Recharge or refresh my battery?

Hi All, I have been using my 1D-2 for a while now and I have a question about battery

recharging. The recharger instructions say, to get the most life from your battery, refresh

before recharging. At least for the first few times. Although just recharging is OK to do. So

far I've always been refreshing before I recharge. But it takes so long! What procedures do

you use, as a rule, with this subject.

When I recieved my 1D2 I refreshed and charged before I ever used the camera. I would think that refreshing 1X/month would be sufficient. That's what I have done with other batteries.

If the batteries are empty, refreshing only 'pulls out' the last bit of energy, so I don't think it will cost that much extra time. I always do it that way....

I use mine for work every day. I recharge every night and refresh every weekend. If I don't

refresh ,after a week or so ,I can recharge my battey and it will only take a half a charge.

Normally the batteries that need refresh are the Nickel Cadmium batteries that have the tendency to memorize.

 

Most of the cameras batteries Nickel Metal Hydrate; as far as I know these batteries do not build up memory like their predecessors (NiCad), I have no idea why Canon included that that option on the charger, because old EOS models common parts?

 

Why the 10D, 300D or even 20D?s chargers do not come with that option? They also use Ni-Metal-Hydrate.

 

If I am not wrong, the act of refreshing these batteries has the tendency to short their life, because many oxidation reduction processes end up destroying the cells.

 

I just do not use that option (refreshing) neither recommended, it will be a good idea to ask Cannon why they do that, or maybe anybody in this forum may have the answer?

The 10D, 300D and 20D use Li-Ion batteries, not NiCd or NiMH. Li-ion batteries do not need "refreshing".

True, the newer battery technologies are much less prone to 'memory' issues. There have been some issues with the status indication systems telling the charger the battery just needs a top off when it really needed a good charging.

 

After many incomplete discharge/recharge cycles the status system looses 'calibration' with the actual state of charge of the battery. Completely draining the battery 'zeros' the status system. So, I think a better statement is you are 'refreshing' the charge status system versus the battery itself.