|   Rapid charger or buy second battery? | Bonee
Aug 15, 2003 7:27 AM | | I have a Marwi light set and have been commuting to work 2 days a week for a few years now, including winters when 75% of my ride is in the dark. I want to boost the number of days I ride in, perhaps to 4 days a week. The older Marwi charger is just a trickle charger, takes about 12-15 hours to recharge my battery (NiMH).
If I want to ride 4 days a week, it means getting home, plugging the battery into the charger, letting it run all night, and unplugging it from the charger first thing in the morning and using it right away. Even then it might not be fully recharged.
Marwi just came out with a rapid charger. Here are my thoughts:
- Can I do any damage to the NiMH battery by using it, charging it, and using it immediately 4 days a week? Basically it would go from usage to charging to usage without any time to cool down (you know how they get warm when near full charge.
- Should I buy a second battery and simply rotate them.
- Should I buy the rapid charger so the battery is charged in 3-5 hours and has some rest time.
Opinions? |
| re: Rapid charger or buy second battery? | Mr. Bob
Aug 15, 2003 8:25 AM | | All rechargable batteries have a limited recharge life anyway so I'd just buy the second set now and alternate between them. |
| The second battery isn't a bad idea... | næstep
Aug 15, 2003 8:31 AM | | ...but neither is a smart charger (and not necessarily the Marwi charger, but perhaps a Maha or other "generic" charger).
I'd hesitate to call using the battery as you describe as "damaging" it, although all batteries have a useful lifespan most often measured in charge cycles. They don't so much need rest time between cycles; more important is to prevent them from getting overly hot while charging or during use. The slow charger you're currently using minimizes any heat damage and can result in a long battery life.
Using a higher charging rate involves higher heat production, so fast charges can be more damaging than slower charges. But normally, it's the super-fast rates (1-2 hours) that cause the most heat and the most damage.
Since the Marwi charger takes 3 to 5 hours to top off the battery a little longer than operating the light takes to discharge it you're not really in danger of cooking the cells. The chargers that charge at this rate are "smart" in that they monitor cell condition such as voltage differences, cell temperature or internal resistance in order to taper the charging rate down as the battery nears completion.
næstep |
| JUST GO LUPINE.DE | cromoly cowboy
Aug 15, 2003 12:11 PM | | LUPINE.DE, toss those toy lights. |
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