Battery Tester
- Thread starter sep9001
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- Harry
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Have a charger from maplins that tests the batteries as it charges them. If they are faulty they come up as bad.
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- Kev
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Thanks, @Paul-H is this the charger you have
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/powerex-wizardone-nimh-nicd-and-hybrid-aaa-and-aa-battery-charger-n60cy
I have a similar 7dayshop on which has the test function but reading the manual it discharges and charges the batteries so not a quick check unless I am reading the manual incorrectly.
I have a cheap battery tester the ones with the needle but the last time I used it, although it stated the batteries were near full charged when in the flash the flash would not fire.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/powerex-wizardone-nimh-nicd-and-hybrid-aaa-and-aa-battery-charger-n60cy
I have a similar 7dayshop on which has the test function but reading the manual it discharges and charges the batteries so not a quick check unless I am reading the manual incorrectly.
I have a cheap battery tester the ones with the needle but the last time I used it, although it stated the batteries were near full charged when in the flash the flash would not fire.
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- Phil
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Rechargeable batteries don't quite put out 1.5 volts when they're fully charged, and the drop off in power is very steep. AFAIK flash guns see a 'dead battery' at about 1.1v and a fully charged rechargeable can be as little as 1.2v.
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That's what I have always done.
But now I buy eneloop types that hold their charge longer and unless it's a big job I can usually just pop a 'charged' set in.
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- Chris
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Smart chargers usually only test whether they can reach charged voltage, and the cell is not too ill to charge to begin with. Big flashes take a huge current draw which requires a low internal resistance. As a cell ages and loses capacity the internal resistance goes up as well. You want to avoid putting a sick cell in a flash along with healthy ones, because the healthy ones can overpower and kill the sick one leading possibly to chemical leaks and excess heat. I keep using the same set of 4 (or 6) cells together in a flash to avoid mismatches. Every now and then after charging I'll short each cell briefly through an ammeter (in fact a voltmeter set to its high current setting) to see how much current it can produce. If it's less than 4 amps (AA) I'll take it out of flashgun service. If one cell is an outlier in current outside the close grouping of the others I\ll remove it from the group and replace it with a better match.
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All well and good for you but linking to a discontinued product doesn't help the rest of us
Powerex mx c9000 gets good reviews.
Powerex mx c9000 gets good reviews.
OP
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HiAll well and good for you but linking to a discontinued product doesn't help the rest of us
Powerex mx c9000 gets good reviews.
I already have the 7dayshop one which is similar but the question was how to see if the batteries are charged or flat. The link for the charger was to make sure it was what Paul had and not something different that also confirms how much charge is left.
Thanks