Just my imagination, runnin' away with me?
Or do gel cells get MORE sensitive to cold when they get old? I thought my ice machine batteries had finally bit the dust, but they cheered up immensely when the weather warmed up. One night below ...
Forum Discussion
Naio,
You are not dreaming. The speed of chemical reactions slows as temperature drops. A broad "rule of thumb" is that it lags by 50% for each ten degrees Celsius.
Batteries are tested at 25 C. So at 15 C (about 59 f) they only have 1/2 the full "oomph". At 5 C (about 41 f) they have halved again so only have 1/4 to give you.
As batteries age, the chemistry inside changes. It never changes for the better, so there will be less energy stored and that means even less that is usable at low temperatures.
You are not dreaming. The speed of chemical reactions slows as temperature drops. A broad "rule of thumb" is that it lags by 50% for each ten degrees Celsius.
Batteries are tested at 25 C. So at 15 C (about 59 f) they only have 1/2 the full "oomph". At 5 C (about 41 f) they have halved again so only have 1/4 to give you.
As batteries age, the chemistry inside changes. It never changes for the better, so there will be less energy stored and that means even less that is usable at low temperatures.
