"D.M. Procida" wrote in message
...
I've got a bunch of alkaline cells here, and I'm wondering which of them
are going to be any good at all. What should I use as a cut-off voltage
when I'm deciding? I have a multimeter, which also has a battery tester
(I guess it just puts a bit of a load on them).

From one set I get around 1.4V with the battery tester, 1.45 with the
voltmeter. But while that sounds pretty good, I know that in practice
they were useless. How much do 'rested' alkaline cells recover after
use?

Always test cells and/or batteries with a suitable load which will vary with
type and size of cell. Under no load conditions your voltmeter is likely to
register the basic chemical emf of the cell, and the effects of internal
resistance will not be registered. From memory, I think about 1 volt per cell is
about right for a NiCd or NiMH cell - measured under load, of course. This
rises to over 1.2v when charged, and even higher when being charged.

--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ms1938/