Thanks, Bruce!
Given the difference in the voltage readings and the indicated charge
time, I can't help wondering if one or more of those Energizer cells is
damaged, though.
In any event, some of my low self-discharge AA's seem to have scattered
to the four winds (left a set of four and the charger in the back of a
friend's car, and left another set at a friend's house when they ran
down and I had to borrow some standard alkaline batteries to get through
the rest of the evening.
I still have a set of Eneloops, but didn't want them to be the first
ones I stuck in the new charger in the event I didn't know what the hell
I was doing and managed to ruin them. If these turn out OK, I'll feel a
lot better. And then maybe -- just maybe -- I'll be able to get the rest
of my LSD's back someday.
-- Walt
On 2/7/2012 2:07 PM, Bruce Walker wrote:
No sooner did I post that than this article came to light ...
http://www.buchmann.ca/Article10-Page1.asp
"When Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) was first introduced there was much
publicity about its memory-free status. Today, it is known that this
chemistry also suffers from memory but to a lesser extent than the
NiCd. The positive nickel plate, a metal that is shared by both
chemistries, is responsible for the crystalline formation."
"[...] Applying a full discharge once every three months appears
right. Because of the NiMH battery’s shorter cycle life,
over-exercising is not recommended."
So there you have it.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Bruce Walker<[email protected]> wrote:
AFAIK, there is no need or use to deep-discharging NiMH cells. That
function of your charger is to resurrect NiCads that have developed
the dreaded memory problem (internal shorts).
I only ever use then recharge my now vast collection of NiMHs and they
last for years.
I'm using a smart charger too; an Ansmann (a now discontinued model).
I'd get another just like it if I needed one. It's the bees knees.
One bit of advice I can give you: always clean off the contacts on
both ends of the cells before charging them and before using them,
especially in flashes. Fixes all kinds of flakey behavior.
On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 2:29 PM, Walt Gilbert<[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,
Welp! I finally got me one of them there fancy smart chargers for my
batteries -- it's an AccuPower IQ-328, like this one:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/320749631694?_lwgsi=y<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
<http://compare.ebay.com/like/320749631694?_lwgsi=y<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar>
It didn't come with a very detailed manual; it came with a folded up piece
of paper telling you how to put the batteries in and push the buttons.
It seems like a fairly well-made piece of equipment in that it has some heft
to it and feels pretty sturdy. That is, it doesn't scream "CHEAP!" when you
pull it out of the box the way things do when you get a "bargain" at one of
those warehouse clearance sales bonanzas that show up at the local
convention hall/civic center a couple of times a year.
Problem is, I've never used a charger of this type before. So, I really
don't know what the hell I'm doing. I looked around for tutorials on how to
use a smart charger for a couple of hours last night, but couldn't find
anything remotely useful. What I have been able to determine is that the
charger I got is somewhat similar to the LaCrosse 9009.
So, I thought I'd try tapping into the formidable knowledge base to see if
any of you might be able to point me to a good resource for learning how to
properly use this type of charger without ruining a whole gang of batteries.
Right now, I have a set of old Energizer rechargeables in it, figuring if
I'm going to ruin some batteries on a first-run, those would be the ones to
use.
Here's a set of photos of the readings I'm currently getting from the
batteries in Test mode (the image titles indicate the respective readings):
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/walt_gilbert/sets/72157629218953563/
According to the literature, in Test mode, it charges the batteries, fully
discharges and recharges them again. Given the "---" reading under the
Charged Capacity reading, I assume it's in the process of fully discharging
them. But, given the fact that there are wildly disparate readings under the
"Charge Time" display, I can't help wondering what's going on.
Anyhoo. Any help anyone can give me in figuring this thing out -- a good
tutorial, or advice of any kind -- would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
-- Walt
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