batteryBob University Course on
New NiCD Cordless Phone Batteries

Guidelines for full value and the possible longest life
from your battery investment.

Call me if you have questions.

When you get your new NiCD battery installed, charge it for 16 hours minimum. Set a timer and do not over charge. Most MiCD batteries will charge cool; if it runs hot you have a problem and may need a new charger.

Next, after the battery is charged try to keep your phone off the recharging cradle until you have used about 80%; that should be with the 2% daily self discharge, and normal use about 5-7 days. That cradle is for recharging and not really a great place to "park" or "nest" the handset when not in use. Constant "parking" the handset on the charging cradle when it does not need recharging can cause bad things: the un-scientific term, memory effect, may offur.

Overcharging a used up battery, or the use of an inexpensive "smart" charger causes most of the so-called memory effect. There is debate in the battery industry about the "memory effect." The cordless phone and battery companies don’t tell you how to charge or prolong the batteries. As a rule of thumb, according to a leading battery authority, if you discharge full once every 50 times you will never notice any memory effect. In a standby mode you may keep a nickel cadmium battery topped up without any damage to the battery. This can be done safely only with a smart charger.

My guidline is the battery should be fully discharged before charging.

From a form letter from Panasonic to a customer:
"Dear Panasonic Customer Thank you for your inquiry. To avoid "shortening" the battery life of the Ni-Cd batteries, it is "recommended" not to put handset into the base without allowing the battery to drain."

More batteries are damaged and destroyed by improper charging than every other cause. Once battery packs reach their full charge that charging current has to go somewhere; most often generating heat and gases, both are bad for batteries. Cells should life to about 1000 cycles if treated properly. Anything over that is gravy.

Batteries are finite and will eventually expire.

A Battery warranty is a sign of vendor confidence in quality.

For ANY QUESTIONS about Batteries - Please Call Our Customer Service @ 800-824-4899.