Nothing is more obnoxious than being just about to finish a project when your battery goes dead. It doesn't matter if you are working in a dark area on a job site or just spending some quality time outdoors, it just plane sucks. Even worse than it simply dieing, is when your rechargeable batteries won't hold a charge at all anymore. Sure, they might charge up a little bit, but its a far cry from the life they had when you first bought them. Luckily there is a simple trick you can use to extend the life of the rechargeable batteries in not just your lantern, but just about any other product with rechargeable batteries.
Certain kinds of rechargeable batteries have somewhat of a memory that builds up when the battery isn't totally empty the next time you start charging it. This leads to internal build up of heat which will not allow it to take up a full charge. Knowing this, there is a simple trick you can use to increase their lifespan. If you put a battery in the freezer overnight before recharging them you can extend their life and increase the amount of power they actually hold.
Sometimes you are stuck on a project that requires a light, or perhaps you have been camping a lot lately, and use your lantern constantly. Just the same it may collect dust for long periods of time in between uses sometimes. This really happens with all flashlights. Most batteries will lose a certain amount of charge while they are sitting regardless of if you used them or not. Knowing this, you can put your gadgets in the freezer before you top them off for their next use.
I have even found that you can resurrect some batteries that are already dead. If you leave them in the freezer for a really long period of time, say a week or more, and they are frozen solid. After this you can put them back in the charger. It will usually take a lot longer to charge than normal. For example, if you have one hour fast charger it may take an extra fifteen minutes to half an hour before it completely picks up the new charge. Its important to add that leaving batteries in the freezer for long periods of time has no real effect on them. The only difference is that they usually take much longer to charge when they are frozen solid.
This is a great way to keep your rechargeable lantern batteries in great shape and to prepare for extended uses. Don't forget it works on all of your other electronics as well.
