device battery meter readings with eneloops

[5S8Zh5]

So I've started replacing all of my alkaleaks with eneloops, and one thing I've noticed is the battery meters will not show correctly, are calibrated for alkaline batteries. My portable AM radios being a case in point. I can put in 100 to 80 percent eneloops (ZTS MINI) into the devices parallel slots, and it will initially show 3 out of 4 bars, then quickly drop to one - and when I recheck them they are still in the 60-80 percent range.

Can these meters be designed with a switch for alkaline | NiMH modes? I don't really expect it to happen, but then again, I do expect it to happen. ....

 

[MidnightDistortions]

The only way to test them out is to time them or to find a better device that isn't specifically designed for Alkalines. I have older portable cd players that has rechargeable NiMH support.

 

[Phlogiston]

Can these meters be designed with a switch for alkaline | NiMH modes? I don't really expect it to happen, but then again, I do expect it to happen. ....

It can be done, but a lot of manufacturers don't bother.

I have an old MP3 player that takes a single AA cell for power, and it has a settings menu option to select alkaline or NiMH. The battery gauge generally works quite well, as long as I remember to set the right cell type after switching from one type to the other!

 

[5S8Zh5]

It can be done, but a lot of manufacturers don't bother.

I have an old MP3 player that takes a single AA cell for power, and it has a settings menu option to select alkaline or NiMH. The battery gauge generally works quite well, as long as I remember to set the right cell type after switching from one type to the other!

Awesome. I may write a couple of manufacturers (and distributers), maybe Sangean, County Comm, and C. Crane. ....

 

[WalkIntoTheLight]

Even for devices that expect you to use NiMH batteries, estimating remaining charge is very difficult. Different brands of NiMH cells have different discharge curves, and all these curves are much flatter than alkaline discharge curves, making estimates of remaining charge (based on voltage) hard to do with any accuracy.

When I see the battery meter (made for alkalines) read close to zero, I then know it's time to recharge my batteries. Otherwise, I generally ignore the meter.

 

[5S8Zh5]

When I see the battery meter (made for alkalines) read close to zero, I then know it's time to recharge my batteries. Otherwise, I generally ignore the meter.

My County Comm GP-5 DSP (aka Tecsun PL-360) shows 1 out of 4 bars (lowest before low battery shut off) and my ZTS MINI shows 60% for all 3 white 4th gen eneloops. I use this radio every day and have already run the first set of eneloops to shut off (ZTS MINI metered them at red 20% or less).

 

[chazz]

Some devices have in the setup menu to choose battery chemistry, (garmin handheld gps is one).

Most devices will just show low battery right away, but will still run for quite some time (often longer than alkaline).

A few devices will not like the lower voltage at all, and will stop working fairly soon after putting in a fresh Eneloops, the only item I have like that is an outside temp sensor for indoor/outdoor thermometer. It's not a huge deal since it takes only 2AA and so I use Energizer L91 lithium cells in that, better for extreme hot/cold and they last around two years or more.

 

[5S8Zh5]

Some devices have in the setup menu to choose battery chemistry, (garmin handheld gps is one).

Good on Garmin. ....

A few devices will not like the lower voltage at all, and will stop working fairly soon after putting in a fresh Eneloops, the only item I have like that is an outside temp sensor for indoor/outdoor thermometer. It's not a huge deal since it takes only 2AA and so I use Energizer L91 lithium cells in that, better for extreme hot/cold and they last around two years or more.

So you mean it does not like the low voltage reading and shut off? That would suck.

 

[chazz]

So you mean it does not like the low voltage reading and shut off? That would suck.

It would work for like a month, displaying low battery most of the time, then would just stop sending the temp signal. So would have to recharge them every month, got tired of that and just put the L91s in..

I am guessing the electronics in it just require a certain voltage to work correctly. Like I said, it's the only thing I have found that would not really work well with Eneloops, so not a huge deal.. Not sure how Eneloops would like the 117+(St George, UT) to -30 (Colorado)F temps I have seen anyway, so I might be tempted to use the L91s even if the Eneloops did work, guessing the real hot temps would shorten their life.. ?

 

[UserName]

My wife's digital camera is like this.

It seems to learn, though. I can put fully charged eneloops in it, and the battery meter when powered on will show about 1 of 3 possible bars, looking like a nearly depleted battery. If I take a few pictures, and look back at it after a few minutes, it will show a fully charged battery indicator. It's almost like it expects alkalines when it starts up, but after a few minutes figures out it's got NiMHs instead, and rescales for it.

I've tried to explain it to my wife, but she doesn't get it. When I just told her, "The battery meter doesn't work with rechargeables, I'll just make sure you have fully charged batteries at the beginning of any photography related event, then she was ok with it.

There's less benefit to a battery meter with rechargeables anyway. With primaries, there's the concern of wanting to "use up" the batteries before changing. With rechargeables, I just start out with full batteries every time, and let it run until it stops.

 

[5S8Zh5]

It would work for like a month, displaying low battery most of the time, then would just stop sending the temp signal. So would have to recharge them every month, got tired of that and just put the L91s in..

I am guessing the electronics in it just require a certain voltage to work correctly. Like I said, it's the only thing I have found that would not really work well with Eneloops, so not a huge deal.. Not sure how Eneloops would like the 117+(St George, UT) to -30 (Colorado)F temps I have seen anyway, so I might be tempted to use the L91s even if the Eneloops did work, guessing the real hot temps would shorten their life.. ?

Those L91s seem to last forever in my portable radios.

There's less benefit to a battery meter with rechargeables anyway. With primaries, there's the concern of wanting to "use up" the batteries before changing. With rechargeables, I just start out with full batteries every time, and let it run until it stops.

That's a good way to look at it.

 

[UserName]

That's a good way to look at it.

It's always been my pet peeve about primaries. I can't throw away anything unless it's totally used up. You could throw away a lot of half charged primaries if you want to have a full batteries in the camera at the beginning of any photographic event. Wastefulness makes my skin crawl.