AA Rechargable Battery Question
Submitted: Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012 at 19:46
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donk
Hi all
Just wondering if anyone knows if i can use a NI-MH AA Battery Charger to charge AA NI-CD Solar Light Batteries
And also if i fit Ni-MH Batteries in the Light will the Solar Panel charge them
Any help would be appreciated
Regards Don
Reply By: Ross M - Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012 at 19:58
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012 at 19:58
Yes you can, they will work the same as each other.
Jaycar sell a 10 row charger which can be fed from 12v of the vehicle instead of a 240vac plug pack. This is really handy to charge the AA's for various items.
Has 9v rechargeable function too.
# MB3551 not cheap though $60 maybe cheaper now, not sure.
I use one all the time at
home and when travelling and just charge up the AA's for a number of items as they go flat.
Far quicker and more reliable to get the charge into your little appliances.
Ross M
AnswerID:
488304
Reply By: Ron N - Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012 at 22:31
Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012 at 22:31
Donk - The charging rates are supposed to be different for Ni-Cd and Ni-Mh batteries, and you can get chargers that have a switch that enables you to switch between Ni-Cd and Ni-Mh.
However, I have found there are large variations in batteries (between brands, and size - as in milliamp/hrs), and that some chargers without switching ability will charge both types satisfactorily.
I've gone right away from Ni-Cd's and now only use Ni-Mh's for all smaller applications. The only Ni-Cd I have left is a old Ryobi battery drill, and that has its own dedicated charger.
I've also just gone over to Eneloop batteries because they hold charge for much longer than standard Ni-Mh.
The MAHA is supposed to be the best battery charger built, because of its superior microprocessor technology, that adjusts the charge rate to the batterys requirements.
MAHA also make Imedion batteries, which appear to be their matching product to beat Eneloop.
Cheers - Ron.
AnswerID:
488321
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Jun 13, 2012 at 11:07
Wednesday, Jun 13, 2012 at 11:07
A NiMh charger is likely to "false-peak" when charging NiCads, meaning it will switch off before fully charged. As NiCad batteries age, they become more prone to false peaks, and using a NiMh charger will only compound this problem. The NiMh charger should have a different charging algorith where it switches off earlier when a voltage peak is detected.
I agree with Ron that you may as
well update to NiMh batteries for all their benefits over NiCad, and I also suggest the Eneloops along with the Eneloop charger.
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488357