Recharge time for N30?

[MikeLip]

I haven't done more than play with it, but it seemed to take a long time to charge when I first got it. So today I just turned it on and let it run until it stopped. There was still some power left in the pack, since the LEDs ran fine. Very cool design.

I plugged it in to charge 8 hours ago. Still shows as charging. I took it off charge to try it and the main lamp fires up and, while running, the battery state test shows full. So the pack isn't dead, otherwise it would collapse under load I would think. So, since my instructions are 35 miles away in my office, how long does this thing take to charge from a very low battery?

 

[Spark Gap]

From my experience with this light, it takes about 7-8 hours to fully recharge the NiMH battery supplied. This makes sense, considering the 600 mA charger.

There is a possibility that one of the 11 cells in the 13.2 volt pack may not be performing correctly, and in a worst case scenario has a reversed polarity.

If you can charge the pack fully, and then discharge it in stages, measuring and plotting voltage periodically, look for a sudden and premature drop in voltage. This may indicate a bad cell.

Initial voltage after a full charge should be about 1.45 volts per cell, or just under 16 volts on an 11 cell, 13.2 volt (nominal) pack.

Depending upon load, NiMH will discharge gradually through most of it's cycle, and then quickly drop off at the end, when per cell voltage reaches about 1.1 volts, or roughly 12 volts in this case. Again, if you measure more than one spot in the discharge curve where voltage drops suddenly, you may have a reversed cell.

Hope this helps,

Cliff

 

[MikeLip]

From my experience with this light, it takes about 7-8 hours to fully recharge the NiMH battery supplied. This makes sense, considering the 600 mA charger.

There is a possibility that one of the 11 cells in the 13.2 volt pack may not be performing correctly, and in a worst case scenario has a reversed polarity.

If you can charge the pack fully, and then discharge it in stages, measuring and plotting voltage periodically, look for a sudden and premature drop in voltage. This may indicate a bad cell.

Initial voltage after a full charge should be about 1.45 volts per cell, or just under 16 volts on an 11 cell, 13.2 volt (nominal) pack.

Depending upon load, NiMH will discharge gradually through most of it's cycle, and then quickly drop off at the end, when per cell voltage reaches about 1.1 volts, or roughly 12 volts in this case. Again, if you measure more than one spot in the discharge curve where voltage drops suddenly, you may have a reversed cell.

Hope this helps,

Cliff

I had forgotten how weedy the charger is. I jst left it plugged overnight and it was fine in the morning. It was probably nearly charged when I checked it before turning in. So I thinks it's OK, it's just the slow charger.

Thanks! I'm always looking for problems with a new light.

 

[mtbkndad]

I had forgotten how weedy the charger is. I jst left it plugged overnight and it was fine in the morning. It was probably nearly charged when I checked it before turning in. So I thinks it's OK, it's just the slow charger.

Thanks! I'm always looking for problems with a new light.

Yes it is definitely a sloooww charger .
The engineers working on the charging circuit wanted to err on the side of caution knowing that charging too fast can decrease battery life.



Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[Patriot]

The engineers working on the charging circuit wanted to err on the side of caution knowing that charging too fast can decrease battery life.

That was a good call on their part. This is the kind of light that will get used a bunch and people will want it to last for years. I'm guess that you had something to do with that too mtbkndad.

Btw, regarding mtbkn, I picked up my Gary Fisher Superfly a few weeks ago. It's an amazing machine. I've weight weenied it down to 20.6 lbs. and it's very quick to accelerate and super responsive. It drew a small crowd at the mtn bike park that I ride at. Everyone wanted to pick it up...hehe I'm selling my last 26er and complimenting the Superfly with a full suspension 29er. I've been excited about it and just wanted to share the news with ya.

 

[mtbkndad]

That was a good call on their part. This is the kind of light that will get used a bunch and people will want it to last for years. I'm guess that you had something to do with that too mtbkndad.

Btw, regarding mtbkn, I picked up my Gary Fisher Superfly a few weeks ago. It's an amazing machine. I've weight weenied it down to 20.6 lbs. and it's very quick to accelerate and super responsive. It drew a small crowd at the mtn bike park that I ride at. Everyone wanted to pick it up...hehe I'm selling my last 26er and complimenting the Superfly with a full suspension 29er. I've been excited about it and just wanted to share the news with ya.

That is exciting about the Superfly.
Gary fisher makes nice bikes.
I dropped more weight then you .
I complimented my 30 lb large Motolite with a Qu-Ax 24" mountian unicycle (just under 18 lb) a little over a month ago.
Muni is really a blast.

Regarding the N30, yes I told the engineers that their wanting to be conservative was much better then faster charging. After all if people want fast charges they can get a Polarion X1 for only around $1,800 .

Take Care and Merry Christmas,
mtbkndad :wave:

 

[Patriot]

That is exciting about the Superfly.
Gary fisher makes nice bikes.
I dropped more weight then you .
I complimented my 30 lb large Motolite with a Qu-Ax 24" mountian unicycle (just under 18 lb) a little over a month ago.
Muni is really a blast.

Haha Mountain unicycling is an unbelievable sport. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how you got hurt....

That's huge going from that tank to the Qu-Ax. You saved weight the easy way. I had to scrap for 1300 grams I saved. My wheel set will put be at a pinch under 20lbs. I can't wait.


I'm really looking forward to the Li-ion version N30 and I don't mind that it isn't waterproof. For the money and don't see it as having any competition.

 

[mtbkndad]

No I got hurt dropping a knife.
Yes, mountain unicycling is a blast.

Take Care,
mtbkndad :wave: