For as long as I’ve been using and suggesting the utilization of rechargeable batteries, I have also strongly purported the use of an intelligent charger with a refresh or reconditioning function.

So, why, when I place a rechargeable battery that’s barely six months old on my own Ansmann Energy 16 charger – probably the most advance charger on the globe – does my battery show as defective? This ever happen to you? If you’ve used rechargeables for almost any time period, the response will certainly be a resounding yes.  But there’s a pretty good possibility there is nothing wrong with that battery – and it actually could be revived for many useful recycles. This is what has happened:
You placed the battery in a rather unsophisticated device, similar to a child’s toy and the batteries became overdischarged. Typically, you will not want to overdischarge cells below 1.0 volts and the majority of electronic devices have an automatic “stop-working” voltage cutoff to counteract this. However, many toys and simple devices don’t have this feature.

So, in such cases, your rechargeable battery voltage has dropped below 1.0 volts – say right down to .8 volts. A smart charger will detect this for a bad cell and not start the charging or refresh cycle – as it appears the batteries are depleted.  However, should you place this battery within a “dumb” charger for approximately 10 minutes, the voltage will rise sufficiently for an intelligent charger to identify a viable cell and begin the restoration/charging process.By way of a dumb charger, we’re referring to some of those units that basically cooks batteries. It is possible to pick-up a cheap unit for less than $10 bucks. We make use of the Ansmann Power Set – an easy plug-in overnight charger to accomplish this – yet it is only suitable for AA’s and triple A’s. If you have to revive C’s, D’s, or 9V’s try Duracell or Energizer – they focus on dumb chargers.

Does this mean you should give up on your intelligent charger? Absolutely not. Chargers such as Ansmann Energy 8 plus or Energy 16 will still grant you the most recycles from your rechargeable batteries as a result of refresh function.  The refresh function breaks down the chemistry of the cell in an intelligent way – by introducing a proprietary algorithim of charge and discharge cycles at different voltage levels. This prevents the cell from developing crystalline formation inside the chemistry whic can shorten battery life and recycles, particularly in the latter stages of your cell’s life.
Your easiest defense against erratic battery behavior is two-fold. First, do not allow you batteries to totally drain. Even with low self discharge batteries which have a shelf life of more than a year, it is still better to cycle these batteries every 6 months. And secondly, only use a smart battery charger to charge your batteries.