Do you ever top off your rechargeables?

[Turbo Guy]

Nicads and NiMHdo not develop memory , they develop voltage depression which is not the same thing. In order to develop voltage depression they have to be discharged to the same point 20 times in a row. Standard maintaince recomendations is to discharge them to 0.9 volts per cell every 20 to 30 cycles which will prevent any problems.

 

[VidPro]

I thought if you charge them while they still have juice, that they develop a memory which is bad. I have new Duracell LSD AA for my radar detector should I drain them completely(Leave them in till it wont turn on) or just top them off at at 60% of charge left.

depends on how FAR the device drains the battery, also its usually bad if the batteries are in series, depending again on how FAR the device drains the series you could hurt them badly.

 

[SuperTorch]

I guess I'm thinking draining them "exercising them" keeping capacity up, but I should just recharge as often as soon as I want with out it hindering the battery?

 

[Turbo Guy]

Most do not keep accurate records and guesses are just that.This graph shows an 8 cell two year old Rayovac pack compared to a new Sanyo Eneloop pack. Voltages were off a bit and there is a bunp where I improved the contacts. test were done in an 8 cell holder with aligator clips to the cell holder so a bit of extra resistence in the circuite.
The Hybrids were used in a RC tranmitter with a drain of approx. 150 mA. They were charge at 110 mA rate untill they reached 11.6 volts and were recharged when they reached between 9.3 and 9.6 volts under the same 150 mA load.They were recharged every 7-10 days during good flying weather and about every 30 days during the period from Nov. - Feb.

The Transmitter now has new Eneloops in it. Not that it needed them but I recycle my AA NiMH cells down to less mission crital useages after a couple of years of such useage.

http://static.rcgroups.com/forums/attachments/4/4/9/7/4/a2336814-49-new-Eneloops-2yr.-old-ROV-H.gif

 

[alfreddajero]

For me it all depends......i like to discharge the cell before i charge them up. But everyone has there set ways when it comes to batts.

 

[VidPro]

I guess I'm thinking draining them "exercising them" keeping capacity up,

it would, as long as it doesnt reverse charge them and/or zero them out, which you could test for. otherwise any "deeper" type of discharging would be better left to a charger that does discharge in singles. or a manuel discharge that you can keep the things within the specs.

but I should just recharge as often as soon as I want with out it hindering the battery?

you should, unless you know that your deep discharges arent doing more harm than good. umm rephrase, untill your sure that discharging in the device does it in a way that they are not hurt.

 

[Russel]

...
MY QUESTION: Does anyone top off their batteries in their EDC, say part of a weekly routine or every other day type of thing? ...

I recharge my Romisen RC-G2 EDC every other day, sometimes every three days. Discharge down to .9 volts every three months and recharge. And run a break-in cycle once a year; discharge to .9 volts recharge at C/10 for 16 hours, discharge again, and recharge at C/10. The standard MH-C9000 break-in cycle. My backup EDC, stored in the briefcase, a Fenix L2D with 4 Eneloops hardly ever gets used. But they get a discharge-recharge cycle every three months and the yearly break-in. I log the quarterly and break-in cycle of each cell in a spreadsheet. I log recharges for everything except for my primary EDC, which gets only quarterly and break-in cycles logged.

So far I've I'm running my inventory through the break-in cycle for the first time. I've only recently come to appreciate LED flashlights.lovecpf

 

[SuperTorch]

I'm assuming that the PRE-Charged LSD are put through a break in cycle before sent to stores so they last as long as possible, so I buy them, my theory may be wrong.

 

[darknessemitter]

I thought if you charge them while they still have juice, that they develop a memory which is bad. I have new Duracell LSD AA for my radar detector should I drain them completely(Leave them in till it wont turn on) or just top them off at at 60% of charge left.

Here's a link to some info Silverfox posted on memory effect/ voltage depression:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/157544

It looks like the voltage depression from recharging only partially discharged cells can be reversed just by discharging them to 1.0 volts each about every 20 cycles.

I think what more often causes permanent damage to cells is over-charging from the use of "dumb" or timed chargers, the kind that don't shut off once the cells are fully charged. If you're using a timed charger, then it might be more important fully discharge (to 1.0 volts) before recharging, to reduce the chance of cells being over-charged.
It's simpler just to use a smart charger and not have to worry about it.

 

[Turbo Guy]

Post #24 shows the cells in a not to great battery holder. here is one of the very same Hybrids and a couple of Eneloops at 1A in a very good holder (adjustable clamp) with real contacts and 12 ga. leads.

The Hybrids were never fully discharged in the RC Transmitter as low voltage alarm triggers at 9.0 volts and I recharged at 9.3-9.6 volts.
A nonimal full discha4ge would be to 0.9V per cell or 7.2 for te 8 cell pack.

 

[Alex 007]

Nicads and NiMHdo not develop memory , they develop voltage depression which is not the same thing. In order to develop voltage depression they have to be discharged to the same point 20 times in a row. Standard maintaince recomendations is to discharge them to 0.9 volts per cell every 20 to 30 cycles which will prevent any problems.

To my knowledge...Nicads surely suffer from "memory" issue!. MiMh much much less, but I do "Refreshing" them each month...today i will get my ordered GP Recyko charger with another set of 4 AA in total 8 batteries (My complete collection of recheageables batteries are 48 units AA & 12 AAA).

Hoe...that this GP 4 separate recharging chambers + indicators...will take care of my collection extremely well done...

Peace,

Alex 007

 

[LiteShow]

Yes, I replace the LiFePo4 battery in my EDC (P1D CE Q5) every few days or so. They get replaced & charged immediately if used heavily (even if there is still lots of juice left). I do not wait till they get dimmed or run out. I also carry spare batteries with me in my backpack.

 

[SuperTorch]

I bought the Duracell thinking they would be high quality, but are you guys saying they may be hybrids? I don't think the charger is a dumb charger(timed only), here is what I bought.

http://www.staples.com/office/suppl...CHRG%20CEF14DX2&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=712618 It may be a dumb charger but I thought I read somewhere it isn't.

 

[Turbo Guy]

I bought the Duracell thinking they would be high quality, but are you guys saying they may be hybrids?

Based on my experience with 8 Rayovac Hybrids over a two year period they are just as good as Sanyo Eneloops so if the Duracell you speak of are in fact rebranded Hybrids I do not see a problem.

 

[kay188]

I rarely top them off.

I have quite alot, and carry spares whenever i go places with devices that uses AA batteries.
When i get home, I just put my used NiMH's through a refresh cycle, and off into the fridge.

 

[Beacon of Light]

I use most of my lights for play and occassional convenience use. Plus I always carry at least two on me. I have also converted almost all my EDCs with guilt free lumens from rechargeables.

Who coined that phrase "guilt free lumens" on here. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have heard that saying. It seems counter-intuitive to my nature and wonder if that is just the Flashaholics version of a big gas guzzling Hummer?

 

[Marduke]

Who coined that phrase "guilt free lumens" on here. This is the 3rd or 4th time I have heard that saying. It seems counter-intuitive to my nature and wonder if that is just the Flashaholics version of a big gas guzzling Hummer?

When you're paying roughly 1/4 of one cent per cycle, that's pretty guilt free.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I do top off some cells but I try to be thoughtful about it. As previously mentioned, the newer chemistries tend to like shallower discharges which makes them easier to live with, IMO. On the other hand, compared to the daily 'device load' on my secondary cells, I have lots of them (secondary cells) as part of my preparedness plan and for the most part I observe a strict rotation policy to keep them in as good shape as possible. I do top off all of them in the three day run-up to a storm, but for us that is the exception and not the rule.

I also agree with whoever stated that a good charger is important.

 

[Beacon of Light]

When you're paying roughly 1/4 of one cent per cycle, that's pretty guilt free.

1/4 of a cent is 1/4 of a cent, no matter how you slice it.

 

[Beacon of Light]

The biggest change of mind people need to take is not leaving cells topped up unless they are going to use them. I remember when digital cameras came out and NIMH made it's debut and all the rage was keeping cells on trickle charge mode. At the time I thought that was a dumb idea (wasting $$$ on batteries you're not even using) and it turns out I was correct. Not only is it wasting $$$, but it is also contributing to the demise of the cell, keeping it in that state.

I got past the mania of going through my cells one by one and charging them either weekly or twice a week. Now there are pretty much a bunch of 8pack cell holders with discharged cells. When I am reading to use them they go on the charger. I have probably 30-40 Eneloops and 30 something Tenergy LSD AA's on the ready though.