Batteries in your fridge

[jadaro2600]

What's up with that? ...does this actually make them last longer?

[TinselKoala]

Sure. The longer you keep them in the fridge without using them, the longer they last.

Just kidding.

I really don't know. But I'm pretty sure it does make them colder.

[jadaro2600]

I found an old battery powered race track in the attic; it had 4 cold D cells in it that were in perfect condition.  They've been up there for 4 years now and they're still good - so they've seen two hot and two cold years in the attic.  After they acclimatized for a day, the readings were the same when i tested them.

Nothing amazing happening here; but your right, those not in use won't get any worse - but it would take a 15 year long test to prove that kind of idea.

I'm putting a dead battery in the fridge to see what happens...taking readings, watching paint dry, etc.

[TinselKoala]

Well, lots of people do keep them there. I don't usually.
I do know that batteries must be warm to work well. When we used to fly sailplanes really high, we would have electric socks and gloves to keep our hands warm at altitude, and another set of electric socks around the batteries to keep them warm enough to power the electric socks.

Does that qualify as "closing the loop?"
I guess not...

[jadaro2600]

Refrigerating the battery for 20 minutes resulted in a net increase in voltage by a whopping 0.002 volts...which after warming back to room temp, showed NO change in voltage.

Also, there seems to be a small discrepancy.