BAAH-tree...

I had an Aunt & Uncle from Philadelphia who pronounced battery as BAAH-tree... To me, it was funny as the BAAH was strongly accented and dragged out a little. Kinda like the sound a sheep would make.

That reminds me of the traveling salesman who came up to a house on a country road. He rang the doorbell and a young boy answered. The salesman said "Hey kid! is your mother at home?" and the boy replied "Yeah, she's in the barn making love to the sheep"
A little shocked to hear this, the salesman took a step back and asked "Isn't that bad for her health?" The boy replied "Naah-ah-ah-ah..."



Batteries are an important topic from A to Z in electronics. they are found in all devices in our modern lives. Over the years the technology has improved greatly. Maybe one day those alkaline cells that advertise a 10 year shelf life won't destroy my smoke alarm and flashlights after 2 years!

The entire aviation hobby has switched over to battery power using lithium polymer (Li-Po) batteries (from gas/alcohol engines) and electric systems give tremendous power for short periods of time. 40 years ago, my model helicopters ran on fuel with 25% nitro-methane, 20% synthetic oil and 55% methanol. Flights with a large tank were 15 minutes then. With electric, we average 6 minute flights.

The good thing is Li-Po batteries can be recharged hundreds of times if properly cared for. Don't over charge them or you risk explosion. Don't fully run down the charge as the bad thing about Li-Po batteries will lose their ability to recharge. Long term storage should be monitored so they have no loss of power when fully charged.
The chemical composition in the makeup of these batteries will break down with misuse and give off gas internally. The sealed battery will swell and not hold a charge. At that point, it's best to send them to a recycle center and replace with new ones.

I usually charge-up the night before a planned day of flying. That's 3 to 4 hours with several chargers running to have 10 batteries ready. The chargers are microprocessor controlled for voltage, amperage, internal resistance and time limit. They stop charging when the voltage reaches 4.20 as it's the maximum safe limit for lithium polymer batteries. Every 15 to 20 minutes I feel each charging battery to be sure none of them get warm while charging. That would indicate a serious internal problem.
I've heard horror stories of people leaving batteries to charge without monitoring the session and they have a fiery explosion. A young girl was charging her cellphone in bed (while sleeping) the phone was between the pillow and mattress and what would normally be a warm battery, became hot enough to burn. She was lucky it didn't ignite a fire.

So, however you pronounce battery, please be careful and not overcharge them.