I’m under the impression that cold sucks the life out of batteries. Is this not true for batteries that are not in use? If not, can you explain why?
Thanks.
Cold slows down the chemical reactions in batteries. So when using them you don’t want them to be very cold, storing them in a cool environment allows them to keep their charge longer.
But, except for specialty batteries, none of the manufacturers recommend storing them in your fridge anymore. A cool, dry place will do just as good.
When Adm. Byrd visited the Antartic in the 30’s they left some of the old fasioned carbon zinc dry cells in phones etc. Years later they worked fine when the thawed out. The cold stopped any chemical deteriorization.
Modern cells are different and don’t really need any thing other than a cool dry storage life.
Just make sure you protect them from moisture.
I read years ago a Consumer Report, uh, report where they compared batteries that had been stored in a fridge to identical ones that had been left at room temperature. They’d been stored for something like 10-20 years. They found that the ones kept in the fridge did last longer, but the difference was extremely small.
If we all kept every non-food item in the fridge that is recommended, there would hardly be any room for food!
Just yesterday visited both Duracell’s and Energizer’s websites to enquire about rechargables. In both of their FAQ sections they do not encourage storage in the fridge.