How long do u use your batteries before they need to be tossed and replaced? Mine seem to hold much less juice after just 6 months..
I think that's much too subjective to get a useful answer. Some guys hammer 'em into serious discharge rather that 'giving them a break' and recharging before they strain too much. Some guys take care to keep them cool, some guys don't. I think either of those two factors, alone can easily give a 3 or more times difference in useful life. Guys that let them overheat charging and using AND run them into the dirt before recharging can easily get 1/6 the life that guys who don't? Or, the other way around guys that are kinder can get many times more life?
And then there's the whole issue of how much
use per month each of us is using? A guy who does a session or two a week is going to enjoy more trouble free months than the guy who does several a day.......
Too many variables to give useful advice?
You should know when they're getting tired. They tend to degrade slowly over time in both their ability to store charge (capacity) and more importantly for us their internal resistance, that is the ability to deliver HUGE bursts of power without overheating internally. They interact of course, a 'slower to heat' battery will be used more seconds per hit because of it. Like traditional Chinese wok cooking, best efficiency comes from lots of power on tap for rapid heat ups and prompt shutdowns to save 'fuel'. When your batteries seem tired, I suggest you test them against a known good (new) one to see if replacement is warranted. After all, only you can really answer that question?
Regards,
OF