Not going to use my NiMH packs for about 2 months, how should I store them?

[LowLock]

I know that I'm not going to use my NiMH packs for about the next 2 months, so how should I leave them? Any particular charge level? Then what should I do before I use them again, discharge and recharge, or peak them and use them? One is a 6 cell 5000 mah and the other a 7 cell 3500 mah, both relatively new. Thanks in advance!

[Charlie-III]

Either run them through a discharger....or....run them down in your rig until the performance drops off.
Store.
When ready, just charge them up, then hit them again to top them off.

[Jus]

Nimh self discharges at a pretty good rate doesn't it? I thought it best to keep them fully charged and repeak them at least once a month? I've had packs die on me or at least drop a cell if they sat for any length of time without being charged.

[crawlhog]

i almost sure they should be kept charged

[Trubble]

Right from the Mfr.'s mouths......

I always heard to store them charged, but apparently the Mfr.'s say it could go either way.

I personally agree with the above post about losing cells to self-discharge. I've got a few packs that 'used to be' 7 cells, and my 8-cell pack was salvaged from 4 different packs. I've also got a few packs I've been carrying around since the late-80's or early 90's. In two months, you'll hardly notice, but ten years of sitting in a box in the basement took a lot more than 2-3 cycles to get back.

I guess store 'em half, full, or empty, shouldn't matter much. But I would caution you to charge them at a little lower amp rate and watch your temperatures when you do pull them out and charge 'em back up.

[EddieO]

Its totally dependent on which NIMH it is really.........some liked to be stored zeroed, some stored deadshorted, some liked to be stored charged...........really just depends.

Later EddieO

[Manning]

Fully charge them, run them in a rig to get the voltage down a bit, don't fully discharge. Put them in a ziplock, and put them in the refrigerator. Cold temps slow down chemical reactions that could cause premature loss of capacity/performance. Let them warm to room temp prior to charging.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by Manning

Cold temps slow down chemical reactions that could cause premature loss of capacity/performance. Let them warm to room temp prior to charging.

Agreed, even a cool dry spot is fine for storage you don't "need" to refrigerate the packs (my wife would kill me if she found packs in the fridge )

I have NiCAD & NiMH packs that sat in a plastic storage box for years in my basement shop. Most came back after a number of easy charge/discharge cycles. Once I did that, I redid the cycles at a higher rate.
Some of the NiCADS are 15+ years old.

[Manning]

Yeah, my wife wasn't so thrilled with it at first. But now she's used to a few batteries and a bottle of super glue or two. Everything is in ziplocks.