Originally Posted by
grumpyaeroguy Generically, Li Ion batteries, as well as NiMH batteries, CAN benefit from "conditioning". If you have, for example, AA Li or NiMH batteries, along with a good charging station, one can, periodically, run a "refresh" cycle on the batteries which is a software driven charge/recharge cycle with progressive charging currents to, chemically, refresh the battery and condition the chemicals to go back to their maximum capacity.
My personal experience is that batteries that maxed out at, say, 1300mAh after many use cycles, a "refresh" with a good charging station can get them back (close) to their rated capacity of, say, 2100mAh. Of course, progressive use then begins diminishing that chemical capacity in a predictable, and unavoidable, way. A common "recharge" approach is simply a constant, intermediate, charging current that flows until the battery is not "absorbing" the charge current any more, and the charger detects that. Every common charge cycle will NOT get every last drop of that chemical to convert back chemically. A true "refresh" cycle won't either, but it gets much more of it to convert back than a steady charging current.
ALl of this being said, the conditioning cycle can take up to 20-24 hours on a AA style battery.
When folks, here, say I "conditioned" my Z10 battery by running it to the ground, initially, then fully charging it, I do not believe there is any scientific evidence or data that would convince ME that they have actually accomplished anything. Again, a true refresh cycle, chemcially, requires a good algorithm, a charger that can titrate charging and discharging currents accurately, and it is a slow process from a time perspective. Also, the algorithms i refer to are MOST effective if they are, indeed, customized for the particular chemcial profile of the cell in question. Not all, actually very few, Li or NiMH batteries are identical chemcially. Various battery manufacturers still maintain significant intellectual property on the exact chemcial configurations of their cells.
That's why, for example, energizer rechargables don't have nearly the life and recharge recovery of say, Sanyo eneloops. And, of course, the price points are different as well.
All of that being said, I have NO CLUE why some insist on "breaking in" their batteries in their PHONE. I doubt the phone has the algorithms I am referring to baked in, and, it would take 24 hours or so for it to be done correctly. I think this is one that can be classified as an "urban myth". (???)
Now, if someone said that they have an appropriate charging station, tweaked to the exact composition of the supplied phone battery chemistryt, and they did it externally, and told me it took 20-24 HOURS, I would probably say they did it correctly, and probably realized a benefit from that. Otherwise? ..... "urban myth"