I recently checked one of my torches I keep for emergencies only to find after only 5 months a leaking battery had totally wrecked the torch.
To keep the torch and the batteries seperate would be in my opinion, be silly and impractical. What do other people do? Check your batteries every week? Change them every month? (an expense I'd rather not have). Are some batteries better than others?
The batteries I used were brand new, as was the torch. <img src="images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
Any suggestions?
Martin

For anything battery powered you plan to store for long periods of time Lithum batteries are the best, only problem they only come in AA, no AAA's yet but there are supposed to be Lithum AAA's coming out this year. I _try_ to check all my gear monthly, even have a reminder set once a month where I create a new folder on my hdd to store scanned documents for the previous month and check out all my gear, but i reality I tend to not do it everytime. I'm getting better though.

Only had the batteries go bad once, and it ruined the light. I make sure to buy new, high quality batteries. No "no name" brands. For anything longterm, like BOB's I leave the batteries out and stored the so the contacts won't touch. I also rotate the batteries in the BOB's and FAK's each year. Not a problem using the "old" batteries in often used lights or one of the scanners.

Joblot, I use rechargeable batteries for most items and have a way to charge them in the car or house. The only exception are my LED ARC flashlight (torch) in which I am using regular batteries. I found the LED's don't seem as bright on the rechargeables (probably age) as they do on regular AAA's. I think I check my flashlights more often because of temperature extremes and because of using rechargeables. Overall I would say that I am checking or changing batteries about once a month. Other batteries also fall into the rechargeable category for use in 2-way radios and cellular phone. I haven’t used my PDA in a while and have “stored it” fully discharged. Lithium batteries do store longer, but I would recommend a schedule of monthly checking to avoid any problems.

During the month I also make an inspection of my fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. Imagine my surprise to recently find a “dead” smoke detector that had just checked out ok the previous month. In further checking I discovered the detector itself was defective and needed replacing. Since I live in a older home that has older wiring I knew I was running a risk without the detector. Hope this helps.

Take care,
Stargazer

ASAP = Always Suspicious, Always Prepared

I store my lights with batteries in them as you do. I occasionally have a battery go bad and it does destroy the light. It's a risk I am willing to take for the convenience of not having to bother with assembling the light / battery when needed. Unfortunately a dead battery is cheaper than a dead flashlight. I have considered storing the batteries in the lights with some protection. One light that I bought for the car kits came with a little plastic disk that kept the batteries from connecting while stored. This was a great thing and I left it in-place. This means that I will have to dissasemble the light and remove that disk before I can use the light. It also means that the light won't run down the battery without me by accident. Some ideas that I have seen use include saram wrap the battery inside the light when in storage thus protecting both the battery and the light, Using ranger bands or similar to hold the batery to the outside of the light while in storage. Having a dedicated battery box with every imaginable backup battery, a charger, and a variable output power source with a deep-cycle marine battery in the truck - This one I use.

Do any of you have any practical experience with these portable, foldable, and packable solar battery rechargers?

Are any of them capable of recharging 2 or 4 AA batteries during the average daylight hours?

Barring personal experience, does anyone know of a website that gives honest reviews about solar cells, like the "Tom's Hardware" site does about computer items.

Bountyhunter

"...there are supposed to be Lithum AAA's coming out this year..."

Any source for this statement?

I have several of the Brunton chargers that I use to charge NiMH batteries. I have found that that they do not quite fully charge the batteries like I had hoped. I now use a smart charger to charge the batteries and then place them in the solar charger to maintain them until used. In a pinch and with several changes of batteries, the solar only option will work for most needs. Go to CandlePower Fourms ( http://www.candlepowerforums.com//ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat= ) and do a search, there is a lot of information on rechargeable batteries and charging systems. Pete

Here is the news story posted on CPF. Pete

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040107/cgw006_1.html

There is/was a thread on candle power forums with a link to it. I think it was Energizer.