Battery charger and rechargebale batteries

fatgit

I'm on the lookout for some rechargable batteries (and charger) for the following purposes:

- bike lights for commuting
- flashgun for camera

Now, I know there are certain types of batteries for certain purposes - maybe the batteries I'd use for the bike lights wouldn't be fit for purpose for the flashgun?

Could anyone tell me what to look out for and if there are any bargains to be had out there>? :money:

georgemac_2

From what I have read, if you are continually using your equipment, high capacity NiMh will work well as you will be continually charging them up, and won't see the effects of self discharge, which means that these batteries will steadily lose their charge if not being used/charged regularly. Can get up to 2700 mah batteries. These Uniross ones on amazon seem a good buy when you factor in free delivery over £15. £6.10 for 4. Sevenday shop will likely have cheaper own brand but pay for delivery.

If you use your equipment peridically, a new type of battery, uniross hydrio/ sanyo eneloop batteries work really well, and are very good to carry as spares as they really hold their charge very well indeed. I have read these are good for use in flash units but again depends on usage. These come ready to use out of the packet and have very self discharge rates, so very good for keeping as backup batteries.

I have ordered this charger and 6 unross hybrio batteries from amazon UK for £9.52 - battery rating is 2100 Mah

Also ordered some Sony batteries rated at 2000 mah, same as hybrio £7.99 for 4.

Also ordered a uniross battery tester for checking my exisiting MIMh batteries, some of which are completely dead even after charging, and some which lose theor charge rapidly, these are gone to the recycling tip, as if using one of these in a set of 4, 1 bad battery meant the appliance performing poorly.

From what I read, this Sony battery charger is the best one I could see, but very expensive in the UK, although amazon US selloing for $28

georgemac_2

espresso wrote: »

The chargers and batteries available at 7dayshop are much better spec. than those quoted above e.g. here and here.

I have the 7dayshop own brand 2500 mah ones, have had them for a little over a year at a guess. I have had to bin a few of them after they have failed completely. I don't know if the Uniross branded 2500 mah ones would be any better though.

The amazon ones for a dozen would be £6.10 x 3 + free delivery = £18.30
The sevendayshop ones for a dozen would be £4.99 x 3 + £3.95 delivery = £17.92 - higher capacity non branded batteries

If I am honest I don't know which of the two I would choose

These are different batteries to the Unirsoss Hybrio/Enelop/Sony batteries I posted about.

I cannot comment on the charger - I thought slow trickle charge was best for batteries rather than fast charging?

georgemac_2

espresso wrote: »

I have not suffered a higher failure rate with non branded batteries compared to branded. I certainly would not pay extra for Uniross/Sony and have been using batteries bought from LIdl/Aldi for years with no failures.

What is important is that a good quality charger is used with NiMh cells, as they are much more fussy about being charged correctly than Nicad cells. e.g. 7dayshop charger - Super safe microprocessor control, fitted with “Delta-V” circuitry for overload detection, timer protection and also reverse polarity protection. The Sony charger above does not even give charge times or mention "Delta-V".

I agree with what you are saying about branded batteries. I have had to bin some 7dayshop own brand and fameeart batteries which have not lasted.

The Sony charger has a refresh function and is not timed like most chargers - it detects the voltage of the battery and switches the charge off when finished, and the reviews on amazon.com US site would suggest the refresh function increases battery life. Personally I would not pay £30 for this charger and batteries either. I would pay $30 though!

It does have voltage monitoring, temp monitoring, safety timer, as stated here

I was really looking for a charger with the refresh function - this is the only one I could find - if you know of any others please post

trcooke

I have one of these on recommendation:

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-i-charger.asp

I haven't used it yet as none of my batteries have run flat yet.

There's a cheaper version too although apart from the lack of accessories I am not sure what the difference is between them.

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-bl700.asp

georgemac_2

trcooke wrote: »

I have one of these on recommendation:

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-i-charger.asp

I haven't used it yet as none of my batteries have run flat yet.

There's a cheaper version too although apart from the lack of accessories I am not sure what the difference is between them.

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-bl700.asp

looks like an excellent charger - see they are also branded as La Crosse in some places

Also what about the top one on this page? - click on picture to bring up more details

A search on Ebay for component-shop seller will show a pretty decent looking intelligent charger - search for fast smart charger

The La Crosee BC 900 frustratingly same in $ as £ across the pond, also very cheap on amazon.com US!

wanye

trcooke wrote: »

There's a cheaper version too although apart from the lack of accessories I am not sure what the difference is between them.

http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-bl700.asp

ive got the bl700. it is a *brilliant* charger. i had some nimh cells that i had in my mouse. after charging (with a "normal" cheap charger) i would get maybe 2 days worth of power to my mouse. not good.

i bought the bl700. did the refresh thing (it took a few days to do) and now these previously crap batteries now last for several weeks

fatgit

thanks folks - very helpful

unrich

A poor charger and over draining NiMH can kill them quick.
I have loads of cheap ebay vapex and vapextech batteries and an expensive charger and they all work great.

jon_r_2

Crafty tip,if possible completely discharge 'nicad' batteries every so often,to overcome 'memory' effect within the battery thus shortening the usage times. ( L-I-O-N batteries do not suffer from this so much,but if you can allow your phone to run flat sometimes,again this will prolong battery life) Nicads if not used for a long period should be discharged.
I have greatly extended the life of rechargables by doing the above.