I keep my SLA (sealed lead acid ) batteries fully charged. The ones not in active use get topped up once a month.

All my HT’s work on LIPO batteries. In theory the battery life is shortened when they are stored with a charge over 80%. The batteries in the get home bags in the car I store fully charged anyway. They get topped up every 2-3 months. This means their service life will be shortened. Ah, well, they’re cheap Baofengtech batteries, and basically the stuff in the get home bag is all considered overhead costs of being somewhat prepared. I just don’t worry about it.

I have fairly expensive batteries for the Kenwood HT’s at home. They tend to be kept fully charged. I know this is not optimal, but frankly the optimal thing is just not very convenient. My policy is that, if the battery on the HT is over 80% I don’t generally put it in the charger. But I have a bunch of batteries, I cycle thru them, and when they get charged, they get charged up to 100% and then put in the stack for use.

This is all in defiance of the best advice. Sometimes the optimal policy is just too much of a PITA for me to follow it, let alone care.

I have to say, I’ve used rechargeable batteries using NiCad, NiMH, and LIPO technologies. In terms of longevity and freedom from hassle, LIPO is the clear winner even with my staunch defiance of ‘best battery maintenance’ practices.

-p W7PFB
73, Don’t forget to smile and have fun!