Should you let cordless phone batteies run down?
 

Should you let the battery on your cordless phone run down to a very low point before recharging it, or should you keep it on the charger when you're not using it?

Which one is more likely to make the battery die a perminant death faster?

from my experience that type of battery isnt exactly designed to be totally discharged. my advice to you would be to but it back on the cradle when not in use, but if it sits around on the table and gets used for a couple of hours before it gets put back on the cradle it wont hurt it.

thats what i do with mine.

does that help?

Well, I've also read articles stating if you recharge your battery to often when it's not low on power, you give it a 'memory' that won't allow you to fully recharge it.

It has happened to me. We have a Panasonic cordless phone and were in the habit of putting it back in the cradle when we were done. It got a memory so that it retained only about a five minute charge. Had to buy a new battery and a second phone so that one would still have a full charge while the drained one is recharging.

It totally depends on the battery.

Nickel-cadmium batteries (used in those old Dynacharge rechargeable batteries) suffer from the "charge memory," so it's best to recharge them after they're completely drained of power.

However, it's recommended that rechargeable alkaline batteries (like the brand name Pure Energy. Actually, all alkaline batteries are rechargeable...) are never drained and kept as charged and as much as possible.

So, it really depends on what kind of battery you're using...

Taken from http://www.greenbatteries.com/documents/Battery_FAQ.htm

This apparently applies to NiMH and Li+ batteries, too, though these types of batteries suffer from the "memory effect" to a much smaller degree than do NiCd's

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990312b.html

Memory effect is a myth. Radio Shack employees propogate it in order to sell expensive batteries

Excellent. Thanks guys, this is just the stuff I wanted to know.

Another comment. After you have charged your battery, and the battery is warm, let the battery cool down before using the phone. This will help extend the life of the battery.

Apparently cordless phone batteries are only expected to last about a year with regular use. We got two years out of our Panasonic battery, and the replacement was only $19. We did nothing special in terms of running the battery down on purpose, but now and then it did run all the way down to the point where the phone failed. The first charge on the new battery should be for 24 hours or more, uninterrupted (I'm told).

get as much LiIon batteries they are much much better then NiCd or NiMH batteries ...

It all depends on the chemistry of the battery. Conditioning NiCDs helps, but if Li-Ion batteries are deep discharged for any length of time, it ruins them permanently, for example. There's a lot of overgeneralized and mis-information out there. I had a great link once, that mostly dealt with cellphone batteries I think, I can't find it now but will look tomorrow and post it if I come up with it.