How to store battery for more than a year

I purchased Two Dell Studio Batteries by mistake . Now I want to use only one and store the other one untill the one I will be using gets spoiled.
What is the best way to store it without even charging it once..?
Or should I use it alternately

 

You'll be better off just storing it somewhere cool, rather than alternating. I always alternate my cell phone batteries, but it's a completely different situation with a laptop.

Make sure it works first (put one cycle on it) though. State of charge won't matter since it will drain itself within a couple months because of the protection circuit inside.

 

A good place is in a sealed bag in the fridge (NOT the freezer). Shelf life should be best at low, non-freezing temperature.

To verify that the battery is good, I would recommend at least three full charge/discharge cycles. Install a good battery monitoring tool under Windows, to see that you indeed get full capacity (native Windows monitoring is pathetic). If you use a Linux distribution, advanced battery monitoring is most likely already installed.

 

Let me give you an advice - always use the full capacity of the battery, and then turn to charge again. I constantly switched on and off my battery and she died within a year. So, don’t do that!

 

If you need to leave it for a while, charge it to about 60-80% and leave it in a cool place. I wouldn't let it drain completely though which it will in a year. You are better off switching them back and forth.

 

I remember seeing a chart where 40% charge was ideal. The colder your battery is and the lower charge is you will generally preserve it better.

So reduce battery to 40% (not any lower!!) then put it in a freezer.

 

The battery from my Toshiba Satellite is still going strong after 5 years. When I'm not using it, I leave about 50% capacity and just put it in a drawer or store it inside an ottoman and it's been stored 85% of the time. The key is: if it is not in use (or the laptop is plugged in using AC power) always remove the battery from the unit.

 

40% is the ideal storage charge level, BUT the circuitry in the battery will continue to slowly drain the power, so it`s best to check the battery charge level every few months, you dont want it going flat, and if necessary top it back up to 40%, then just store the battery in an cool dry place, I would not refrigerate or freeze it because the the danger of moisture/condensation on the electronics.

John.