Never, never, never, ever "zap charge" a Lion battery!! It doesn't do any good, and it can ignite an explosive reaction. Don't do it -- there's no reason to.
Zap charge NiCd and NiMH cells all you want, but one cell at a time (never in series), and only cells you've identified as shorted. Shorted cells of that type can sometimes be fixed this way. And as long as you use a capacitor to do the actual zapping (instead of a continuous source), there is no real danger of explosion. But don't play with Lion cells. They are different beasts altogether. > Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 13:23:42 -0600 > From: Philip Stortz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Duo 280c won't work w/battery inserted > > i'd also suspect a very dead/shorted battery. however, with reference to the brief >high current application, it does not "jump start" the battery by forcing a charge on >it, it blows the short like a fuse. the only safe way to do this is to charge a >capacitor and discharge it by connecting to the battery. that way the total energy >is limited. generally the capacitor is charged to a higher voltage than what's >normal for the battery to generate a brief, intense pulse when shorted by the >battery. don't try this at home with out a shield between you and the battery unless >you've done it before and know what size capacitor to use at what voltage, an >exploded battery is terribly exciting, and dangerous, both because of the shrapnel, >and because the chemistry in these batteries tends to be highly reactive (hence the >dense energy storage) and toxic, particularly if it's lithium based (as far as >toxicity is concerned) though any metal hydride is going to burn you very >effectively! buy a > new battery, or find someone with the "supercharger II", you could sell the dead >battery on the swap list most likely. one of the electronic magazines did have an >article on this same method with the older nicad cells, if you want to do it yourself >a trip to the library (and a good safety shield!) would be in order. it's doable, >but only with a capacitor, don't try connecting it to another power source >briefly!(the ac power line would be particularly exciting, in a very, very bad way!) -- Prof. Thomas H. Lee Center for Integrated Systems, CIS-205 420 Via Palou Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-4070 http://www-smirc.stanford.edu 650-725-3709 ph, -3383 fax -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:powerbooks@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:powerbooks-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:powerbooks-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lowendmac.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
