old battery charger good for anything?

[Mike Iver]

I found an old battery charger that I had from the late 70's early 80's. It is a Archer/Radio Shack charger. It charges AA, C, D, and 9 volt batteries. It charges in pairs except for 9v. The output is 20 mA and 7 mA for 9v. I was just wondering if it is good for anything or if I should pitch it?

 

[johnny13oi]

I also have a charger with the Archer brand on it and its pretty old. However I dont think mine charges at 20mA though. I can't really remember what it was but I think it was more along the lines of 100mA. It charges NiCd. I was also wondering if its actually useful for anything.

 

[Knighthood]

I have one too . . .

 

[MrAl]

Hi,

I think i have one somewhere too. Havent used it for a long time now.
It did put out 100ma, for up to 4 cells at a time, then i rewired it so it
could do two cells at 200ma or 4 cells at 100ma each.
Was white with a grey smoke plastic fold up top.
The cells were held in place with sliders that adjusted to the length of any of
the common sizes, AAA, AA, C, D. Oh yeah, it had two connectors for 9v cells.
Was only for NiCds.

 

[Newuser01]

Wouldn't take a couple of days to charge modern cells??

 

[johnny13oi]

Would I be able to use this to charge Ni-Mh even though it says that it charges Ni-Cd?

 

[jrmcferren]

It should charge NiMh, but it will take anywhere from days to weeks depending on the capacity.

 

[eebowler]

I'm thinking that at that current output, they could make some interesting night lights.

 

[johnny13oi]

It should charge NiMh, but it will take anywhere from days to weeks depending on the capacity.

Would the charger know when to terminate the charge?

 

[Mike Iver]

I am not sure if it would know when to terminate. If you place 2 cells in a light comes on. It is supposed to go off after the charge is complete. Does that mean it stops charging? I don't know.

 

[Newuser01]

On the old charger that I have, I would put cells in and it would charge. Light never goes off. Ever.
It just keeps charging until cells are dead!

:-(

 

[Mike Iver]

I think mine is the same way. The light just indicates that it is charging. I don't think there is any indication that it has stopped.

 

[johnny13oi]

I think mine is the same way. The light just indicates that it is charging. I don't think there is any indication that it has stopped.

I think I remember mine going out whenever it was done. I am not too sure. I can check if there is some way to tell that the batteries are done and that I should pull them out before they are overcharged. I don't want to kill any batteries.

And does charging them slowly have any good effects rather than charging them at a faster rate. Like is there a difference between charging for 20 hours vs charging for 7 hours to acheive the same charge?

 

[Illum]

depends on the output you could always convert it into a AC led nightlight

back then Nicds have wayyy smaller capacities than modern cells so compared to todays charging rates they are snails

i have one, 20 years old, dont know what I did with the cells

 

[matrixshaman]

The nice part about these chargers is the holders for various cells. Rewiring it to a current charger, faster charger or regulator should be easy. Building a charger from scratch is even quite easy except for the part that holds the cells and since you've got that it's just a project waiting to happen.

 

[Turbo DV8]

On those ancient chargers, if the LED light ever went out, it means it was on a timer, as was common on the 5 hour chargers. Other than a timer, they usually just kept charging away with the LED lit.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

If I had an old one with spring loaded contacts I'd rewire each channel with a resistor and a diode and use it to safely discharge cells.

 

[johnny13oi]

If I had an old one with spring loaded contacts I'd rewire each channel with a resistor and a diode and use it to safely discharge cells.

Does this benefit the cells? I know it does for NiCd but what about for NiMh?

 

[Sub_Umbra]

Does this benefit the cells? I know it does for NiCd but what about for NiMh?

Yes, but NiMH cells need it much less often. It also depends on how you use your cells.

 

[LittleBrownStain]

I'm thinking that at that current output, they could make some interesting night lights.

For an art piece, you could :

Get 4, clear, (or transluscent) plastic AA to D adaptors, and place one, different-coloured LED inside each of them.

Place them into the charger bays, and PRESTO! A well lit-up hi-tech conversation piece for your coffee table!

(I answered your PM, ee)