Re: Li-Ion Shelf Life: Outdated?


In article <1156732961.042677.169920@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Daveman750 <dsimcha@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
My understanding from extensive reading that I have done on the subject
is that Li-Ion batteries have a finite, relatively short shelf life,
even when not in use. However, it seems from personal experience that
this is simply not true. I have purchased two separate CompUSA
Amerinote AN laptops from 1999 or 2000 on Ebay, and both came with
working Li-Ion batteries that held charges. I am not sure of the
history of these laptops, but I do know that most likely these were the
original batteries, as new replacements are almost impossible to find.
I also purchased a used Dell C600 laptop that was apparently 4 years
old, and it gets approximately 2 hours of battery life.

Does anyone else have similar experiences? Is it possible that, while
at one time Li-Ion batteries did have limited shelf life, the chemistry
was improved years ago and we are just starting to see the effects of
these improvements now that those batteries are starting to age?

I've experienced both ends of the spectrum with laptop and cellular phone
batteries. Some seem to last forever, and others lose capacity
dramatically after a couple of years. The cobalt-based cells used in these
applications develop increasing internal resistance over time due to
oxidation; this is one reason why cool storage (and avoiding overheating
while actually in service) will prolong the service life.



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