Charge state indicators are used on professional rechargeable packs, and
give a quick indication of when they're not suitable for service/need
recharged.

LED charge indicators would be useful for sealed lead-acid types and other
rechargeable types.

The charge state voltage is what causes intelligent chargers to start and
stop charging, or switch to trickle charging.

I don't know about the newer chemistry types, but I spotted a comment a
couple of days ago that claimed one type can't be recharged if discharged
below a specific level (don't recall if it was lithium or poly-something).

NICD and NIMH types shouldn't be used when discharged to a point below
approximately 80% of full charge, some manufacturers claim the limit should
be about 0.8V per cell.

SLA types should also be limited to specific discharge levels, or
approximately 10.8V for a 12V battery.

So.. if a user can quickly, easily and reliably detect when a battery or
pack needs to be recharged, and cautioned wrt further discharge.. they can
avoid taking low batteries out in the field and finding themselves without
portable power.
Additionally, keeping charge levels above minimum levels will result in
longer battery life. (ideally, one would take a vehicle out in the field and
a charger that would operate from the vehicle's 12V source).

The other option would be to keep all SLAs and rechargeable packs on trickle
chargers or automatic maintenance chargers.

Rechargeable batteries wouldn't be very economical if owners needed to own
enough chargers for every battery or pack that they might own.

--
Cheers,
WB
..............


"mike" wrote in message
...

** No way it will work with rechargeable cells like NiCd or NiMH.

Only good for non-rechargeable like alkaline.



This is contrary to my expectation. Please enlighten...