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[OM] Re: OT (of course!): "outdated" NiMH charger?

Subject: [OM] Re: OT (of course!): "outdated" NiMH charger?
From: ScottGee1 <scottgee1@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 13:41:14 -0500
Chuck and Jeff, thanks for your input on this.  Both responses give me
food for thought.

My charger does seem to qualify as "intelligent" -- or perhaps it's
just smarter than I am so I interpret that as intelligence.  ;o)

When the charging process begins, it takes a moment to evaluate the
cell(s) being charged and based on that information selects the next
step.  Options include discharging, soft charging and topping off.  It
can also test a battery for voltage output exclusive of the charging
process which I find useful in evaluating whether a battery in a set
is weaker than the others.  Sadly this is often the case.

Side note: based on nasty experience, I cannot recommend Sunpak cells.
 I used their 1600 mah iteration a few years ago and they had very
little stamina though they were somewhat better than the Bunny brand
2300 mah mentioned in my first post.  Lenmar 2300 mah and some of the
early Kodak branded NiMH has proven to work well.  The Kodak deserve
special praise because I've had them for a number of years and they
still do a decent job.

Still happy to hear other points of view/experience.

TIA!/ScottGee1




On 1/12/06, Jeff Keller <jrk_om@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Probably any charger that does something other than a trickle charge is
> labeled an intelligent charger.
>
> Basically a charger forces a current into the battery. That can be done at a
> low rate without worrying about the battery's voltage. If the battery is
> charged quickly with a high current, the charger should look at the voltage
> while the current is forced in and reduce the current when it believes the
> battery is near full charge. If the charger were designed for a different
> type of battery it might no't correctly tell when the battery is charged. It
> could reduce to a very low current or even shut off too soon.
>
> I bellieve some "intelligent" chargers just used a timer. A higher capacity
> battery wouldn't be completely charged but should be charged up to the
> capacity of the battery that the charger expects.
>
> I briefly had a Panasonic intelligent fast charger that used a timer. It
> would dramatically over heat the batteries.
>
> If you are using batteries of the same type (ex NiMH) that just have a
> different capacity, I am surprised that it charges the higher capacity
> batteries to a lower level. My MAHA charger sometimes thinks the batteries
> can not be charged, and starts flashing a red light after a couple minutes.
> Often just removing the battery and putting it back in will cause it to
> accept the battery and charge it. When the battery dies of "old age", the
> charger refuses to charge it rather than forcing a current into the battery
> potentially causing leakage or other problems.
>
> -jeff
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> snip
>
> When I first tried the Panasonic charger I was running it and the Maha
> side-by-side and was quite surprised that the Panasonic finished sooner.
>   Out of curiosity I took the supposedly fully charged batteries out of
> the Panasonic charger and put them in the Maha.  Much to my surprise the
> Maha continued to charge them for quite some time.  Maybe an hour or so
> as I recall.
>
> Anyhow, I still use the Panasonic charger as additional capacity when
> needed but the batteries ultimately go into the Maha charger later for a
> top up.
>
> ps:  The ebay sourced Maha charger was not only much cheaper than Thomas
> Distrbuting but also came with a cigarette lighter adapter for charging
> in the car.  Also, 2 or 3 of the PowerEx 1800 mah batteries from Thomas
> have given up the ghost.  Life was probably about 2 years.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
> ScottGee1 wrote:
>
>  > We seem to have a couple list members who have the correct background
>  > to answer this so . . .
>  >
>  > A few years back I bought an "Intelligent" battery charger from Radio
>  > Shack for my NiCad and NiMH cells.  Been working well for years.
>  > Recently bought some Everready 2300 mah NiMH cells, charged 'em up for
>  > use in a shoe mount flash to shoot pix at a party.  First set of four
>  > pooped out at around 25 shots, same with the second set.  Normally, I
>  > get ~200 shots in such a situation from a set of cells with lower
>  > capacity.
>  >
>  > Called Everready and they were very polite but blame my charger,
>  > saying it probably doesn't have the ability to charge the newer, high
>  > capacity batteries.  Suggest I get one of theirs.  I guess I don't
>  > understand the process.  I thought an intelligent charger would simply
>  > increase voltage and/or time to make sure a cell was completely
>  > charged.
>  >
>  > Is Everready correct?  Do I need to buy a new charger?  And will I
>  > need to buy a new one every time I buy higher capacity cells?
>  >
>  > ????/ScottGee1
>
>
>
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