Great info, I try to follow all of these procedures, but seem to come up a little short frequently. Will a proper storage charge prevent ballooning or puffing of the packs? And, is there 'Anything' that can be done to recover a pack once it has puffed?(Probably Not) In which case I have a lot of batteries to dispose.
The "Puffing" of battery packs is a result of gassing due to overheating.
Temperature management is a must to extend battery life.
Never charge or store batteries in a hot or very warm place.
To allow your batteries to have a long life try to keep the flight temperatures down by using good ventilation in the plane, keep the battery away from the ESC and allow the battery to cool before placing in your battery bag or box.
Never allow your battery to get too cold as this can reduce life due to non-uniform heating and. one cell overheating whilst the outer 2 cells remain at reasonable temperature.
Never charge a very warm or hot battery
Never over discharge a cell as this increases the cell's internal resistance as does overheating a cell. The internal resistance is the primary cause of the heat batteries generate in use and whilst being charged.
As for my own batteries, I have batteries that I still use that are well over 2 years old!
I follow all of my own rules as well as those listed in this thread with a minor exemption/addition.
My batteries are chilled to 4 degrees Celsius before charging, (which is always a balance charge at 1C or less).
As I fly a fair bit I do not worry about storage charge but rather store my batteries at 4 degrees Celsius after charging.
The use or refrigeration has reduced the "puffing" of my batteries to a very very slow process. Also the refrigeration lessens the internal gas pressure prior to charging or flight.
As the internal resistance of a battery pack increases I try to earmark them for a lower discharge plane if possible and buy a new battery for the high discharge usage. My last battery order was placed over a year ago now.
The climate here is blistering and so my temperature regime may not suit everyone but the management of the battery temperatures will definitely extend their life considerably.
What works for me!
Have fun!