This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Harry

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 18:30:48 +0100, "Harry Lime"
wrote:

This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

I have the Ansmann Energy 16 and find it very good for processing the
cells properly. FWIW I think I got mine from here (no connection etc).

http://www.tantronics.co.uk/acatalog...ergy_16_a.html

As you say I'd rather charge my cells carefully than cook them as some
chargers seem to (I understand this is an acceptable 'cost' to some
professionals). Cells come out of here warm rather than too hot to
touch (like some of my other chargers). Anything that boasts it can
charge a 2800mAh cell in 'under an hour' is going to be working it too
hard for my liking.

Also, although it will do 12 of your AA's at once (each cell being
treated independently) it also does AAA, C, D and PP3's (in any
combination).

Not cheap mind but nor are several sets of ruined rechargeable.

The 3 year warranty is quite reassuring considering the cost etc.

HTH

T i m

Harry Lime wrote:
This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Harry


I'm glad you asked that. I have been wondering the same. Huge price range.

The clever bits I want a

o Ability to charge 1 to 4 AA or AAA cells at a time.
o Indicator of how full each cell is.

Keep seeing Ansmann but they seem very expensive.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

T i m wrote:

I have the Ansmann Energy 16 and find it very good for processing the
cells properly.

I have an Ansman Digispeed 4 (AA and AAA only, came with mains and car
powe adapters) and an Ansmann Energy8 (AA, AAA, C, D, PP3) no problems
with "normal" NiMH up to 2700mAh or the "eneloop" type cells

"Harry Lime" wrote in message
...
This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Harry

It's very good but a whopping £27.
http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 18:30:48 +0100, Harry Lime wrote:

Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.

Take a wander into Lidl. They have a decent and clever battery charger for
the princely sum of £12.70.

Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2 x
PP3's at a time. It uses -ve delta V detection for switching to trickle
charge rather than just being time based. Also tests and "refreshes" the
cells each time. Charge time for a 2600mAHr battery is about 5hrs.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:19:45 +0100, T i m wrote:
As you say I'd rather charge my cells carefully than cook them as some
chargers seem to (I understand this is an acceptable 'cost' to some
professionals).

It's on the to-do list here to build one sometime so I can make it do
exactly what I need - I seem to recall many battery charger circuits
floating about the 'net and in magazines a few years ago, so presumably
they're all still around...

In the meantime I bought a cheapo Rayovac charger a week or so ago - it
seems to do cells in pairs (2 or 4) but can handle AA and AAA and cost the
princely sum of $5 (which is what, about 3 quid?).

4 x AA rechargeable cells also set me back $5, which wasn't what I
expected (I think I last bought rechargeable batteries 20 years ago, and
recall them being very expensive) - even if they don't last many charges,
it's got to be better than the speed at which the kids go through the
non-rechargeables! :-)

cheers

Jules

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:14:11 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

Take a wander into Lidl. They have a decent and clever battery charger for
the princely sum of £12.70.

Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2 x
PP3's at a time.

Part of my requirement for a charger was that it could charge 12AA's
at a time for RC model radio gear (8 in the TX, 4 in the RX).

In the good_old_days all my RC sets were built_in rechargeable so just
plugged the charger into them. The only problem was that all the cells
were charged in series so you had to treat them gently (so slow
'overnight' charges).

I also have some 7Ah 'D' Nicads that I use in a radio that is
currently in the bathroom. The Energy 16 copes with those as well and
I recently worked out they are nearly 30 years old!

Cheers, T i m

In article et,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.

Take a wander into Lidl. They have a decent and clever battery charger
for the princely sum of £12.70.

Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2
x PP3's at a time. It uses -ve delta V detection for switching to
trickle charge rather than just being time based. Also tests and
"refreshes" the cells each time. Charge time for a 2600mAHr battery is
about 5hrs.

Indeed - another Lidl 'steal'.

--
*Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it*

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

In message , Harry Lime
writes
This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Maha - without any hesitation. Expensive and you may have to search a
bit for UK suppliers, but they are very good. I was persuaded to try a
C401FS having trawled through several battery related threads on
dpreview and it has lived up to the recommendations. I have not tried
the fast charge setting, just the slow and the results during the past
couple of years have been excellent.

--
Robert

On 6 Apr, 20:02, "john jardine" wrote:
"Harry Lime" wrote in message

...

This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Harry

It's very good but a whopping £27.http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off *throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, *apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

This is the one I would recommend - the design has been around now for
some years so is mature. I will cope with single or multiple charges,
does discharge and charge cycle and will refresh cells by charging and
discharging until a constant capacity is reached.

The only thing that my early model won't cope with - and may have been
addressed now - is coping with cells that have been left in a switched
on appliance. I find I have to initiate these in an old fashioned
charger first to get some sort of voltage on the terminals.

Rob

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:12:43 +0100, T i m wrote:

Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2
x PP3's at a time.

Part of my requirement for a charger was that it could charge 12AA's
at a time for RC model radio gear (8 in the TX, 4 in the RX).

But you can buy 5 Lidl Tronic chargers (giving 30 AA slots) and have
change from the price on your Energy 16 . B-)

Looking at the flashing light patterns and terminal layout on the Energy
16 I strongly suspect that inside the case there is very little difference
between the two.

The BL700 mentioned by Mr Jardine looks fun for the techy type but only
does 4 AA or AAA cells, no C, D, or PP3. Personally I want a charger that
just works and tells me in a simple way what it is doing. It also needs to
charge cells singulary(*) and have proper full chrage detection.

(*) Two reasons some of the kit we have that uses rechargeables runs on
three cells and it's not good to charge cells in series. The cells will
have slightly different capacities so one will end up over charged the
other under.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Rob G wrote:

On 6 Apr, 20:02, "john jardine" wrote:
"Harry Lime" wrote in message

...

This household has a proliferation of these cells up to 2600mah but only 1
charger which is years old,
bought when we were using 500-800mah cells.
Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.
Speed is not of the essence, reliability is far more important.
Many thanks

Harry

It's very good but a whopping £27.http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off *throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, *apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

This is the one I would recommend - the design has been around now for
some years so is mature. I will cope with single or multiple charges,
does discharge and charge cycle and will refresh cells by charging and
discharging until a constant capacity is reached.

The only thing that my early model won't cope with - and may have been
addressed now - is coping with cells that have been left in a switched
on appliance. I find I have to initiate these in an old fashioned
charger first to get some sort of voltage on the terminals.

Rob

Seems I haven't had one that flat yet. Just checked the charger with a
variable power supply and yes it wants to see 0.50V before starting
up. I'll keep your point in mind for the future.

On 6 Apr, 18:30, "Harry Lime" wrote:

Any ideas for a good battery charger for modern cells.

Lidl (might be Aldi, if I'm mistaken) They have a nice smart charger
for 13 quid that's about six separate output channels. Silverisn case
that looks like a roadkill starfish.

NB - this is _not_ the rectangular box dumb charger they also do.

On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:55:47 +0100, wrote:

Currently two cells are flashing at about 1Hz. the other two (much lower
capacity and suspect) are flashing one flash in three. What does this
mean?

Colours? The key for the common patterns is on the front of the charger.
I've not seen:

* * * * * * * * * ...
* * * ...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:19:01 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:12:43 +0100, T i m wrote:

Does up to 6 x AAA or AA cells or 4 x D cells in any combination plus 2
x PP3's at a time.

Part of my requirement for a charger was that it could charge 12AA's
at a time for RC model radio gear (8 in the TX, 4 in the RX).

But you can buy 5 Lidl Tronic chargers (giving 30 AA slots) and have
change from the price on your Energy 16 . B-)

I don't have the space nor spare plug sockets for the extra 4 units
though. ;-)

Looking at the flashing light patterns and terminal layout on the Energy
16 I strongly suspect that inside the case there is very little difference
between the two.

There has been quite a bit of conjecture on that one and a denial from
the manufacturers, however ...

The BL700 mentioned by Mr Jardine looks fun for the techy type but only
does 4 AA or AAA cells, no C, D, or PP3.

But, it does do the cycle thing and that I would be interested in.
Reading some have had issues with catching fire is less positive
though.

Personally I want a charger that
just works and tells me in a simple way what it is doing. It also needs to
charge cells singulary(*) and have proper full chrage detection.

Yep, and do 12AA's at a time. ;-)

(*) Two reasons some of the kit we have that uses rechargeables runs on
three cells and it's not good to charge cells in series.

Indeed.

The cells will
have slightly different capacities so one will end up over charged the
other under.

Yup, and why I chose all the chargers I've recently bought to monitor
individual cell positions (of which the Energy 16 has proven the most
capable).

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I've just bought 8 x AA Eneloops and it's refreshing to see them
all finish their cycle at about the same time. Even though the status
display on the Energy 16 isn't as sophisticated as some units that
have been mentioned here I have already weeded out a few 'iffy' cells
that obviously don't respond the same as their comrades.

On 7 Apr, 11:38, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:55:47 +0100, wrote:
Currently two cells are flashing at about 1Hz. the other two (much lower
capacity and suspect) are flashing one flash in three. What does this
mean? *

Colours? The key for the common patterns is on the front of the charger.
I've not seen:

* * * * * * * * * ...
* * * * * * * * * ...

--
Cheers
Dave.

Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!!
Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last
long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....

Get alkalines from Poundland...
Probably cheaper than recharging anyway, much much more reliable, last
much much longer and pains all gone!!!

The Crimson King wrote:
Get alkalines from Poundland...
Probably cheaper than recharging anyway, much much more reliable, last
much much longer and pains all gone!!!

Except when they leak, though been lucky with their Kodak branded ones
so far...

--
Adrian C

In article
,
The Crimson King wrote:
Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!!
Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last
long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....

Try buying some decent ones - they are available at near alkaline
capacities. But you won't get them in your Poundland shop...

--
*Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary *

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

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:46:42 +0100, The Crimson King wrote
(in article
):

Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!!
Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last
long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....

I must say that I agree with this - I decided to give up on rechargeables a
year or more ago, and my life has been considerably simpler ever since.

I have literally dozens of devices about the house which use AA cells -
clocks, timers, thermometers, remote controls, even my mouse and keyboard,
and the last time I had to change a battery was about a couple of months ago.
If I have two spend a couple of pounds every month or two on a set of
alkalines, it's worth it to me. Life's too short for me to play mother-hen to
a set of batteries!

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 19:12:12 +0100, Mike Lane wrote:

I have literally dozens of devices about the house which use AA cells -
clocks, timers, thermometers, remote controls, even my mouse and
keyboard, and the last time I had to change a battery was about a couple
of months ago.

All low power devices, our clocks, smoke detectors and other low power
things also have alkalines in.

But we also have a couple of things that kill 3 AAA alkaline cells each in
4 days. That would come to about £10/month from Poundland. Well into money
saving including the capital cost of batteries and charger after a couple
of months...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 06:46:42 -0700 (PDT), The Crimson King wrote:

Get alkalines from Poundland...
Probably cheaper than recharging anyway, much much more reliable, last
much much longer and pains all gone!!!

Hum, £1 buys me more or less 10kwHr of mains electricity. These must be
some batteries with that amount of energy stored in them...

--
Cheers
Dave.

The message
from "john jardine" contains these words:

It's very good but a whopping £27.
http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem
apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

Anyone any thoughts on the HYBRIO batteries they also rave about?

--
Roger Chapman

In article . com,
Mike Lane wrote:
On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 14:46:42 +0100, The Crimson King wrote
(in article
):

Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!!
Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last
long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....

I must say that I agree with this - I decided to give up on
rechargeables a year or more ago, and my life has been considerably
simpler ever since.

I have literally dozens of devices about the house which use AA cells -
clocks, timers, thermometers, remote controls, even my mouse and
keyboard, and the last time I had to change a battery was about a couple
of months ago. If I have two spend a couple of pounds every month or two
on a set of alkalines, it's worth it to me. Life's too short for me to
play mother-hen to a set of batteries!

Well yes, but all the things you mention are low power devices. The
situation changes with higher power ones.

--
*I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you

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

Roger wrote:

The message
from "john jardine" contains these words:

It's very good but a whopping �27.
http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem
apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

Anyone any thoughts on the HYBRIO batteries they also rave about?

--
Roger Chapman

I had to google up on those. Looks like Uniross are moving into
Lithium tech. Pricey but the low self discharge is a massive benefit
and surely sounds the death knell on Nicads etc .
Should turn up at Poundstretcher and I'm having some!.

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 19:43:00 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote
(in article et):

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 19:12:12 +0100, Mike Lane wrote:

I have literally dozens of devices about the house which use AA cells -
clocks, timers, thermometers, remote controls, even my mouse and
keyboard, and the last time I had to change a battery was about a couple
of months ago.

All low power devices, our clocks, smoke detectors and other low power
things also have alkalines in.

But we also have a couple of things that kill 3 AAA alkaline cells each in
4 days. That would come to about £10/month from Poundland. Well into money
saving including the capital cost of batteries and charger after a couple
of months...


Well I don't know - I don't use anything that needs to be carried around and
yet uses that much power. Some high power torches I suppose, but I need to
use one so rarely that it still doesn't amount to much.

My most power-hungry portable device is a digital camera (a Canon Powershot)
which uses 4 AAs. I started off following the usual advice and using
rechargeables, but on holiday (when I use the camera most) it was a
nightmare. I needed to carry around a spare set of 4 as they always seemed to
be failing at a crucial time and then every evening I was fussing around
making sure both sets were fully charged for the following day. Then I
discovered Lithium AAs. They're a bit pricey at about £8 a set, but I can
take around 1000 pictures with a single set of 4 (well over a year's use for
me) plus they weigh about half as much so the camera feels noticeably lighter


--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

In message , Roger
writes
The message
from "john jardine" contains these words:

It's very good but a whopping £27.
http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/techno...line-BL700.asp
Got p***** off throwing batteries away, when the plethora of different
chargers I'd bought, apparently couldn't charge them. What's the point of
buying rechargeable batteries when after 2 or 3 charges they seem
apparently
knackered?.
Problem sorted with the BL700 thing. Plug some batteries in and leave 'em
till use. Haven't slung a battery in 18 months.
[As incidental, found that the 'Tronic' brand from Lidl are way the best
value for money].

Anyone any thoughts on the HYBRIO batteries they also rave about?


I've got some of those, as well as Sanyo Eneloop and the Ansmann
equivalent. I assume they are all based on the same sort of modification
to the chemistry?

They seem to do what it says on the tin as regards retaining charge. You
can put them in something like a remote and it will last for ages before
needing charging whereas a standard NiMH battery would have self
discharged in a few weeks or so. Whether there is any great advantage in
that sort of usage, as comapred to just using a few alkaline cells is a
moot point given the extra cost of them.

I find them useful for things like my little DAB radio which rather eats
batteries compared to a small analogue radio As I can always have a
charged up set available without finding the charge has depleted so much
for sitting on the shelf.

Not really so useful for the digital camera as we are probably changing
the batteries every few days anyway as we use it so mcuh
--
Chris French

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 00:55:19 +0100, chris French wrote
(in article ) :

In message , Roger
writes
Anyone any thoughts on the HYBRIO batteries they also rave about?


I've got some of those, as well as Sanyo Eneloop and the Ansmann
equivalent. I assume they are all based on the same sort of modification
to the chemistry?

They seem to do what it says on the tin as regards retaining charge. You
can put them in something like a remote and it will last for ages before
needing charging whereas a standard NiMH battery would have self
discharged in a few weeks or so. Whether there is any great advantage in
that sort of usage, as comapred to just using a few alkaline cells is a
moot point given the extra cost of them.

I find them useful for things like my little DAB radio which rather eats
batteries compared to a small analogue radio As I can always have a
charged up set available without finding the charge has depleted so much
for sitting on the shelf.

Not really so useful for the digital camera as we are probably changing
the batteries every few days anyway as we use it so mcuh

I use Lithium AAs in my Canon Powershot camera (which are not rechargeable).
They're a bit pricey but I find that one set of 4 will give me around 1000
pictures. For me that's over a year of use.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 23:35:38 +0100, Mike Lane wrote:

My most power-hungry portable device is a digital camera (a Canon Powershot)
which uses 4 AAs. I started off following the usual advice and using
rechargeables, but on holiday (when I use the camera most) it was a
nightmare. I needed to carry around a spare set of 4 as they always seemed to
be failing at a crucial time and then every evening I was fussing around
making sure both sets were fully charged for the following day.

I think some of the problem can be down to the device being able to
tell what batteries there are in there and hence what voltage
constitutes 'flat'? I have a couple of little Fuji F420's cameras that
take (and eat) AAA's. I currently have 800mA NiMH's in there but even
straight off charge it's showing 'Low battery' pretty quickly. However
it carries on working for quite some time after that? My old Garmin
GPS V takes 4 x AA and has a setting for different battery types so it
knows more accurately what whatever battery type is actually going
flat.

Then I
discovered Lithium AAs. They're a bit pricey at about £8 a set, but I can
take around 1000 pictures with a single set of 4 (well over a year's use for
me) plus they weigh about half as much so the camera feels noticeably lighter

Interesting. I think I would only risk such a purchase if the device
in question had auto power off! Nothing more frustrating (or
expensive) as fitting a new set of decent cells to something and then
just flattening them in the draw. ;-(

Talking of self discharge though. I've had NiMH's in both TV remotes
and a PP3 version in a DMM and they have been ok for ages?

A neighbour has a basic model Fuji and if you leave the batteries in
it flattens anything within a few days! ;-(

T i m

Roger wrote:

Anyone any thoughts on the HYBRIO batteries they also rave about?

I have some of the Sony EneLoop iones and have found them to be very
good, I left one set exactly as they arrived in the packet for over a
year, put them into a digital camera and they were quite happy taking
plenty of pictures, I also use them in TV remotes and wireless mice now,
they seem to last *much* longer than the 2600mAh NiMHs.

I got some Maplin Hybrids which so far don't seem very good, or or two
items of equipment think they are flat when the charger says they are
fully charged.

Andy Burns wrote:

I have some of the Sony EneLoop ones

Actually the Sony name is CyclEnergy (but they are licensed from Sanyo)

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 22:56:25 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote
(in article ):

In article . com,
Mike Lane wrote:

I have literally dozens of devices about the house which use AA cells -
clocks, timers, thermometers, remote controls, even my mouse and
keyboard, and the last time I had to change a battery was about a couple
of months ago. If I have two spend a couple of pounds every month or two
on a set of alkalines, it's worth it to me. Life's too short for me to
play mother-hen to a set of batteries!

Well yes, but all the things you mention are low power devices. The
situation changes with higher power ones.


Really my point is that any device which needs constant changing of batteries
is badly designed (presumably for cheapness). If it's that power-hungry it
should be designed with its own built in charging system and batteries like a
mobile phone or laptop. It's this fiddling about changing batteries every few
days that a lot of people seem to rather enjoy but drives me crazy and should
be quite unnecessary. I certainly find it is.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

"The Crimson King" wrote in message
...


Forget rechargeables altogether is my advice!!!
Right pain in the rear having to contantly recharge and don't last
long anyway..regardless of quoted ratings.....

Get alkalines from Poundland...
Probably cheaper than recharging anyway, much much more reliable, last
much much longer and pains all gone!!!

Oh yes!..

put four alkalines in my flash gun and they will be flat after about 60
flashes whereas NiMh will last double and you can recharge them.

Buy some decent low leakage (pre charged) NiMh and forget alkaline.

On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:02:33 +0100, T i m wrote:

A neighbour has a basic model Fuji and if you leave the batteries in
it flattens anything within a few days! ;-(

Aye, took my Asda special £10 radio off the shelf after the winter the
other day. Flat as a pancake it has an LCD clock I can only assume that
that takes enough juice to flatten 4 x AA alkalines in a few months.

Fortunately it has a real slide on/off switch rather than a soft switch so
I'll modify it so that off really is off...

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...

Well yes, but all the things you mention are low power devices. The
situation changes with higher power ones.

The latest low leakage NiMh are fine in low power applications.
I have some in my clocks and remotes, I may even have to charge them
sometime as they have not yet been charged and that is after six months.

Mike Lane posted
My most power-hungry portable device is a digital camera (a Canon Powershot)
which uses 4 AAs. I started off following the usual advice and using
rechargeables, but on holiday (when I use the camera most) it was a
nightmare. I needed to carry around a spare set of 4 as they always seemed to
be failing at a crucial time and then every evening I was fussing around
making sure both sets were fully charged for the following day.

My digital camera is very sensitive to the cells' charge state; it won't
even turn on unless they are pretty fresh. I used to use NiCd cells,
which were just about satisfactory, but they're now banned and you can't
get them. The NiMH cells now sold in shops are useless for the purpose;
they fail after a few shots.

Then I
discovered Lithium AAs. They're a bit pricey at about £8 a set, but I can
take around 1000 pictures with a single set of 4 (well over a year's use for
me) plus they weigh about half as much so the camera feels noticeably lighter

These are non-rechargeables?

--
Les
Criticising the government is not illegal, but often on investigation turns out
to be linked to serious offences.

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 11:00:21 +0100, Big Les Wade wrote
(in article ):

Mike Lane posted

Then I discovered Lithium AAs. They're a bit pricey at about £8 a set,
but I can take around 1000 pictures with a single set of 4 (well over a
year's use for me) plus they weigh about half as much so the camera feels
noticeably lighter

These are non-rechargeables?


Yes

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire

On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:17:52 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:02:33 +0100, T i m wrote:

A neighbour has a basic model Fuji and if you leave the batteries in
it flattens anything within a few days! ;-(

Aye, took my Asda special £10 radio off the shelf after the winter the
other day. Flat as a pancake it has an LCD clock I can only assume that
that takes enough juice to flatten 4 x AA alkalines in a few months.

I've just taken (a fairly expensive) alarm off the 250cc scooter for
the same reason. That seemed to kill a new SLA battery in a week. ;-(

Fortunately it has a real slide on/off switch rather than a soft switch so
I'll modify it so that off really is off...

They are nice aren't they, knowing there is a good 1mm gap in the wire
from the battery. ;-)

T i m

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 08:52:54 +0100, Mike Lane wrote:

If it's that power-hungry it should be designed with its own built in
charging system and batteries like a mobile phone or laptop.

Oh great more wall warts to clutter the place up, get lost or not be with
you when you need it. Far simpler to have standard sized batteries and a
single charger. At least you can always buy standard batteries from a
corner shop or garage should you need to, can't do that with kit that has
built in or proprietary batteries.

It's this fiddling about changing batteries every few days that a lot of
people seem to rather enjoy but drives me crazy and should be quite
unnecessary.

It's this fiddling about with multiple, incompatible, chargers every few
days that a lot of people seem to rather enjoy but drives me crazy and
should be quite unnecessary.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 18:26:38 +0100, Dave Liquorice wrote
(in article et):

On Wed, 8 Apr 2009 08:52:54 +0100, Mike Lane wrote:

If it's that power-hungry it should be designed with its own built in
charging system and batteries like a mobile phone or laptop.

Oh great more wall warts to clutter the place up, get lost or not be with
you when you need it. Far simpler to have standard sized batteries and a
single charger. At least you can always buy standard batteries from a
corner shop or garage should you need to, can't do that with kit that has
built in or proprietary batteries.

It's this fiddling about changing batteries every few days that a lot of
people seem to rather enjoy but drives me crazy and should be quite
unnecessary.

It's this fiddling about with multiple, incompatible, chargers every few
days that a lot of people seem to rather enjoy but drives me crazy and
should be quite unnecessary.



Leaving aside the childish sarcasm, what you say doesn't make much sense to
me.

Rechargeable cells using NiMH technology are quite unsuitable for high power
portable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. No one in their right
minds would try to design anything like that using AA rechargeables; the
various flavours of Lithium battery are obviously the way to go in this case.

Low power devices, of which most of us have many (clocks, timers,
thermometers etc.) last so long with alkaline batteries that normal NiMH
cells would self-discharge, and have to be changed much more frequently. You
could make a case for the newer hybrid NiMh cells, but I doubt actually if
they make much economic sense when you consider the extra cost.

I suppose there are some intermediate power devices where rechargeable AAs
are an advantage. In fact come to think of it, the handsets of my DECT
cordless phone use 2 rechargeable NiMH AAA cells each. They last a day or two
in use on battery power, but in this case they normally sit in a recharging
cradle when not in use (they have to go somewhere), so there's no need to
change the batteries except after a couple of years when they eventually lose
their capacity. I see nothing inconvenient or awkward about that and to my
mind it's an example of how portable devices should be designed.

As I said, I don't possess any devices that would benefit much from
rechargeable AA cells with a separate charger. I've tried that and given up.
Possibly kiddies toys are where a lot of these are used, but in this case
convenience is not really an issue. I suspect that fiddling with the
batteries is all part of the fun here.

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire