Li-ion battery flat for 5 years and now perfect.

[Old Timer]

My mobile phone is playing up so I dug an old phone of my wifes out of the drawer, swapped the sim and stuck it on charge, it works fine, has held a full charge for a day(after being tested and used a few times) it`s a small 3.6V Li-ion that has been flat for maybe 5 years or more. If only bike batteries would perform like that

 

[flecc]

Yes, small cell li-ions are very different from large cell ones in their behaviour, somewhat less prone to storage failure.

However, there's another element here, literally. That battery will have a cobalt based cathode and they are much more suitable that the later manganese based ones, both for long life and high discharge rates. Unfortunately they are prone to catastrophic failures and catching fire if the manufacturing standards are not the best, so that cathode type has long been abandoned.

At that age yours should be ok though, since it's lasted this long. One I have with a portable minidisc player still has over two thirds of original capacity at nearly 11 years old now.
.

 

[Old Timer]

Yes, small cell li-ions are very different from large cell ones in their behaviour, somewhat less prone to storage failure.

However, there's another element here, literally. That battery will have a cobalt based cathode and they are much more suitable that the later manganese based ones, both for long life and high discharge rates. Unfortunately they are prone to catastrophic failures and catching fire if the manufacturing standards are not the best, so that cathode type has long been abandoned.

At that age yours should be ok though, since it's lasted this long. One I have with a portable minidisc player still has over two thirds of original capacity at nearly 11 years old now.
.

Thanks Tony for explaining.

Dave