"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 8:42:29 PM UTC-4, Robert Green wrote:

stuff snipped

"(like my charging station that now has a record 37 chargers of
different types. Really, chargers for cell phones, garden equipment, tools,
batteries, shavers, kitchen gear, laptops, PDAs, MP3 players, portable
vacs, cameras, etc.)"

I am trying to get a visual handle on this. You have a single charging
station for all of your chargeable devices?

It would be more correct to say that *many* or even *most* of my charging is
done in one area. That's true for the most part because the charging area
has meters, testers, fire extinguishers, three different types of detectors
(smoke, CO and rate-of-rise) and a fairly fireproof surface. The power
strips are on timed outlets just to prevent accidental overcharging and they
all have little pigtail cords to accommodate the wall warts.

The reasons is that my wife had a very serious overcharging issue with her
PDA that caught fire while charging. It didn't burn anything up other than
itself (and to say it burned is not accurate - it melted while emitting
horrible-smelling fumes).

Anyway, after that I decided charging should be done in an area dedicated to
it. A friend's kid had his laptop melt after leaving it on the bed and
managing to cover it with a pillow. In a dedicated area for charging, those
things are less likely to occur.

Are you charging your weed wacker in the bathroom with the shaver or
charging the shaver in the garage with the weed wacker?

Neither. It's a spare bedroom. Items like a shaver can hold a charge for
weeks so those items only need occasional charging are in the bedroom.
There are shelves above the desk that contain chargers based on category.

There's also never much doubt where to find a charger. Before adapting this
I had lost a number of chargers (one made it into the box with the
retired-for-the-year Christmas lights) around the house. Now it's the
default location for charging stuff. Fewer wall warts hanging around all
over the house, too, which has a high SAF.

I jest (somewhat) but only because I'm confused.

It makes sense and if one of your charged devices ever melts down, you'll
probably say "Ah ha! NOW I see why he put them in a single location."

I charge my cell phone on the nightstand, I charge my cordless tools in
the
garage or shop, I charge my garden tools in the shed, etc. Are you really
charging all of your devices in one location? Just curious.

Most of them except for the cell phones and the laptops I use now as desktop
replacements. It's a few more steps but I think it's much safer. Speaking
of labels, each charging plug has one that specifies what it connects to.
You can guess why. )-: Fortunately nowadays they seem to be standarizing
plug sizes. The 12VDC plugs are usually much larger than the 5V units, but
it's not a hard and fast rule, hence the labels.

I think this technique reduces overall power consumption because the wall
warts aren't plugged in when they're not in use. It tends to prevent
premature battery death from overcharging, too.

Also, since it's in a room rarely occupied, there's less chance of an
exploding cell injuring someone. A high-cap NiMH AA cell can make a pretty
impressive pop when it blows. DAMHIKT but I have a picture of that shredded
cell somewhere. It was just another "trigger" event that made me want to
consolidate charging to one area.

I suppose I should take a charger inventory noting all the
voltage/amperage/polarity/size information. When the stun cane charger went
AWOL, I didn't have (nor could I find) any information about what I needed
to charge the unit. I rarely see a device that's marked with that
information, either.

--
Bobby G.