Is it bad to completely drain a rechargable battery and recharge it every day?

Question

Will it drastically shorten the amount of time the battery holds its charge?

Answer 1

Depends.

NiCd batteries actually will preform better is discharged fully before re-charging.

NiMh batteries will work either way, but have a limited recharge number. Sometimes as little as 500 times, depending on the battery.

I'm not sure about LiPo batteries yet, as I have limited experience. I have them in my cell phone and camera. I use my cell phone heavily, and I can tell that the battery isn't as good as when it was new. I typically had to recharge it daily, but now have to do it multiple times per day. My camera get used minimally, and has not faired very well. The batteries always seem to be discharged when I pick up the camera, but charging them, semms to bring them back to life, but I don't have a good feel as to how long.