[ale] [OT] any experience with low self discharge NIMH batteries

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Brian Mathis <brian.mathis+ale at betteradmin.com> wrote:

>On Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 12:19 PM, Jim Lynch
><ale_nospam at fayettedigital.com> wrote:
>> On 03/05/2013 09:46 AM, Chris Ricker wrote:
>>>
>>> I've been using Eneloops for a few years. They work well
>>
>> I have a couple of NiMh chargers, will those charge Eneloops or do
>they
>> require a special charger?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jim.
>
>
>They need their own charger.  Amazon has a bunch of starter packs that
>include the charger and batteries.
>
>
>❧ Brian Mathis
>

According to what I read, any NIMH charger will work with low self discharge NIMH batteries.  I use the Maha Energy (mahaenergy.com) MH-C9000 charger / analyzer.  It's a great little machine.  Batteries Plus has it.  It charges / analyzes / discharges / conditions each battery separately.  I also have the Maha C-204F, an older less sophisticated unit which charges / discharges in pairs.  Charging individually is better.  This is the same company that makes the Powerex brand of batteries, including the Imedion LSD ones.

I think I read that Sanyo won't warrant batteries if not charged by their chargers.  I'm not sure they could get away with that legally, but the chargers don't care about such things.

I think I also read that you shouldn't quick charge these LSD batteries.  Charging should take at least 1 - 2 hours, ie 1C to 1/2 C rate.  The manual for my charger recommends charging NIMH batteries, in general, at .33C to 1C rate.  So, if it's a 2700 mah battery, you should charge it at 891 ma to 2700 ma.

You should also apply a break-in charge to new batteries and occasionally to recondition them (every 30 cycles).

On this charger, that does:

16 hour .1C charge, rest
~ 5 hour .2C discharge, rest
16 hour .1C charge

This takes about 39 hours total.

When doing this after the initial break-in, I would discharge the battery first at .2C if it has a partial charge in it.

http://www.mahaenergy.com/mh-c9000/
http://www.mahaenergy.com/FAQ-C9000/

This is from the FAQ:

quote -->

Is the MH-C9000 compatible with the new "low self-discharge" batteries (e.g. Sanyo Eneloop)?
Yes. Follow the same charging rate recommendations for general NiMH batteries.

<-- end quote

Sincerely,

Ron


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Ron Frazier
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