[TIP] When Labeling your Rechargeables

[Handlobraesing]

Engrave two letter codes on negative.

A, B, C....
AA, AB, AC....

Keep data on Excel.

 

[Eugene]

I have some Avery clear inkjet cd labels that are super thin, I think I'm going to look for similar and use them.

 

[n3eg]

I use a sharpie myself, but it always rubs off.

That just means it's time to test them again...

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I've tried Sharpies -- with very little durability. I had better luck with paint markers. They make Sharpie lettering look like watercolors as far as durability goes. I have used labels which lasted very well -- unfortunately the longevity of the labels was greatly enhanced buy the fact that this made the cells unuseable in many devices since they no longer fit inside them.

I've given up on serial numbers for my cells until I find another method. :sigh:

 

[MrAl]

Hello again,

The engraving idea reminded me......I used to scratch the number onto the
negative end using a sharpened hardened steel nail. The point is made
on a grinder, almost as sharp as a needle.

 

[Eugene]

I noticed on some of my new batteries they have codes stamped into them around the outside. Lightly enough that it just stamps the label and not into the metal. I'm wondering if I got one of those stamping kits and just press it into the label by hand if that would do it.

 

[Eugene]

Well, I picked up some Avery 2"x4" clear labels today and printed up some battery labels. I really need something that is 1.75" square and can find those online but they are $60 for 100 labels which is more than I need. So I just trimmed the 2" down a little. I printed my number corresponding to my spreadsheet and the manufacture and purchase date of the cell on the clear labels lining it up with the line where they wrap the factory label and the blank space on the factory label. So I can still see through the clear to see the brand and such and have my info on them too. The Avery clear labels are thin enough that the batteries haven't had any problems being too thick yet. Since inkjet labels are not water resistant I cut the label a bit longer than the circumference of the battery and wrapped it back around my text to seal it.

 

[paulr]

Sharpie rubs off when I've tried it. Labels are ok in the lights I've been using but would be a problem when tight fits are involved. Tape over sharpie writing smears it around and is about like using a label. I've thought of using a sharpie and covering it with a layer of clear nail polish, but haven't gotten around to trying that. Overall this stuff with spreadsheets and serial numbers and entering voltages into a computer by hand is too big a hassle and what I really want is a bar code on each cell, that the charger reads automatically so it can maintain records of each cell's charge history without my typing stuff all the time. Maybe there's some way to set that up, printing the codes on labels.

 

[Eugene]

Bar codes are pretty easy to print, my issue with labels was that they are 1) usually too thick and 2) inkjet will smear if your fingers are wet. So my clear labels seem to be overcoming those issues as they are much thinner than white labels and wrapping it back around itsself covers the printing.
Hmm, there are a lot of free bar code fonts out there, so its easy to generate bar codes and IIRC the bar code scanners interface as like a keyboard. So you just make a numberign scheme and fill down your spreadsheet, then when you pull out a battery to scan you do a find in the spreadsheet, scna the bar code and it should fill in the find dialog and then take you there. I wonder where I can get a bar code scanner, one of the pen type would be fine instead of the laser gun type even.

 

[paulr]

The bar code is one part of the problem, the other part is the smart charger. It would be great to have a charger that when you insert a battery, it tracks the battery voltage and charge current during charging and discharging, for upload to a computer later. Ideally the bar code scanner would be built into the charger. So you'd just scan a battery and plop it into one of the charging slots. The charger would automatically remember the serial number, date, time, starting voltage, amount of charge taken, etc. Or if you use the discharge function it remembers the measured capacity. Or if you use a "don't charge" function, it just measures the voltage every few hours, so over the course of weeks or months you'd get a self-discharge graph.

 

[Eugene]

I've seen people build smart chargers based off of a microcontroller like the pic. I bet you could interface a bar code scanner to a pic and build a charger around it. Something like http://www.oshonsoft.com/picchargerlcdpro.html (first googlt hit, I'm sure there are others).

Looks like the bar code readers can be had cheap
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-80mm-Long-R...0QQihZ005QQcategoryZ46706QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Cydonia]

Well, about 9 years ago I labeled my Radio Shack 4ah D cells with a black marker, with symbols. Squares. One set of 2 batteries had one black square on each. Next set of 2 had 2 squares. Next set 3 squares, last set 4 squares. So I could charge them as sets and use them accordingly. Even back then before the Internet and all this info on batteries it was common sense to keep track of them somehow. Guess I was a genius...

 

[Eugene]

I have 8 Rayovac NiMH batteries in 2004 and I marked them with a sharpie and the sharpie has worn off on some of them, maybe different battery labels are more or less porus

 

[Cydonia]

Yeah the sharpie wears away in time... I recall I just remarked over it again and you're good for another 6 months etc., :laughing:

 

[faucon]

Yeah the sharpie wears away in time... I recall I just remarked over it again and you're good for another 6 months etc., :laughing:

Sharpies do wear away if handled often. I have had good luck using a silver Sharpie on my black cells, i.e. li-ions from AW, to put a large readable designation on them and as a precaution should the label come off.

 

[LowBat]

I assign all my NiMH AA cells a two digit number using a label maker machine (thin plastic labels and not the old style raised letters).

 

[eluminator]

As others have done, I cover the sharpie writing with Scotch tape. That should last for the life of the cell. Of course if the cell is a tight fit in your flashlight, that won't work.