[tabora]

I am pretty sure the current batteries of today should be capable of just placing on the charger when done each use.

I'm sure there are two schools of thought. One is to fully drain and the other is to recharge when you want. I have done both, but haven't had any issues with the batteries.

According to the Dewalt manual: "You may charge a partially used pack whenever you desire with no adverse effect on the battery pack."
This has been my experience with the Greenworks 80V batteries as well.

https://images.thdstatic.com/catalog/pdfImages/d5/d50d81b3-4e7a-4e98-9e1f-ae2596dbdd2c.pdf

 

[tabora]

My highly scientific “study:” When new the 5ah one could do about 8-9 of these crates, but now 4 years later it can manage about half that number.

That was my experience with NiMH batteries, as well. I've converted all my NiMH tools over to lithium-ion batteries with much smarter chargers (they also take advantage of the smarts in the batteries themselves) and they monitor the voltage and temperatures of the cells during charging.

Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, an advantage that most other chemistries cannot claim. There is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to prolong the battery's life. In addition, the self-discharge is less than half compared to nickel-cadmium, making lithium-ion well suited for modern fuel gauge applications. Lithium-ion cells cause little harm when disposed.​

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Lithium-ion is fragile and requires a protection circuit to maintain safe operation. Built into each pack, the protection circuit limits the peak voltage of each cell during charge and prevents the cell voltage from dropping too low on discharge. In addition, the cell temperature is monitored to prevent temperature extremes. The maximum charge and discharge current on most packs are is limited to between 1C and 2C. With these precautions in place, the possibility of metallic lithium plating occurring due to overcharge is virtually eliminated.​

 

[tabora]

These are Lithium batteries I’m speaking about, the dewalt “20v” series.

Confusing, because you quoted @KJSeller's comment: "I've never had an issue with my DeWalt NiMH batteries..."

 

[tabora]

Regarding LiPo degradation

LiPo lithium-ion polymer (light drone-type batteries) are different than Li-ion. They use a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte and provide higher specific energy than other lithium battery types and are used in applications where weight is a critical feature, such as mobile devices, radio-controlled aircraft and some electric vehicles. Tools use heavier Li-ion batteries which have a high energy density, no memory effect and low self-discharge.