Rechargeable Stick Vacums and little hand held vacums.upkeep of the battery?

violet0019 · #1 Sep 19, 2007, 08:15 PM

Hello, is it better to use rechargeable vacums until there is absolutely no power
left in them at all, or, is it better to leave them plugged in at all times, so that
they are always with power and ready to use? Someone told me that the actual
batteries inside will last longer if they are NOT always plugged in and that they
should be totally drained? I appreciate your help!

KeepItSimpleStupid · Sep 19, 2007, 09:19 PM

It depends a lot on the battery chemistry. Let's assume Ni-Cd for a moment, since it's most likely. They like to be drained completely and then recharged, otherwise they develop a "memory" where they won't discharge fully. They can be "coaxed" back with deeper discharge cycles.

The next problem. Most chargers are "stupid" and the vacuum's fall into this category. A laptop with a Ni-Cd pack doesn't. The "stupid" chargers should be unplugged. They don't incorporate slow and fast charging with a maintenence level.

Now there is a competing factor. The Ni-Cd's will self discharge so they need to be charged and/or used periodically.



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