My VHF is an Icom M34. Is it ok top leave it in the desktop charger all winter? If I don`t ,do i risk a discharge below recharg-ability?
Leave handheld in charger all winter?
- Thread starter DAVA390
- Start date
I don't know the specific battery chemistry of your Icom, but the general guidance for all electronic rechargeable devices is to charge them fully, then use them until you get a low battery indication. Then repeat. Generally is is not a good idea to leave batteries on charge for long periods of time. I suppose if you have a really smart charger that can truly float a fully charged battery without over-charging it could be OK, but unless your instruction manual specifically claims that it is OK to do this, I would not.
No!
Wall wart chargers for any device, radio, electric shaver, power tools, etc... provide a constant charge rate as specified on their plugs and are not designed to trickle charge or maintain batteries.
This is an excerpt from the user's manual for your radio:
"WARNING! DO NOT charge or leave the battery in the bat- tery charger beyond the specified time for charging. If the bat- tery is not completely charged by the specified time, stop charging and remove the battery from the battery charger. Continuing to charge the battery beyond the specified time limit may cause a fire, overheating, or the battery may rupture"
There is also a paragraph in all Icom manuals stating that you should remove the battery from the radio for prolonged storage periods.
Wall wart chargers for any device, radio, electric shaver, power tools, etc... provide a constant charge rate as specified on their plugs and are not designed to trickle charge or maintain batteries.
This is an excerpt from the user's manual for your radio:
"WARNING! DO NOT charge or leave the battery in the bat- tery charger beyond the specified time for charging. If the bat- tery is not completely charged by the specified time, stop charging and remove the battery from the battery charger. Continuing to charge the battery beyond the specified time limit may cause a fire, overheating, or the battery may rupture"
There is also a paragraph in all Icom manuals stating that you should remove the battery from the radio for prolonged storage periods.
i take mine home and fuss with it in the winter . i'd never leave any thing 'plugged in' over the winter --in f act the yard won't allow it. you can only hook a boat in s storage up to shore power if you the owner are on site.
Agree with previous posters. VHF hand helds do not have smart chargers. It is not good practice to leave them in the charger over long periods of time even if the radio tells you its charged. It probably has Li-ion battery (my Icom M88 does) and they need solid charge/discharge cycles to keep the batteries healthy. It is not good to let them get to zero but wait for the low battery warning to recharge if practical. It is best to take your HH and charger home with you for the winter. That is what I do.
Mitch,the boat is home,charger is inthe house for hand held. Thanks guys, gonna charge up then remove for the winter.
Our laptop has a charging mode for constant power. It charges then discharges to 80% then charges again. It's a Dell. I know of no other appliance that works that way.
Ken
The chargers in computers and cell phones are smarter than those in power tools and VHF's and can better sense when the battery is near full to stop charging then. Chargers like Ken mentioned are even more advanced and can stop the charge before the battery gets toward 100%, further improving battery durability.
I have an iCom MIV and it sits loosely in the charger base all winter with the charger unplugged. The base has a detent in it that the radio has to be pushed beyond to touch the charger contacts. I have had the radio for at least 8 years and it has always maintained a nearly full charge from September to May while indoors during winter layup.
The M-34 uses a Li-Ion battery and the best practice is to discharge the battery until the on-screen indicator shows about 50% SOC. Now remove the battery from the radio and let it sit. Holding Li-Ion batteries at a high SOC is detrimental and shortens their life. This is why most all products that use Li batteries ship at 30% to 60% SOC not 100% SOC..
I even do this with my Milwaukee Li-Ion M-12 & M-18 batteries and the oldest ones are now going on 7 +/- years with zero sign of deterioration. I have friends who have killed them in as little as two years and they use them far less than I do (mine are in use at least 5 days per week). My Milwaukee or VHF hand held batteries are never stored at 100% SOC nor is the LiFePO4 battery for our boat which has over 800 cycles and still has 98-99% of its original capacity.
Proper care and feeding of Li-Ion batteries is NOT the same as Lead Acid...
Well, now that it's charged up I guess I'll be listening to the weather reports 24/7 for 3-4 days.
Thanks for that MS. I had charged and removef it yesterday, I will run it down now before removing again.
I guess that explains why I have 1 bad Li-Ion battery for my 20V drivers. Or maybe it was after I dropped the impact driver from an extension ladder onto concrete.
I clipped this chart from BatteryUniversity.com web site. It goes along with what Maine Sail said about not storing Li-ion batteries at 100% charge. Temperature is also a big factor. Us Florida boaters might consider storing the battery in the frig rather than leaving in a hot boat over the summer.