I think I killed my Pila IBC

[00Madz]

I think I got very lucky here, but also what happened is probably a bit of a testament to the Pila and/or the AW batteries. If they were cheaper batteries or charger I probably would have had a fire on my hands....

I have both a Pila IBC and a Maha Powerex C9000. I replaced the power supply that came with the Pila as the normal one had a lot of high pitched switching noise and required an adapter anyway to work in an Australian powerpoint (they are hard to get out here so I ordered online from the US). But the replacement power supply looked a lot like the Maha one. Except the Maha pws outputs 12V DC and the Pila one only 6V DC. They happen to have the same plug :shakehead So like an idiot I set the pila charging two AW batteries but I used the Maha power supply - so double the voltage. The Pila didnt complain and went about it's business. When I went to check on the batteries they'd finished charging and were on trickle all seemed ok, except I noticed a funny smell. I switched the charger off, then found I couldn't move it from the desk - it was stuck. I prised it loose and a big glob of like clear glue/silicone had oozed out of the middle of the charger and bonded it to the desk. The poor old Pila smelt terrible up close. It took my a while to work out what had gone wrong - I was surprised and blaming the Pila until I realised where the fault really lay. So at this point I've got no idea what the condition of the charger or batteries is like. I'm not really game to try and use either.

What do you guys think?? I've killed it haven't I? That's sad as it was a good charger and they aren't easy to get here (international order). If the verdict is it's most likely untrust worthy now I'll pull it apart and post up some pics...

 

[lightdelight]

I'd lay it to rest and order another. No need to worry yourself everytime you charge.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

You got lucky. Be happy, toss it, and order another.

 

[Norm]

Send me a PM, I'm not home at the moment and I'll see if I can put you in touch with an Aussie supplier.

Cheers Norm

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Why don't you take a look at the batteries? If their voltage is something reasonable I'd expect that they are fine.

 

[00Madz]

Yeah I ended up ordering a new one. Coincidentally it only arrived yesterday - took ages to come from overseas. My supply of charged batteries was dwindling I was worried I'd run out before it arrived. The batteries themselves seem to be ok which is good - I'll know for sure when I charge them again, but they are good quality protected cells so am thinking they should be fine. Thanks for all the replies

 

[RFOneWatt]

I did the EXACT same thing with my PILA IBC.. and for more than a few minutes. (about 20!) Everything got warm but no permanent damage.

It could have been a lot worse since I was preparing to head out camping for a couple of weeks and trying to decide which charger to take with me. In the process I unplugged both my Pila and my Nitecore (which sit next to each other) and when I plugged them back in I inadvertently plugged a 12V supply into my PILA.

Needless to say I could have simply grabbed a 12v adapter that fit the PILA and been on my way. It would have been very possible to have plugged the PILA in with the 12v cig adapter (inside the car) and walked away while out camping. That would have been very bad.

Fortunately that's the day I looked at the bottom of the PILA and saw 6V DC in - the one thing that differentiates it from all of my other chargers.

I ended up taking the Nitecore I4 which has a 12V DC input in addition to the 120V input.

Moral: Don't be an idiot. Be very attentive to even the most benign tasks while messing with these things!

Thanks for sharing.. Appears these Pila's can take a beating.

-RF