![]() A good bet for a charger is the Knox 16 Bay, Amazon link to right. Nonetheless, the convenience of fast charging could be worth the slightly reduced battery life. All rechargeable batteries wear out, and the slower speed chargers can give you a few more charges over the life of the battery. You’ll see chargers claiming “fast,” “one-hour,” “rapid,” “trickle,” “overnight,” and more. What’s the best way to charge your precious little NiMH cells? First, consider the speed of charging. Again, as mentioned above, using your batteries in dated sets will help prevent damage from unequal pairing. Fortunately many (if not most) sophisticated electronic gadgets have a low-voltage shutdown that protects your batteries from deep discharge. In a deep discharge situation the fresher battery may reverse charge and damage its exhausted neighbor. Here’s why : No two batteries are exactly the same. You can ruin your NiMH batteries if discharged to rock bottom. It’s best to use a battery tester rather than a volt meter, because a battery tester places a small load on the battery and gives you a more realistic read (some volt meters have a battery test function that does the same thing). If any cell measures significantly lower than the others, discard it. Check each cell with a battery tester such as the Radio Shack 22-093. Do so by pulling the cells out of your powered device when they’ve been run down and nearly discharged, but are still showing some juice (such as a dim headlamp). Occasionally test your rechargeable batteries. (In olden days it was also important to charge groups from the same set, but modern chargers handle each battery individually so this extent of battery worship is no longer necessary.) If you’re detail oriented, attempt to roughly equal the number of charge cycles for every battery in a set, though going to this extent of battery management is a bit much for most of us. ![]() When grouping batteries in a device always use singles from the same vintage set. If the battery has a plastic coating that doesn’t accept marking, lightly sand a patch with fine-grit sandpaper and mark with a Sharpie. When you receive your batteries mark with the date and a number or color code. To get the most bang for your buck, buy and use your NiMH batteries in sets. Thus for the casual user who wants to charge-and-forget the spare batteries kicking around in their glovebox and backcountry repair kit, higher capacity NiMH batteries that hold their charge in storage are probably a better long-term value. Problem is, cheapo NiMH batteries can be significantly lower in capacity, lack quality, and they rapidly lose their charge during storage. When you get serious, what NiMH batteries to buy? Budget versions can be useful if you’re doing “industrial” work such as a commercial photographer with multiple on-camera flashes requiring dozens of batteries. (Example, if you can get a good deal on Panasonic Eneloop batteries, they’re an ok buy but be sure you get the 2000 mAh version, they also make a cheapo 800 mAh version.) Panasonic BK-3MCCA8BA eneloop AA New 2100 Cycle Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 8 Pack So in real-world use you can be way ahead of the game if you’re set up with nickle metal hydride. More, NiMH does better when the temperature drops - causing them to easily exceed alkaline in performance. A good quality alkaline battery yields about 2,600 mAh at room temperature, while a decent capacity NiMH with limited self discharge is generally around 2,000 mAh, with better NiMH equalling or surpassing Alkalines at ratings around 2,700 mAh (or much more, without the limited self discharge feature). The higher the milli-amp number, the longer the cell will last in use. Set yourself up with NiMH - you’ll save money, and you’ll save the planet.Ĭapacity of batteries is commonly given in milli-amp-hours (mAh for short). These batteries are recyclable, and provide guilt-free trashing as they contain mild toxins in contrast to nicads, which contain cadmium. Nmh performs well when cold, and one rechargeable NiMH battery will save you from buying and discarding dozens if not hundreds of single use batteries. NiMH batteries can be acquired in fairly high capacity versions, and can be recharged at any time in their duty cycle. This blog post covers the basic NiMH AA and AAA rechargeable side of the equation. (Also, rechargeable lithium-ion “power packs” are also a viable player, provided you have a compatible device). While all manner of amazing battery technology is on the horizon, the best options available in AA and AAA consumer cells are the rechargeable nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH for short), and the Energizer single use Lithium. Tester is essential gear no matter what kind of batteries you run.
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