GP Recyko charger GPAR02GS

[ruriimasu]

Hi guys,
I need your advise here. I bought a GP Recyko charger model GPAR02GS and a pair of AAA Recyko NiMH batts for a L0D (all are gifts to a friend). I thought of charging up the batts before passing them to my friend although there is power in the batts. But the charger did not come with any instructions, so I had been charging for like 7hrs straight and the green leds on the charger are still lit. Should they be lit or off when fully charged? Or will it even go off? Cos I tried putting in a AA NiMH batt which is kind of low in power and the green led was lit up as well.

 

[UnknownVT]

GP Recyko charger model GPAR02GS and a pair of AAA Recyko NiMH batts
I had been charging for like 7hrs straight and the green leds on the charger are still lit. Should they be lit or off when fully charged? Or will it even go off? Cos I tried putting in a AA NiMH batt which is kind of low in power and the green led was lit up as well.

The only references to the GPAR02GS charger I could find doing a google was this listing at the Online Shop Singapore.

I then went to the GP batteries website and looked up their chargers - the closest seem to be the GP mini powerbank - although that's in white.
The GP tech info page on chargers - shows the only charger that has even 02 in their model number was the GPKB02 - the Mini PowerBank - going back to their chargers page there is a Manual for the Mini PowerBank (GP)KB02.

The manual is not that informative -

"1. Connect GP Mini PowerBank directly to a power source. Never use extension cords.
2. Charge only GP NiMH batteries in GP Mini PowerBank. Both AA and AAA size batteries can be charged at the same time.
3. Insert GP NiMH batteries into GP Mini PowerBank according to the battery polarity. Avoid reverse charging.
4. Do not charge same size batteries of different capacities at the same time.
5. The green LED indicators will remain on during charging. Only when the charger
is unplugged or the batteries are removed, the indicators will switch off."

The light is supposed to be ON when charging -
BUT it doesn't even tell you if the light goes Off when charge is complete.

My guess from the charging times this is at best a (slow) timed charger - and for the 820mAh ReCyko AAA the total charge time from empty is going to be about 12-13 hours. The spec for the charging current is -

I would have thought that a charge current of 80mA for AAA which is C/10 of 800mAh should have a charge time of closer to 16 hours (vs. 12 hours)

Again my GUESS/speculation is if the ReCyko came with about 75% charge - after about 3-4 hours they are near full - so 7 hours means they are probably overcharged - fortunately the charge current of 80mA is low enough that this is probably not harmful - if the batteries were merely warm but NOT hot to touch during the charge then you're probably OK.

 

[shadowjk]

I don't think it's even timed.

 

[UnknownVT]

I don't think it's even timed.

I agree - it does seem that way -
but this is still guessing/speculating on my part.

 

[ruriimasu]

Again my GUESS/speculation is if the ReCyko came with about 75% charge - after about 3-4 hours they are near full - so 7 hours means they are probably overcharged - fortunately the charge current of 80mA is low enough that this is probably not harmful - if the batteries were merely warm but NOT hot to touch during the charge then you're probably OK.

it did feel a little warm, but not hot. so that means the charger does not indicate when batt is fully charge? :shakehead: i thought it was supposed to be some better product? it should have at least come with a fully charge indicator even if it does not auto cut off charging when full. now how is my silly friend going to know when the batts are charged up?

 

[UnknownVT]

so that means the charger does not indicate when batt is fully charge? :shakehead: i thought it was supposed to be some better product? it should have at least come with a fully charge indicator even if it does not auto cut off charging when full. now how is my silly friend going to know when the batts are charged up?

Er... people here spend a lot of money to get a charger with reliable end of charge indication/termination - eg: the favorite Maha C9000 is about $60.....
The GP ReCyko GPAR02GS at the Online Shop is listed as -
GP ReCyko+ Rechargeable Batteries 2AAA + FREE CHARGER ...

from the manual:
"5. The green LED indicators will remain on during charging. Only when the charger is unplugged or the batteries are removed, the indicators will switch off."

So the charger will charge the batteries -
BUT the user has to time the charge and remove the batteries.
Charge time is about 12-16 hours if the batteries are depleted -
or if the batteries are only partially discharged, then he has to figure out approximate remaining charge and time the charge accordingly.

Sorry, that "FREE" charger seems like a "Dumb" charger - the lights only indicate that it is On and charging - there appears to be NO end of charge indication or shut off - it would seem the charge will continue indefinitely.

Of course one could get a smart charger that can detect end of charge - there have been several threads - here's a fairly recent thread -

Best AA/AAA charger under $20?

 

[ruriimasu]

I did not think they still produce such dumb chargers nowadays. but i wanted to get something fast as my friend was going overseas to study, so i just picked something off a shop. so I thought recyko was good, and bought it with the free charger. hmm.. guess i have to warn my friend about timing the charge now. wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good charger!

 

[ruriimasu]

So the charger will charge the batteries -
BUT the user has to time the charge and remove the batteries.
Charge time is about 12-16 hours if the batteries are depleted -
or if the batteries are only partially discharged, then he has to figure out approximate remaining charge and time the charge accordingly.

Sorry, that "FREE" charger seems like a "Dumb" charger - the lights only indicate that it is On and charging - there appears to be NO end of charge indication or shut off - it would seem the charge will continue indefinitely.[/COLOR][/URL]

yes yes.. that is the very samedumb charger i got

 

[shadowjk]

I suspect the idea is that the charge current is so low that a bit of overcharging wont damage it. Of course, we battery freaks know better than to trust the overcharge-absorbing features of nimh

 

[UnknownVT]

so I thought recyko was good, and bought it with the free charger. hmm.. guess i have to warn my friend about timing the charge now. wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good charger!

That's a good attitude - the charger might be "dumb" -
but neither are you or your friend -
just tell him the charger came "free" and he needs to time it - print out that pdf manual and include it.......
slight over or under charge would not be that harmful - just not "optimal"
- hey the charger was "free" and with user's smarts will work fine.

BTW - GP ReCyko AAA's are very good LSD batteries - so kudos on the choice -
please take a look at AA and AAA NiMH low self-discharge tests--Round 2 over at dpReview by archae86 where the GP ReCyko AAA (GR8) came top on the AAA LSD graphs