Battery Charge Issue?

[sammisakura]

I have a 4 year old rebel t3, and I've been using the same genuine Canon battery up until a month ago, about. And normally, one full charge can last a few months worth of sessions. But the battery would die after a few days of not even having the canon on, so I figured the battery was old, and losing its ability to hold a charge.

But this is why I'm writing this post. I was low on funds, and about to go on a huge vacation, so I desperately bought an offbrand $10 battery off Amazon, fully understanding the potential consequences. But I'm having the same issue with it. I'll charge it fully, place it in the canon, have turn it on for a few minutes a day, and then it stops powering on after a week, give or take. This battery even has double the capacity, allegedly. What am I doing wrong? Should I replace my canon charger, too? Maybe this battery I just bought is also old? Is something wrong with my canon itself? (I don't know the life expectancy of these things.)

[Waddizzle]

The typical lifespan of a lithium battery is about 300-500 charges, or about 3-4 years, which ever comes first.

[ebiggs1]

"The typical lifespan of a lithium battery is about 300-500 charges, or about 3-4 years, ..."

I doubt that.  But I suspect the charger is going bad.  Do you know someone with a Canon charger that you can try?  Don't blame the battery until you know for sure.

A DeWalt (tools) battery engineer told me lithium batteries start to degrade the second after their chemicals are mixed.  I have 10 or 12, EP-L4 batteries and some are approching ten years old.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"The typical lifespan of a lithium battery is about 300-500 charges, or about 3-4 years, ..."

I doubt that.  But I suspect the charger is going bad.  Do you know someone with a Canon charger that you can try?  Don't blame the battery until you know for sure.

A DeWalt (tools) battery engineer told me lithium batteries start to degrade the second after their chemicals are mixed.  I have 10 or 12, EP-L4 batteries and some are approching ten years old.

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I guess that did not come out right

If a lithium battery sits idle for 3-4 years without being charged, they can go bad.  As you said, they begin to deteriorate the moment they are made.  

[sammisakura]

I don't have a friend with a spare canon charger, but I'll look into buying a new one, when the funds are looking a little better. Thank you!