Does the Rayovac hybrid charger have any other protection mechanisms than a timer?

[johnny13oi]

Hey guys, I was wondering if the Rayovac hybrid charger has any mechanisms to shut off the charge other than the timer itself? I am willing to open it if you guys are able to identify if it does or not just by looking at the components on the inside. And would it in any way ruin the charger itself? I know its probably a crappy charger but its either that or this other crappy Energizer AccuRecharge charger that takes 15 hours to charge. Does anyone know if that charger is any good at all? I don't really care about how long it takes to charge just don't want to kill the battery is all. Thanks for your time.

 

[Doug S]

Re: Does the Rayovac hybrid charger have any other protection mechanisms than a timer?

Rayovac makes several models of charger for their hybrid cells. One is 4 bay the other 8 bay. I bought a 4 bay a couple of days ago, model PS32-4BW. Nothing in the instructions suggest timed charge termination. The instructions do indicate that it does have some form of charge termination. My particular unit does not appear to terminate properly at all. I plan to take it back my next trip into town. Don't bother to open it up. I opened mine and was not able to make any determination other than that in has a very high component count and uses an odd mix of both thru-hole and SMT technology. It has not temperature sensing elements that directly monitor the cells but it may have an element that senses for excess internal temperature of the charger itself.

Hey guys, I was wondering if the Rayovac hybrid charger has any mechanisms to shut off the charge other than the timer itself? I am willing to open it if you guys are able to identify if it does or not just by looking at the components on the inside. And would it in any way ruin the charger itself? I know its probably a crappy charger but its either that or this other crappy Energizer AccuRecharge charger that takes 15 hours to charge. Does anyone know if that charger is any good at all? I don't really care about how long it takes to charge just don't want to kill the battery is all. Thanks for your time.

 

[johnny13oi]

Hey, Thanks for the response .. I also have the PS32. What is SMT and thru hole technology?

 

[Doug S]

Thru hole = components with leads that stick thru holes in circuit board and are soldered on the backside. This technology became widely used by the 1960s though was developed in the 1940's IIRC. SMT = surface mount technology where components are leadless and are directly soldered to surface of the circuit board. This technology became widespread by the 1980's and thru hole is slowly going the way of the Dodo bird.

BTW, is your charger failing to terminate charging = indicator lights stay on and cells get quite warm?

Hey, Thanks for the response .. I also have the PS32. What is SMT and thru hole technology?

 

[johnny13oi]

Thru hole = components with leads that stick thru holes in circuit board and are soldered on the backside. This technology became widely used by the 1960s though was developed in the 1940's IIRC. SMT = surface mount technology where components are leadless and are directly soldered to surface of the circuit board. This technology became widespread by the 1980's and thru hole is slowly going the way of the Dodo bird.

BTW, is your charger failing to terminate charging = indicator lights stay on and cells get quite warm?

I haven't tried charging the batteries yet but I did top them off out of the package. I only charged it for 1 hour and took it out to top them off ... didn't want to kill my new hybrid batteries. How hot would be too hot for a Ni-Mh. I thought it was normal for the cells to become warm when charging. I currently just popped in 4 energizer accurechargeables that are not fully discharge and am testing to see if they turn off after a few hours without getting too hot or just keep going. Is there anything to compare to to how hot the cells should and shouldnt be?

 

[Doug S]

Given that this charger charges AAs at 350mA and AAAs at 150mA I would expect that just prior to termination the cells may reach 110F or so in typical room temperature ambient temps. After termination they should cool back down to ambient temperature.

I haven't tried charging the batteries yet but I did top them off out of the package. I only charged it for 1 hour and took it out to top them off ... didn't want to kill my new hybrid batteries. How hot would be too hot for a Ni-Mh. I thought it was normal for the cells to become warm when charging. I currently just popped in 4 energizer accurechargeables that are not fully discharge and am testing to see if they turn off after a few hours without getting too hot or just keep going. Is there anything to compare to to how hot the cells should and shouldnt be?

 

[johnny13oi]

Given that this charger charges AAs at 350mA and AAAs at 150mA I would expect that just prior to termination the cells may reach 110F or so in typical room temperature ambient temps. After termination they should cool back down to ambient temperature.

So would 110F be good or bad? If it shuts off at 110F would the charger be atleast decent?

 

[Doug S]

Assuming that it does shut off, 110F would be normal and expected. Decent.

So would 110F be good or bad? If it shuts off at 110F would the charger be atleast decent?

 

[johnny13oi]

Just tested and one set of batteries got really hot. Not sure what temp. but I removed them from the charger. I am going to find a thermometer and try again to see if does cut off at 110F.

 

[cam94z28]

110 to about 125 would be warm but still able to hold in your hand, 130 up to about 150 is where they become too hot to constantly hold on to in your hand.

I had some so-called 2800mah batteries from "Synergy Digital" That got up to 152 degees(according to my infrared temp gun) at 1 amp charge before terminating. I could not hold on to them for more than a few seconds.

 

[johnny13oi]

I managed to take it apart and see a little gray box that touches the casing I guess acting as a temperature probe. But I would think it would be a terrible one as it touches the plastic and the batteries don't even touch the casing itself. I just bought a smart charger instead for relative cheap on ebay. A Kodak K2000. Seems to work really well.