Optic Nerve
Newly Enlightened
Can a NiMH battery be completely discharged without damaging the cell? If not, how does it damage the cell? Is there a chance of reversing the polarity of the cell?
Thanks.
Thanks.
There's no danger of reversing the polarity of the cell unless it's in a battery with other cells which can drive a reverse current through it after it reaches zero volts. Some manufacturers claim their cells can even tolerate a small amount of reverse charging without damage, although extensive reverse charging can damage a cell by causing it to vent and lose electrolyte. I was recently reading a paper at the Sanyo web site which described intentionally discharging cells to 0.4 volt to restore them after long storage.Optic Nerve said:Can a NiMH battery be completely discharged without damaging the cell? If not, how does it damage the cell? Is there a chance of reversing the polarity of the cell?
Thanks.
wptski said:I've had brand new still wrapped leak, read zero volts, etc. Cycling didn't help, all had reduced capacity and some were tossed!
Curious_character said:...
I don't think I've ever seen any evidence that discharging a NiMH cell to zero volts will damage it, but it seems to persist in this forum as some kind of established lore. I'd appreciate it if someone who promotes this idea could furnish a link to a manufacturer's web site where this alleged problem is described.
c_c
No, I meant my standard P1. (I have both a standard P1 and a P1D CE.) My L0P SE disappointed me because it was much less bright than reviews indicated. A query I posted brought mainly the response that light meter measurements aren't to be trusted. Feeling that I could improve the throw by altering the focus, I went to extreme efforts to get the thing apart, without success. However, somewhere in the process, apparently due to heating, the throw did improve, with the lux level increasing by over 30%. I concluded that the heating caused the LED to move slightly, improving the focus.Mike abcd said:. . .Was this a typo, when you posted "My standard P1 is nine times as bright as my L0P SE on high" and you actually meant vs your P1D CE? That seems to be the case based on flashlightreview's values.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1730718&postcount=7
Mike
Hello MidnightDistortions,
It is natural for batteries to self discharge. Once NiMh cells have been stored for an extended period of time totally discharged they may come back without problems after a few charge/discharge cycles. Or they may not. You have to run some tests to see what is going on.
Tom