kf5nd

My CatEye LED headlight which uses AA NiMH rechargeable cells has been going dim really fast. I pulled the cells out last night as the light faded away, and found, using a voltmeter...

3 cells holding steady at 1.0 volts... 1 cell producing only about 0.1 volts!

So if your lights go dim too quickly... check your cells individually.

max-a-mill

i just got one so i can't comment on how it works yet but i have heard real good things about this badboy:
https://www.amazon.com/LaCrosse-Techn...UTF8&s=outdoor

it will apparently even recondition old batteries! my first set are charging right now (late christmas gift from me to me).

ColorChange

Max: I have three of those and am a rechargable expert. The LaCrosse is the best you can get!

cooker

Could it be that you're topping it up too frequently? That give rechargeable batteries a "short memory". The converse problem is that if you always let it run down before you recharge, it could run out on you at a bad time, so you need to rotate two batteries.

ColorChange

Cooker, not true anymore with a decent charger and decent cells.

squegeeboo

Man, I just bought one of those laCrosse rechargers, so if it sucks, I'm blaming you guys for the poor advice needed a recharger anyways though, way to many lights to not have one.

Ngchen

Good thing you found the weak cell. If I were you, I would try charging all the cells, and recheck them all individually. IIRC NiMH cells are supposed to have an almost steady discharge around 1.2 V, except for an initial "surge" of 1.4 V or so. As such, all of your cells are discharged. Of course that doesn't mean there isn't a weak cell in your pack regardless. So I'd recommend charging them up, and seeing how well they hold up with use to isolate the bad cell if it exists.

robtown

NiMh start out at 1.4v and should be closer to 1.2v nominal. 1.0v is too low. Maybe it's time to get some more. fifthunit.com sells 5 packs of 2500mah NiMh for $5 shipped. The only drawback is they take 3 weeks to arrive.

kf5nd

The other three were 1.0 volts after they alone were trying to power the light, in series with their dead brother. After recharge, they all snapped back to 1.4 volts, including the weak one... which I'm sure will go limp quickly again. Maybe he needs some Viagra.

tharold

When the light goes dim, the weakest cell will have reversed. It doesn't mean the cell is bad, it just means there is always one cell that is the weakest, possibly not by much. Reversal means the stronger cells are charging the weakest backwards, this results in the low cell EMF you're seeing.

If you can charge your cells individually, this is what I would do before tossing the weak one out.

Zero_Enigma

This is one of the well respected websites when it comes down to batteries and chargers. They know thier stuff pat down. Email and they test and can answer almost anything technical.

https://www.thomas-distributing.com/l...ry_charger.php

Also there is a website called https://www.imaging-resource.com that did extensive indepentant testings on a good number of NIMH batteries to check for trueness of the batteries true specs compared to the claimed specs. They also have reviews on chargers the guys used before.

I've heard of the BC-900 for a few years now. I recently found Steve's Digicam website about a year ago. There is a LOT of info you can read up on the batteries and the chargers from people that use it everyday. BEWARE there is an issue with the BC-900 of overheating to the point of melting the plastics on the cells. This is a concern as I've yet to hear of a cell being a grenade yet. I think the old firmware is v3.2 and the new one is v3.3 that corrects the overheating issue. Lacrosse from all I've read is a "don't ask, don't tell" company. People got pissed right off by that meltdown problem. If you call up Lacrosse's tech support they will deny any such problem happens to the cells. As you explain deeper the issues they will breakdown and say you can send the unit in for an upgrade but still deny the issue of the meltdown.

https://www.stevesforums.com/forums/v...11&forum_id=51

There is more good information here on batteries. https://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=51

You get a damn good package with that Lacrosse bundle and priced very well. There is a new analyzer out by Maha. Maha's been in the battery and charger business for a long long time. They make some of the best battery chargers out there. I almosy got a BC-900 till I saw and read about the meltdown issue. I think I'll wait a while till I see more reports on how the new firmware fairs before getting one or I may just go with the Maha analyzer.


Zero_Enigma

Zero_Enigma

Here are some quick links to save people time.

Battery shootout - https://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

Charger/Accessories reviews - https://www.imaging-resource.com/ACC1.HTM


Zero_Enigma

kf5nd

Just got a new set of four cells and threw them into the light... my, is it ever bright now !!!

ItsJustMe

When buying a charger, be sure to get one that charges and meters each cell individually. This is a must if you have any devices that use an odd number of cells, and once you start using such a charger you'll be surprised how different two identical cells can be.
If one cell is slightly less charged than the others, it will be the one to get a disproportionate amount of the load, and when charging it will get charged last. Using a charger that does each cell individually will equalize them every time you charge.

I bought my MAHA charger from thomas distributing, but I buy my cells from batteryspace.com. I like the cells better from batteryspace, and they're cheaper too.

squegeeboo

Hey, anybody with one of the LaCrosse chargers that were recommended higher up, if a battery is dead, does it show up as NULL for you guys on the display until it reaches a certain charge level?