Batteries and chargers help please

isofa

Recharging alkaline batteries, is at best dangerous, and I'm surprised those type of chargers are allowed to be sold, the risk of leakage or bad chemical reaction is more than negligible.

A decent set of rechargeables, like Ansmann, will last 500 to 1000 charges no problem at all, well worth £13. They also outlast anything else I've used before, I used to use 4 sets of high-cap Uniross AAs for a pro flash system, with a bundled Uniross XPress charger, replacing 4 times during a day photoshoot, I've had a whole day's shooting out of one set of high-cap Ansmann charged with a proper charger. Worth their weight in gold to me, especially in high drain situations. Even the Uniross's now charger with an intelligent charger last at least 1.5x as long as before.

You get what you pay for!

kwikbreaks

isofa wrote: »

Recharging alkaline batteries, is at best dangerous, and I'm surprised those type of chargers are allowed to be sold, the risk of leakage or bad chemical reaction is more than negligible.

This type of charger has been around many years and I've had one for a very long time without any leakage issues or problems. They closely monitor the charging current and voltage to ensure no problems occur - anything the inbuilt circuitry doesn't like results in the battery being rejected.

isofa

kwikbreaks wrote: »

This type of charger has been around many years and I've had one for a very long time without any leakage issues or problems. They closely monitor the charging current and voltage to ensure no problems occur - anything the inbuilt circuitry doesn't like results in the battery being rejected.

I know, I remember seeing them, but it's still nothing I'd recommend – there are reports of the earlier chargers causing cells to rupture too (I presume from Hydrogen being produced as effectively you are running the chemical process backwards, the cell becomes an electrolyte and H is the by-product), a quick Google will confirm.

Also considering the charge time, drain current and many other factors, I can't see the point over quality NiMhs, which are designed to be recharged hundreds of times, and with the correct chargers in short spaces of time.

basill

kwikbreaks wrote: »

For the most part NiMH are maybe the best all rounders as they offer higher capacities but they do self discharge fairly quickly and can't supply the very high current which NiCads offer.

The self discharge problem is pretty much solved with Low Self Discharge batteries such as Sanyo Eneloop or Uniross Hybrio.
Charged with a standard NIMH Charger these have a slightly lower overall capacity than the best traditional NIMH batteries, but retain a useful level of charge for much longer, they should still have 80% charge after a year. Good if you dont use your camera daily for instance.


B

andy2004

jeez i was only telling the person who asked, what i had bought.
the battery genie is safe, never had a single proble with it.
yes NiHm batteries are better, i used to have a nicad charger and batteries which i bought from woolworths cost £12.99 just for the batteries and £10 for the charger, and didnt last more than 3 months, the batteries only lasted about 1month, forget about the 1000 charges, more like 5.
nihm's where not available at that time, hence the reason i bought the battery genie, i've tested it with all types. 24 batteries for £1, rayovac, panasonic. then 10years later whilst doing my shopping i saw a uniross nihm charger for £5 with batteries so i bought it, for use with mp3 player.