I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses re-chargeable
batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10 years and have the
following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if they
stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used to
say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?

Many thanks for your patience with a non-techie type and thanks in
anticipation of your replies.

Terry W.

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?

I used to make chargers that recharged ordinary batteries when I was
a kid, they wern't all that successful as I remember, but the technique is
called "dirty DC".

Googling that term seems to be useless, as an AC/DC tribute band
uses the same name!

If you are interested, Googling
"dirty DC" "zinc carbon"
will give you the right info.

On Sun, 5 Nov 2006 16:45:05 -0000, "Graham" wrote:

|
| I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
| batteries. Are these any good ?
|
|I used to make chargers that recharged ordinary batteries when I was
|a kid, they wern't all that successful as I remember, but the technique is
|called "dirty DC".
|
|Googling that term seems to be useless, as an AC/DC tribute band
|uses the same name!
|
|If you are interested, Googling
| "dirty DC" "zinc carbon"
|will give you the right info.

Google Advanced Search will do a better job.
delete all hits with "Tribute" or "band".
Lots more ways you can limit the search.

--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk Google Groups is IME the *worst*
method of accessing usenet. GG subscribers would be well advised get a
newsreader, say Agent, and a newsserver, say news.individual.net. These
will allow them: to see only *new* posts, a killfile, and other goodies.

Dave Fawthrop wrote:
On Sun, 5 Nov 2006 16:45:05 -0000, "Graham" wrote:

|
| I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
| batteries. Are these any good ?
|
|I used to make chargers that recharged ordinary batteries when I was
|a kid, they wern't all that successful as I remember, but the technique is
|called "dirty DC".
|
|Googling that term seems to be useless, as an AC/DC tribute band
|uses the same name!
|
|If you are interested, Googling
| "dirty DC" "zinc carbon"
|will give you the right info.

Google Advanced Search will do a better job.
delete all hits with "Tribute" or "band".
Lots more ways you can limit the search.

Or use "-band" "-tribute" etc in the standard search.

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com

In article ,
Terry W. wrote:
I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses re-chargeable
batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10 years and have the
following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to look
at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after charging
it should be ok.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used
to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary
non-rechargeable batteries. Are these any good ?

No. And rechargeables cost so little more anyway.

--
*When the going gets tough, use duct tape

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used
to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

What did happen was that a process called 'Dendritic Growth' occurred where
a crystal-like thingy developed inside that shorted out the plates of the
cell. I built a device to destroy them (found recently covered in dust!).

I don't think modern NICADs of NIMH rechargeables do it any more though.

R.

I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses
re-chargeable batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10
years and have the following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to
look at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after
charging it should be ok.

Wrong! It depends on both. You need to use a charger designed for the type
of battery you wish to charge. For example Ni-Cad cells need a quite
differnt charging patter than say Li-Ion ones.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally
before recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used.
They used to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that
still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

Wrong! It was not a con at all, but has been repeatedly proven by
experiment. Ni-Cad cells are particularly prone to this.

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary
non-rechargeable batteries. Are these any good ?

Wrong again!

They do work but not very well. Not a good choice really unless you are
desparate.

No. And rechargeables cost so little more anyway.

Wrong! Unless of course you regard a price difference of at least 50% as
being insignificant.

Peter Crosland

In article ,
Peter Crosland wrote:
The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to
look at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after
charging it should be ok.

Wrong! It depends on both.

Wrong! It doesn't. ;-)

You need to use a charger designed for the
type of battery you wish to charge. For example Ni-Cad cells need a
quite differnt charging patter than say Li-Ion ones.

And how is this relevant? FWIW, there are battery chargers that cope
automatically with both types and varying number of cells too - and switch
off at the end of the charge cycle.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally
before recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used.
They used to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that
still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

Wrong! It was not a con at all, but has been repeatedly proven by
experiment. Ni-Cad cells are particularly prone to this.

Wrong! It has not been 'proved' at all under normal use.

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary
non-rechargeable batteries. Are these any good ?

Wrong again!

Have you missed something?

They do work but not very well. Not a good choice really unless you are
desparate.

No. And rechargeables cost so little more anyway.

Wrong! Unless of course you regard a price difference of at least 50% as
being insignificant.

FFS, it is insignificant over the life of the battery. 'Recharging'
alkaline batteries only partially works - and only even that for a few
times. As opposed to hundreds of times for a Ni-Cad or NiMH.

--
*Never kick a cow pat on a hot day *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I suggest you go away and do some proper research before spouting
inaccuracies further Dave..

Peter Crosland

In article ,
Peter Crosland wrote:
I suggest you go away and do some proper research before spouting
inaccuracies further Dave..

Peter Crosland

You need to be more specific. I have two chargers that are designed to
handle both Ni-Cad and NiMH - both of which may be left on indefinitely.

But the OP is presumably using the one supplied with the camera so that's
a red herring.

As regards 'memory' with Ni-Cads I stick by my view. It was never a
problem in normal use.

And if you think recharging alkaline batteries worth the effort or cost
you're the one who needs to do some research.

--
*Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Peter Crosland wrote:
The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?
That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to
look at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after
charging it should be ok.

Wrong! It depends on both.

Wrong! It doesn't. ;-)

It does.

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to
look at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after
charging it should be ok.

Wrong! It depends on both.

Wrong! It doesn't. ;-)

It does.

Lets be clear. Are you denying there are charges that auto sense between
Ni-Cad and NiMH and shut off after use?

--
*If you lived in your car, you'd be home by now *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Nov 5, 5:48 pm, "Peter Crosland" wrote:
I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses
re-chargeable batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10
years and have the following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to
look at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after
charging it should be ok.

Wrong! It depends on both. You need to use a charger designed for the type
of battery you wish to charge. For example Ni-Cad cells need a quite
differnt charging patter than say Li-Ion ones.

Well, obviously! We assume the OP has been provided with the charger
appropriate to his cells, in which case all that matters is whether the
charger is designed not to overcharge them.


Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally
before recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used.
They used to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that
still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

Wrong!

It was not a con at all, but has been repeatedly proven by
experiment. Ni-Cad cells are particularly prone to this.

Only under very particular circumstances such as spacecraft passing
regularly between night and day where the batteries were regularly
charged/discharged between the same points. It doesn't happen in normal
domestic use. Just google "nasa nicad memory effect".


I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary
non-rechargeable batteries. Are these any good ?

Wrong again!

They do work but not very well. Not a good choice really unless you are
desparate.

No. And rechargeables cost so little more anyway.

Wrong! Unless of course you regard a price difference of at least 50% as
being insignificant.

You have to look at the lifecycle of the cells. Even 100% difference
would be insignificant when you take into account the number and
effectiveness of recharge cycles possible with true rechargeables.

MBQ

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
Terry W. wrote:
I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses re-chargeable
batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10 years and have the
following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if
they stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

That depends entirely on the charger - not battery. So you'd need to look
at the instructions for that. If it obviously switches off after charging
it should be ok.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used
to say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

It never was. It was a con to persuade you it was your fault batteries
didn't last.

I had the MOD and their European equivalents fooled then.


--
geoff

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:27:45 GMT, "Terry W."
wrote:

I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses re-chargeable
batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10 years and have the
following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if they
stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

Probably, but it depends on the charger and battery type.

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used to
say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

What sort of batteries are they?

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?

Yes but only for a limited number of charges and not 100% capacity.
Normally 10x 15x for good alkaline batteries at 80% capacity.

Many thanks for your patience with a non-techie type and thanks in
anticipation of your replies.

Terry W.

The message
from "Terry W." contains these words:

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?

Since you can get 4xAA for £2 from Aldi (and they're OK - I've had loads
and never a dud or low-capacity) why bother?

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Guy King wrote:
The message
from "Terry W." contains these words:


I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?


Since you can get 4xAA for £2 from Aldi (and they're OK - I've had loads
and never a dud or low-capacity) why bother?

I don't put stupidly cheap batteries in expensive kit in case they leak.
You can often get panansonics cheap and I've never had one leak on
me, Ikea's are Varta and again I've never had one leak. The "powercell"
pack I got aren't worth putting in anything but a cheap torch.

When the GPS or our previous digital camera had finished with a set of
alkalines there was a good month or so of life left for my cordless
mouse and they're pretty bright in a torch, so it's worth hanging on to
them.

btw some digital compacts, while they will work on NiMH/NiCad aren't as
good - slower recycle time especially (but not just) when using flash,
hardly any use per charge etc. Hopefully this shouldn't be as bad if
the camera has its own rechargeable and a charger though.

Chris

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com

The message
from Chris Hodges contains these words:

Since you can get 4xAA for £2 from Aldi (and they're OK - I've had loads
and never a dud or low-capacity) why bother?

I don't put stupidly cheap batteries in expensive kit in case they leak.

I've got a dozen of them and despite abuse by the kids none have leaked
in the year or two I've had 'em.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Guy King wrote:
The message
from Chris Hodges contains these words:


Since you can get 4xAA for £2 from Aldi (and they're OK - I've had loads
and never a dud or low-capacity) why bother?


I don't put stupidly cheap batteries in expensive kit in case they leak.


I've got a dozen of them and despite abuse by the kids none have leaked
in the year or two I've had 'em.

I've had some leak in the packaging and some leak in a torch - 2
different pound shop packs.

Chris

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com

The message
from Chris Hodges contains these words:

Since you can get 4xAA for £2 from Aldi (and they're OK - I've had loads
and never a dud or low-capacity) why bother?


I don't put stupidly cheap batteries in expensive kit in case they leak.


I've got a dozen of them and despite abuse by the kids none have leaked
in the year or two I've had 'em.

I've had some leak in the packaging and some leak in a torch - 2
different pound shop packs.

Are we still talking NiMHs here, or primary cells? I'd not use cheapie
primary cells for anything.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Terry W. wrote:
I have recently purchased a new digital camera which uses re-chargeable
batteries. I have not used rechargeables for 10 years and have the
following questions:

The battery pack says charge for 16-20 hours. Will I damage them if they
stay on charge for, say, 3 days or more ?

Is it advisable/necessary to use/discharge the batteries totally before
recharging, or can I recharge them when they are half used. They used to
say that rechargeables developed a "memory" - is that still true?

I've seen advertised charges that will recharge ordinary non-rechargeable
batteries. Are these any good ?

Many thanks for your patience with a non-techie type and thanks in
anticipation of your replies.

It all depends on the cell chemistry. Lithium batteries will not allow
you to flatten them, and contain charge limiting circuitry anyway. And
can only be charged with chargers designed for them.

Nickel cells can be flattened, but again its not good for them
especially NiMh.

The can be trickled forever..they dump it all as heat anyway.
..

Terry W.