cold batteries...dead or just lazy?

[forestgnome]

My digital camera's rechargable li-ion battery went dead after about 10 slightly extended exposures while shooting Venus and Moon at sunset. It went so dead that it would not even light the display. I popped in a fresh one and finished shooting.

When I got home, I put it in the charger but it wasn't completely drained. It only took a few minutes to completely recharge.

I will experiment next time out with warming the dead battery and trying it again, but I thought I'd mention this at VFTT. Will this work? What about AA batteries, etc?


Happy Trails

 

[MichaelJ]

My experience with Li-ion camera batteries in the cold is to always carry two of them and keep one warm in my pocket. As the one in the camera gets cold and fails, I swap them. It will virtually always recover in my pocket and I just swap again and again as necessary.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I do the same thing with my NiMh batteries in the cold, but I carry 2 sets as I keep the camera away from my body so the lens won't fog.

 

[carole]

I have had the cold effect the battery so that the lens just shuts. I pop it out and hold in in my hand for 30-60 seconds and am able to take the picture(s). Of course that doesn't help for something moving.

 

[Dream Catcher]

Definitely cold, not dead.

When doing extreme winter shots, I keep two sets of spares in my inner pants pockets. Oh what fun it is to put cold batteries in there for rewarming.....

 

[sardog1]

I figured you thermally-challenged numb---- might enjoy seeing Fred Hirschmann's aurora stamp, along with the story behind it.

 

[forestgnome]

I figured you thermally-challenged numb---- might enjoy seeing Fred Hirschmann's aurora stamp, along with the story behind it.

Thanks, nice image! That's determination!

I'll be keeping this in mind today, warming one battery while using the other, as opposed to thinking I was done once both batteries quit due to cold. It's going to be gorgeous out there today!!!

BTW, pretty dog (avatar). Reminds me of my Einstein, who recently went to heaven.

Happy Trails

 

[Peakbagr]

Good thread.
Should this be moved to the photography section?

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Good thread.
Should this be moved to the photography section?

I would say not. It applies much more widely than just for camera use.

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

I'll be keeping this in mind today, warming one battery while using the other, as opposed to thinking I was done once both batteries quit due to cold.

Keeping a spare set of bqtteries in a warm pocket and swapping as needed is a good strategy in the cold. Just make sure the batteries in your pocket cannot short--not only will this discharge the batteries, but you can get burned or set on fire with some battery technologies (lithium, LION, NiMH, NiCad). Plastic holders/covers are a good way to prevent this hazard.

Batteries are electro-chemical devices. Electrical power is produced as a result of a chemical reaction and (most) chemical reactions slow down in the cold. Thus warming a cold battery can increase its available outout power.

Different battery chemistries have different cold tolerances:
* non-rechargable lithium: very good
* rechargable lithium ion (LION): medium
* NiMH: medium
* NiCad: medium
* alkaline: medium--poor
* carbon-zinc (dry cell): terrible

Note:
* A battery starts out with a certain amount of energy (energy=volts*amps*hrs, units of watt-hrs) and is dead (discharged) once this energy is consumed.
* An application consumes power (power=volts*amps, units of watts)
* If the battery is too cold, it cannot supply enough amperage (and thus power) for the application, but the energy within the battery is not lost, just unavailable. Warming makes it available again.

Note2:
Different devices place different power demands upon batteries--those that have the highest power demands will tend to make the batteries "fail" at the highest temps. Power (current) demands of several common outdoor devices:
* digital camera: high
* cell phone: receive low, transmit med-high
* GPS: med
* incandescent headlamp/flashlight: med-high
* LED headlamp/flashlight: low-med-high
* headphone radio/MP3 player: low, if properly designed
* watch/clock: very low
You may be able to remove a battery from a high demand device and immediately use it in a lower demand device without rewarming.

Note3:
The above is a bit of a simplification--both battery voltage and current capability vary with temp and state-of-charge. The above description is good enough for you to get the best from your batteries.

More info at http://www.batteryuniversity.com/index.htm.

Doug