On 2 Sep 2002 at 1:08, Chuck Hursch wrote: > I don't use my nickel hydride AA batteries much anymore (I assume > these are really NiMH, but the battery says nickel hydride).
I think it's all in the charger. I've been using NiMH AA cells in my digital camera for over 2 years now, and they're still going strong. I have a Maha MH-C210 charger. For equalization, I charge each cell individually about every third or fourth cycle. The Maha is a dv/dt sensing design. The cells never even get noticeably warm. Based on that experience, ~if I knew I was using the right charge algorithm~, and ~if I were getting them from the right manufacturer~, I wouldn't hesitate to put NiMH in an EV. Of course I would want them to be comparable to nicads in price, particularly cost per km. The reason that nicads are close to affordable (I have to add the qualifier "close to" since the upfront cost is still a real gulp) is that Saft have produced tens of thousands of them for the Peugeot 106 Electric (over 6,000 sold since, what, 1994?) and the Scoot'elec. If they'd used NiMH instead, we'd probably now be able to buy those for even less than the nicads cost. But the 106 is now a fairly old design, and I suspect that the NiMH weren't ready for production when it was developed. > I'm much happier with the rechargeable alkaline cells that I have > been using, and having them last for several years. I've used these in cordless clocks, which don't like the low voltage of nicads, with mixed results. They were working well (with a few replacements here and there) for about 4 years. But currently I have two clocks that I've returned to disposables because for some reason they wouldn't run more than 36 hours on the rechargeable alkalines. Some of the cells I tried in these two clocks were only a few months old and had been cycled only perhaps 3 times. Depressed voltage effect maybe? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Want to unsubscribe, stop the EV list mail while you're on vacation, or switch to digest mode? See http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA 1991 Solectria Force 144vac 1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc 1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc 1974 Avco New Idea rider 36vdc = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to all thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite thee. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
