I have a Nitecore EA81 that I'm running brand-new AmazonBasics Ni-MH AA High-capacity (1.2v 2400mAh) batteries in. They came pre-charged from Amazon so I through them right into the EA81. This was in January when I ran the light through a test run giving it a workout but not draining the cells too much. It was still hitting Turbo mode when I put it away. Then in June I had it out to compare with another light. I noticed that it was only hitting Mid-level output so I figured I'd need to charge the cells before using it again. This week I finally got around to pulling the cells out. I put the first four cells in the Lii-500 charger and they charged up fine. (I was in a hurry so I didn't even notice what the voltage level was when they started charging.) After they were done I put the next four in but the charger just displayed "null". Hmm, that's weird. I wonder "did my charger just up and die?"
I put in an 18650 and the charger gives it a quick top-off with no problem. I put one of the Ni-MH cells back in and still "null" is all I get. I tried all four one at a time and still nothing. Then, remembering that I had a very old Energizer slide-open AA/AAA Ni-MH charger in a drawer somewhere (unused for about 15 years) I decided to throw these four cells in there to see what would happen. After about eight hours the green light on the Energizer charger is still on. (Seems like I remember it's supposed to go out when done charging but it's been waaaay too long for me to remember if that's right.) I decide to pull them out and put them back into the Lii-500 charger. Now it recognizes them fine and reports they are nearly fully charged. So I leave them in until it tops them off the rest of the way.
So I threw the eight Ni-MH cells back into the EA81 and it fires up full power. What the heck is the deal with the Lii-500?!? I had to fall back on an archaic Energizer charger in order to get the AA Ni-MH cells charged. (Unfortunately I didn't check the voltage on them before trying to charge them as that would've been a good data point.) But the first four cells I pulled from the EA81 charged up fine in the Lii-500. Why did the second set of four not register? Perhaps the EA81 drains half the cells substantially more than the other half? But still, how could the Lii-500 let me down like that?! This was the first time charging the cells up as they were new when put into the EA81.
I love the Lii-500 as an 18650 charger but apparently I won't be throwing away my old Energizer charger as it really saved the day for these AA Ni-MH cells. Has anyone experienced any trouble charging depleted AA Ni-MH cells in the Lii-500? Suffice it to say I will be keeping the EA81 with the tail cap unscrewed when not in use. It really seemed to drain the cells from just sitting unused.
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I put in an 18650 and the charger gives it a quick top-off with no problem. I put one of the Ni-MH cells back in and still "null" is all I get. I tried all four one at a time and still nothing. Then, remembering that I had a very old Energizer slide-open AA/AAA Ni-MH charger in a drawer somewhere (unused for about 15 years) I decided to throw these four cells in there to see what would happen. After about eight hours the green light on the Energizer charger is still on. (Seems like I remember it's supposed to go out when done charging but it's been waaaay too long for me to remember if that's right.) I decide to pull them out and put them back into the Lii-500 charger. Now it recognizes them fine and reports they are nearly fully charged. So I leave them in until it tops them off the rest of the way.
So I threw the eight Ni-MH cells back into the EA81 and it fires up full power. What the heck is the deal with the Lii-500?!? I had to fall back on an archaic Energizer charger in order to get the AA Ni-MH cells charged. (Unfortunately I didn't check the voltage on them before trying to charge them as that would've been a good data point.) But the first four cells I pulled from the EA81 charged up fine in the Lii-500. Why did the second set of four not register? Perhaps the EA81 drains half the cells substantially more than the other half? But still, how could the Lii-500 let me down like that?! This was the first time charging the cells up as they were new when put into the EA81.
I love the Lii-500 as an 18650 charger but apparently I won't be throwing away my old Energizer charger as it really saved the day for these AA Ni-MH cells. Has anyone experienced any trouble charging depleted AA Ni-MH cells in the Lii-500? Suffice it to say I will be keeping the EA81 with the tail cap unscrewed when not in use. It really seemed to drain the cells from just sitting unused.
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