Uncle Ron Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 I keep my ML GPX4500 battery charging all the time in the house ... seems to be working fine, but I'm wondering if I might need to take it off the charger???? Currently, its been on the mains charger for at least a month, but I don't know if I've screwed up or not ... Does anyone out there know how I should be handling my battery during long periods of non=use or what???? Thanks for your input ... Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Boy Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 Ron, Your battery will hold a full charge over long periods of time. It would be better for your battery if you plug it in for a couple hours once a month.AJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 Ron, I store my batteries fully charged, I never leave them on a charger. I do take them out and charge them up in the slow months. The worst thing for modern batterys is to store them partially or fully drained...fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted August 5, 2014 Report Share Posted August 5, 2014 Ron ... I fully charge and store for as much as 2 months on my GPX5000 Li-Ion OEM battery. I just mark on the calendar when to recharge if I don't use it withing that 2 month period. And I recharge everytime I am finished using it so I store long or short term fully charged. The only batteries I still keep plugged in nowadays is my camper trailer ... two 12v deep charge lead acid batteries on a trickle charger ... just have to remember to check water levels every couple months.Mike F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 Don't know if what I'm doing is right, but it's what I do- In the summer don't get out much, so I'll put batt on charger till green light comes on. Every other month, I'll hook up to detector, turn on, let it set in garage and run down till it shuts off, then recharge. Do this w/ Doc's little batts too. It's a good weekend project and makes the wife think I'm doing something constructive. Shep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 Shep ... Sounds like that works on all counts ... including the wife! WTG! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted August 6, 2014 Report Share Posted August 6, 2014 May not apply to the Minelab Lion batteries but I have an Icom uhf handheld which runs on them and the instructions say never to leave it for extended periods of time fully charged. That its best to store it partially, half discharged! As I always was running my 5 nearly every week the storing issue never came into play. I just sold it too, the 5, taking a break from detecting at the moment. Could do with it, and will wait for the next big one to come out.Checked out the SDC and don't think its for me, good detector but does not suit my hunting style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota Slim Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 It's a good weekend project and makes the wife think I'm doing something constructive.Shep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Guys you should never fully discharge Lithium Ion batteries worst thing in the world for them. As for leaving them on the charger, it does not hurt at all. The Minelab battery has a built in smart charger, once the battery is charged the charging stops and goes into monitoring mode. It will only come on again to top the battery off.The same is true with all of the Good Digipower chargers that I sell they all have a brain that turns the charging off when the battery is full, I have been using the same Lithium Ion batteries for 3 years.The only people I ever see that have battery issues are the folks who leave the batteries sit around in a warm environment when they have not been charged for a couple of months.Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted August 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Thanks everyone...I haven't had any problems, but, since I haven't been getting out as much as I used to I was concerned about keeping it on the charger 24/7 .... Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted August 9, 2014 Admin Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Hey Guys, I have always recommended keeping the li-ions charged fully. If you're not using them, charge them monthly if possible if they are going to sit for long periods of time without use. I can't tell you how many have purchased replacment li-ions cause of this, 99% of them admitted they didn't charge them, left them sitting for long periods of time dead. When I'm going to weekly, I will just let them sit on the chargers and never had issues. I have used this method for over 10 years with the small, li-ion batteries for the Pocket Rocket or Goldscreamer Power Pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 OK Doc, question to you. Doing it my way, in the summer here, I don't get out. Every month or two, will fire up detector turned on to run batt down. Detector shuts batt off. Then I recharge. This is not running it all the way down, so ok right? Shep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Seeker Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 OK Doc, question to you.Doing it my way, in the summer here, I don't get out. Every month or two, will fire up detector turned on to run batt down. Detector shuts batt off. Then I recharge. This is not running it all the way down, so ok right?ShepThere's no reason to run a Li-ion battery down before recharging like had to be done on Ni-cads, Li-ions have no "memory" like like Ni-cads do, with a Ni-cad if you don't discharge the battery before charging it the battery will eventually only take a partial charge and never a full charge, not the case with Li-ions they can be charged at any time with no ill affects and will always take a full charge.I'm not sure of the affects of totally discharging a Li-ion before charging would be on the battery life, I would think as long as the battery wasn't left in an discharged state for an extended time there would be no ill affects since the battery is designed to be discharged during use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted August 9, 2014 Report Share Posted August 9, 2014 Shep if I am hearing Doc right you need only 'top off' your battery every month if you are not using it. No need to hide in the garage and make a weekend project out of it! Sorry but you will now have to find something else to make the wife think you are actually doing something! LOLMike F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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