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Sell me on a Battery Charger and Battery Type?


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Okay the recharagables I bought two years ago are loosing their zip. They don't seem to be holding thier charge any more.

 

I was thinking of buying a new set but I'm sure there must have been advancements over the past few years. (the Charger I currently have is an Energizer ACCU. Charges NimHN and Nicd (akes about 15 to 16 hours.

 

What do you guys and gals recommend if I were to upgrade? What type of batteries/charger do you like?

 

I did a web search and the list of options and makes left me a little confused.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

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I looked at that Steve's Digicam Review and he knows what he is talking about. I would recommend staying away from Nicd batteries and go with the Nimh. Don't know much about the Nimh, but I can tell you from experience in Law Enforcment and the use of radios with rechargeable Nicd batteries, that they degrade quickly. The problem is people placed them back in the charger after they used them and even if the battery wasn't dead. The Nicd's have a memory in them somewhat. They need to be drained all the way down and then fully charged to prolong their life. Of course this didn't happen and I guess they felt it was easier or cheaper to continue to buy batteries than buy a battery drainer.

 

Those Nimh batteries on the page said they can be charged up to 1000 times. So if you look at from the standpoint that an 8 pack of duracells or energizersrun about $5 sometimes more. The charger charges 4 batteries at once. So you are getting 4000 batteries basically. 4000 divided by 8 (8 pack) is 500 packs of batteries that the rechargeables will compare to. Hmmm...Get a charger, 4 batteries, car charger and more for $75 or less. Thats 15 packs of batteries. Still got 485 more to go to catch up. Rechargeable are definitely the way to go in the long run. As long as you take care of them. And then if your rechargeables flop out on you, you can always purchase more for a fraction.

 

I have rechargeables and a charger for my digital camera. I do believe those batteries last longer than the Duracells Ultra I use to use in them.

 

You could also throw a pack of batteries in your daypack when going out for "just in case" . Of course the rechargeables are usually 4 batteries and I know my GPS takes 2 batteries, so you will have an extra pair with you anyway if you take them.

 

Brian Wood

Woodsters Outdoors

http://www.woodsters.com

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quote:
Originally posted by Rich in NEPA:

The _http://cellular.batterysupply.com/mhc401fs.htm_ on the market right now! Go for _combo package_ with the new _http://cellular.batterysupply.com/mh-4aa220.htm_ NiMH rechargeables.

 

Cheers ...

 

_~Rich in NEPA~_

 

__--- A man with a GPS receiver knows where he is; a man with two GPS receivers is never sure. ---__


 

Excellent!!! I just ordered one with a set of extra batteries (and the free screwdrvier set to boot). Just what I was looking for.

 

Especially love that it comes with the auto adapter.

 

Many thanks for the advice. Knew I came to the right place. icon_biggrin.gif

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

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quote:
Originally posted by Jolly B Good:

Okay the recharagables I bought two years ago are loosing their zip. They don't seem to be holding thier charge any more.


 

That's because of your charging practices, see my reply in this link for more info:

 

http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=4016058331&m=12660726&r=28760036#28760036

 

Treat your new batteries well with a good charger that doesn't "cook" them and they'll last effectively forever!

 

(I have batteries many years old with 100% of their original capacity.)

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

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QUOTE]

 

Excellent!!! I just ordered one with a set of extra batteries (and the free screwdrvier set to boot). Just what I was looking for.

 

Especially love that it comes with the auto adapter.

 

Many thanks for the advice. Knew I came to the right place. icon_biggrin.gif

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

 

Jolly,

 

This was a good choice. A couple of years ago I purchased the MH-C204F Charger combo for Thomas Distribution. I've been very happy with it. I'm still using the same batteries. I use two sets for my digital camera and two sets for the GPSr. I beleive they are located in Aurora IL, you should receive your items quickly.

 

Just so you know, it may take a couple of charge and discharge cycles for the batteries to work at their optimum. If you haven't already, check out the FAQ page on the web site.

 

GF

 

===========================================

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

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quote:
Originally posted by Criminal:

I've never had any luck with rechargables, even NiMH (?). They sell lithiums in a four-pack at the base commisary for $6.54 and they last for months.

 

http://fp1.centurytel.net/Criminal_Page/

 

A good charger is important for battery longevity. The cheap chargers will either overheat or overcharge the batteries and greatly shorten their life.

 

GF

 

===========================================

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

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The disadvantage to the NiMH is that they don't hold their charge for long on the shelf. You mmight consider picking up a charger that can also handle the new alkaline rechargables. The alkalines don't have as much juice, but once charged they can be stored for months. NiMH will be almost useless after only a couple of weeks.

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quote:
Originally posted by RJFerret:

quote:
Originally posted by Jolly B Good:

Okay the recharagables I bought two years ago are loosing their zip. They don't seem to be holding thier charge any more.


 

That's because of your charging practices, see my reply in this link for more info:

 

http://ubbx.Groundspeak.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=5726007311&f=4016058331&m=12660726&r=28760036#28760036

 

Treat your new batteries well with a good charger that doesn't "cook" them and they'll last effectively forever!

 

(I have batteries many years old with 100% of their original capacity.)

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy


 

What you're saying has not been my experience. Several set of my 1400mAh AA cells, regularly rotated through my digicam and my MAHA-204F charge have stopped taking a charge after 4 or 5 years.

 

ApK

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quote:
Originally posted by Indiana Cojones:

The disadvantage to the NiMH is that they don't hold their charge for long on the shelf. You mmight consider picking up a charger that can also handle the new alkaline rechargables. The alkalines don't have as much juice, but once charged they can be stored for months. NiMH will be almost useless after only a couple of weeks.


 

Very true. NiMH do not have a very long shelf life. What I do is keep the batteries in the charger so they are always topped off. You can do this with a good charger.

 

I also carry a set of alkalines in the car just in case I need them. Haven't needed to use them yet.

 

GF

 

===========================================

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

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quote:
Originally posted by ApK:

What you're saying has not been my experience. Several set of my 1400mAh AA cells, regularly rotated through my digicam and my MAHA-204F charge have stopped taking a charge after 4 or 5 years.


 

Without knowing the particulars, I obviously can't comment. I do know the author of the FAQ I got my info from has NiCD's he's used over a decade. Both NiCD's and NiMH's lose their charge when sitting, if they're allowed to get under 1 volt (either through use or sitting) they often can't be recharged (that's when you reverse a cell, which people erroneously refer to as "memory"--which doesn't exist).

 

Always fully charge before storing (via a charger that won't cook them). My Palm's batteries (those that get the lowest before recharge) get recharged when they hit 1.1 volts...

 

HTH,

 

Randy

 

PS: It's been said before, but to reiterate, it's bad to trickle-charge batteries more than they need (the full 15 hrs. is too long for partially depleted batteries which "cooks" them), invest in a "smart" charger for your batteries to last longest.

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quote:
Originally posted by Indiana Cojones:

The disadvantage to the NiMH is that they don't hold their charge for long on the shelf. You mmight consider picking up a charger that can also handle the new alkaline rechargables. The alkalines don't have as much juice, but once charged they can be stored for months. NiMH will be almost useless after only a couple of weeks.


 

That's but I don't think this is a big concern for me. I usually charge up two sets of batteries every friday (for my Saturday jaunts). One for the digial cam. One for the GPS.

 

They rarely sit long enough to discharge fully on the shelf. But that's a nice thing to know.,

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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quote:
Originally posted by RJFerret:

Both NiCD's and NiMH's lose their charge when sitting, if they're allowed to get under 1 volt (either through use or sitting) they often can't be recharged (that's when you reverse a cell, which people erroneously refer to as "memory"--which doesn't exist).


 

Regarding the effect that people call memory, SEE HERE.

 

The "below 1 volt" thing would explain my situation...is there anyway to recover a cell that's dropped below that level? Otherwise, it seems that it'd just be more practical to replace the cells every 3-5 years then to have to constantly monitor all my standby batteries.

 

ApK

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This is so true. I went on a long hike and my batteries were going dead. I put in a fresh set that I charged a few weeks ago and they went dead in 10 mins. I put another set in (that I also charged a few weeks ago) and they lasted another 10 mins. Luckly I was right by the cache when the 2nd set died.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Indiana Cojones:

NiMH will be almost useless after only a couple of weeks.


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Oh and watch for the memory effect or voltage drop off, or lack of working when it shoulda problem. But the maha charger does drain the battery fully if you tell it too and that removes all doubt. Unless the deep cycle is bad for it too and causes a cycle redundance effect where the phase variance is such that only a tachion particle beam will fix it.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

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I've never had to worry about batterys going dead from not holding the charge after a week or so. I have 20+ AA batteries rotating between the kids and my toys. Digital Cameras, GPS's, gameboys, FSR radios, CD players and Mini Disk players..... but lately I can't find my rechargables.

 

They've ended up in the cordless mouse, various remotes, and lately my wife's wet mop thing that has a battery powered squirter.

 

Time for more AA batteries.

 

george

 

Wanna go for a ride?

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