Some questions about my new Tigerlight

Just got my Tigerlight today! I have some questions tho:
1) What's the condition of the battery out of the box? The light turns on, but I didnt use it for more than a couple seconds before putting it on the charger.
2) Should the Tigerlight itself get warm while charging on the charging cradle?
3) If I use the TL for atleast 10-20 mins a night, is it okay to leave it on the charger for the rest of the time that it is not in use?
Thanks!

Eric,

Unlike Jon and his Pila batteries which arrive at 80-95% charge, Tigerlight's instructions in their packaging tell you not to run the light at all until it has been fully charged (they say 10 hours but data posted elsewhere shows 11 needed for full charge).

NiMh batteries tend to get warm (not hot) during charging.

With only 10-20 minutes use plus the normal degradation of charge simply sitting, there not only is no need, but may possibly be detrimental to slap it in the charger when not in use. Again I forget which thread but it was pointed out that the service life of 500 charges could be reduced by such practices. Better to wait until the light has had three days usage or so (at your cited rate of use) before putting it in the charger.

I'm sure others will chime in with more specifics and to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I'm treating mine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

--Bob

As with any NiMH rechargeable batteries it is advisable to "program" the battery memory. Use the battery without charging until it runs flat then charge it until it is full. Depending on the built of the batteries, you might need to do this a few times to stabilize the batteries.

Hey Eric:

Look at Jim Sexton's instructions for charging the TigerLight mods that he is doing on the custom forums. They are very good.

Josey

[ QUOTE ]
pjandyho said:
As with any NiMH rechargeable batteries it is advisable to "program" the battery memory. Use the battery without charging until it runs flat then charge it until it is full. Depending on the built of the batteries, you might need to do this a few times to stabilize the batteries.

[/ QUOTE ]

NO! Never run NiMH batteries flat! It will damage them! There is no need to cycle the battery. Ever.

Charge the battery for 10-11 hours before first use. It may have been sitting around for months since it's last charge.

If you use your TL 10-20 min. per day, I would recommend charging it every two-three days for no longer than 11-12 hours.

Or, if you must have a full charge all the time, put it on it's charge for six times the number of minutes that you used it, i.e. for an hour or two, then take it off the charger.

If you have a DC volt meter you can verify whether or not you've reached full charge. If you're getting 8.4 volts or more, it's full. The stock TL battery peaks at about that value, maybe less. The white colored batteries were made by a different company than the blue ones, and those will probably top out at slightly more than 8.4 volts. My custom TL battery packs often top out at 8.6 volts. In all cases, 8.4 volts is close enough to fully charged, although it is good to leave the light on the charger for 30 minutes or so AFTER it has peaked in order to equalize the charge in all of the cells.

But leaving the light on the charger all the time is not a good thing to do, even if you use it a little every day. I mean, it's not terrible, it's just going to be detrimental over time.