[OSM-talk] OT: Best rechargeable batteries for low temperatures?

[Robert T Wyatt]

When I was in the US Army Infantry stationed at Ft. Wainwright,
Alaska, we always used lithium batteries, but that was twenty years
ago and the technology has changed. Sometimes they needed to be warmed
up with body heat. No batteries work when they're very cold--say
around -40C (which = -40F, by the way), that's why we used the good
ol' mechanically-activated recoilless rifle as an anti-tank weapon
instead of TOWs or Dragons (not that one could drive an armored
vehicle in muskeg or tundra anyway, but they didn't call it an arms
race for nothing). I used (non-rechargeable back then) lithium 3v
batteries in my camera and was able to take photos at -50F if I kept
the camera in my pocket for warmth.

HTH, YMMV.


Steve Bromwich wrote:
>> how long have you been using those batteries (that is, how many charge / 
>> discharge cycles) ? mebbe you arrived at the end of their useful life...
> 
> Maybe 50 cycles. The batteries are about a year old. The previous charge 
> cycle lasted the whole week, which is why I'm so surprised about the 
> sudden dropoff.
> 
> I guess my main question (which I didn't really phrase too well) is which 
> AA rechargeable battery technology (Alkaline, probably not NiMH, NiCad, 
> Li-Ion) works best under cold conditions? I can't find anything concrete 
> out there on the net beyond vague handwavey comments like "works well 
> under extreme conditions", so I was hoping someone on the list might have 
> some experience.
> 
> Cheers, Steve