How can I reduce the heat my battery packs are exposed to?
For years Broadcast Engineers and Professional Film Photographers have been asking us about ways to reduce heat and increase the life of their battery packs.

1. Purchase Coleman, Igloo, Rubbermaid or other brand quality coolers to store your battery packs.  Place any foam egg crates that you use inside the coolers between the battery packs for transporting.  Do not place ice or those blue freezer packs inside the cooler.  Some photographers have taken this extra step in enthusiasm and produce condensation inside their decks or other equipment.  By using the cooler you are storing the battery packs at the ambient temperature.  If you are in an already hot environment you may be able to do the actual storing of the packs after going inside your vehicle with the engine running and the air-conditioner on, creating that artificial interior ambient temperature which is of course cooler than the ambient outside temperature.  If your battery packs are to be shipped, then use the coolers to ship them.
2. When charging the battery packs, charge them in the coolest area possible.  Also, while charging set the battery packs on the most narrow side that will still stand up on your surface.  This will allow more heat dissipation from the charge of the battery pack.
3. When possible, do not charge the battery immediately after full discharge.  Allow the battery to cool before charging when possible.
4. Avoid trickle charge chargers or charges that go into some type of trickle charge after the battery has reached full charge.  Leaving a fully charged battery on trickle charge for a weekend over 52 weekends is equivalent to a full years use of the battery.  The trickle charge treats the battery like a crock pot treats a roast.
5. We recently had a gentleman call about his auto-resetting circuit breaker opening in the charge mode.  He was in unusually hot weather in bright sunlight.  His charger was in an un-air-conditioned building directly in front of a large thick plate glass window.  Ouch, I was sunburned!  The breaker was saving his battery and triggered him to call us.  Thus educating him on proper handling of his battery packs. Everybody's Happy Now!