 2D Maglights and the batteries are supposed to last that much longer.
 
You need to be careful as to which light you use. It is not just a consideration of battery type, but some flashlights draw current from the batteries even when switched off. On flashlights that do this, a new set of batteries can be depleted after a couple months.

Personally, I keep a Surefire light for this purpose and the lithium batteries are very resistant to severe cold.
 
For storage you can't beat lithium batteries .Typically they have a 10 year storage life.
 
If you are looking for the longest lasting batteries lithiums do have a ten year shelf life. They are still @ about 90% capacity after 10 years. www.candlepowerforums.com is the place to go if you are looking for flashlight information. Very nice, very knowledgeable people at that website. surefire flashlights are the best in my opinion. They arn't cheap but very nice. I own an M6 $400.00 and a L5 $190.00 I didn't pay full price for mine but they are worth it. I would go for the LED lights since they don't have bulbs to burn out or break. And try to go for the 100 lumen range if you can. www.surefire.com is a great place to look over also. These lights are in a class of there own. Believe the claims on light output they have on their website they are true My M6 puts out an incredible amount of light easily 20 4D maglights.
Jeff
 
BY THE WAY
if you have any stock of lithiums make sure you keep them in a dry, airtight place
or leave them in the original packaging
in a humid environment like singapore the metal contacts weather and just don't work anymore, even after i cleaned up the dull parts
 
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