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Cutting edge of NiMH batteries
Nimh batteries are the batteries of choice when it comes to rechargables. Sanyo has been on the cutting edge of rechargable battery technology, and recently they released two new AA batteries.
1. The new Sanyo 2700 mAh NiMH battery! This battery is only available in Osaka Japan, but is scheduled to be released here in a couple of months. If you can't wait to get your hands on some of these, Thomas Distributing has some on hand for $13.97 for a 4-pack here: https://www.pacificpowerbatteries.co...dridenimh.html
2. The new Sanyo eneloop AA NiMH battery is not available here yet. This AA battery is only 2000 mAh, but it does not lose its charge like other NiMH batteries do after a week or so. Sanyo says this battery will hold 85% of it's charge after a year being stored at 20 degrees C (room temperature). Think about it... only 2000 mAh, but you can let it sit for a couple weeks with no noticable loss of power. You can just grab your detector and go when the weekend comes. See the details here... http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertex...1/1101-2e.html
USING NiMH BATTERIES:
For those who are not familiar with NiMH batteries, here are a few basics you should understand in order to get the best use from them. First, you should not run down your NiMH batteries till they are completely dead. They are considered done when the voltage drops from it's rated to 1.0 volts. If you run them down a lot more than that, there is a chance that you make one of the weaker cells in your pack run into a "reverse polarity" condition. So when the batteries are getting low, you need to change to fresh batteries. Also, NiMH batteries require special NiMH chargers. While they can be charged on any old cheapo charger, these chargers will soon destroy the capacity of a NiMH battery. A special "smart charger" is needed for a NiMH battery because it has hydrogen gas inside each cell which will expand and break the pressure seal if it is overcharged or gets too hot. NiMH batteries natuarally are hotter when charging, and require special charger circuitry that monitors the temperature as well as the rate of voltage change, and other characteristics that are not necessary in a NiCd. This is why it is necessary to use a "smart charger". A Sanyo NiMH battery is rated to be recharged about 500 times before it reaches a point where it will only charge to 80% of it's rated mAh capacity. When it can't hold 80% of it's rated capacity, it is said to be at the end of it's service life. When you fast-charge a NiMH, it will become a LOT hotter, and this will shorten it's service life so it reaches the 80% capacity sooner. Overcharging will also cause this kind of deterioration. The best charging method is overnight 16 hour charging. But knowing how we like quick results, we compromise a few chage cycles for faster charging. With this in mind, the best smart chargers are designed to use a "pulse charging" method, which uses a microcontroller to reduce the power to keep the heat under control. This pulse charging is also good to maintain a trickle charge without over-charging the battery. Did you know that NiMH batteries can develop a "memory effect"? Regardless of what you heard, they can. Their memory effect is less pronounced than in NiCads, but it is still there, and can be removed by a smart charger. For a full detailed electronic discussion of what the charging requirements are for a NiMH battery, you can read the Sanyo data sheet that tells every detail of what is required. http://www.sanyo.com/batteries/pdfs/twicellT_E.pdf
Does your charger do all these things that Sanyo requires for it's NiMH batteries? Have you ever noticed when your NiMH batteries are charging, they are too hot to touch for very long? Guess what? They are WAY too hot! You need a smart charger that keeps them from getting that hot.
So where to get these smart chargers? The one I like best is the V4000 manufactured by Vanson, and sold under several names. Here is one source: http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=508
There are also other sources for this and other smart charges that will handle more than 4 cells at a time, This page shows some of them, but check your own sources. I cannot vouch for any chargers besides the V4000 model.
http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?...n=Custom&ID=37
Another hot deal I found is at the local Costco store that is selling a bubble pack of 6 2500 mAh Sanyo AA batteries plus 2 AAA batteries, plus a 1-hour fast smart-charger for about $20. This works out to less than $3 per cell, and the charger is a freebee which conforms to all the "smart-charger" requirements of a Sanyo battery. Take a look below. This is not the new 2700 mAh batteries, but it's still a pretty good deal.
Some notes about Sanyo NiMH batteries:
Sanyo pioneered the first usable Nimh batteries, and has produced more NIMH batteries than anyone else in the wrold. Their NiMH batteries are the most rugged of any Nimh batteries available. They are industrial quality which surpass the durability of any others on the market, including the powerex batteries. In addition, the Sanyo batteries are the most powerful batteries available in an AA size battery. They were first with the 2500 mAh battery, and first with the 2700 mAh battery. Their newest release is the eneloop, the first NiMH battery that does not lose its charge while being stored. What makes Sanyo batteries so much better than it's competirors is it has a lot longer service life before it reaches the point of not holding a charge, and it is a lot more rugged (able to withstand abuse) than the competition. They also use some propriotary technology that allows a higher charge density and better charge/discharge characteristics.
1. The new Sanyo 2700 mAh NiMH battery! This battery is only available in Osaka Japan, but is scheduled to be released here in a couple of months. If you can't wait to get your hands on some of these, Thomas Distributing has some on hand for $13.97 for a 4-pack here: https://www.pacificpowerbatteries.co...dridenimh.html
2. The new Sanyo eneloop AA NiMH battery is not available here yet. This AA battery is only 2000 mAh, but it does not lose its charge like other NiMH batteries do after a week or so. Sanyo says this battery will hold 85% of it's charge after a year being stored at 20 degrees C (room temperature). Think about it... only 2000 mAh, but you can let it sit for a couple weeks with no noticable loss of power. You can just grab your detector and go when the weekend comes. See the details here... http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertex...1/1101-2e.html
USING NiMH BATTERIES:
For those who are not familiar with NiMH batteries, here are a few basics you should understand in order to get the best use from them. First, you should not run down your NiMH batteries till they are completely dead. They are considered done when the voltage drops from it's rated to 1.0 volts. If you run them down a lot more than that, there is a chance that you make one of the weaker cells in your pack run into a "reverse polarity" condition. So when the batteries are getting low, you need to change to fresh batteries. Also, NiMH batteries require special NiMH chargers. While they can be charged on any old cheapo charger, these chargers will soon destroy the capacity of a NiMH battery. A special "smart charger" is needed for a NiMH battery because it has hydrogen gas inside each cell which will expand and break the pressure seal if it is overcharged or gets too hot. NiMH batteries natuarally are hotter when charging, and require special charger circuitry that monitors the temperature as well as the rate of voltage change, and other characteristics that are not necessary in a NiCd. This is why it is necessary to use a "smart charger". A Sanyo NiMH battery is rated to be recharged about 500 times before it reaches a point where it will only charge to 80% of it's rated mAh capacity. When it can't hold 80% of it's rated capacity, it is said to be at the end of it's service life. When you fast-charge a NiMH, it will become a LOT hotter, and this will shorten it's service life so it reaches the 80% capacity sooner. Overcharging will also cause this kind of deterioration. The best charging method is overnight 16 hour charging. But knowing how we like quick results, we compromise a few chage cycles for faster charging. With this in mind, the best smart chargers are designed to use a "pulse charging" method, which uses a microcontroller to reduce the power to keep the heat under control. This pulse charging is also good to maintain a trickle charge without over-charging the battery. Did you know that NiMH batteries can develop a "memory effect"? Regardless of what you heard, they can. Their memory effect is less pronounced than in NiCads, but it is still there, and can be removed by a smart charger. For a full detailed electronic discussion of what the charging requirements are for a NiMH battery, you can read the Sanyo data sheet that tells every detail of what is required. http://www.sanyo.com/batteries/pdfs/twicellT_E.pdf
Does your charger do all these things that Sanyo requires for it's NiMH batteries? Have you ever noticed when your NiMH batteries are charging, they are too hot to touch for very long? Guess what? They are WAY too hot! You need a smart charger that keeps them from getting that hot.
So where to get these smart chargers? The one I like best is the V4000 manufactured by Vanson, and sold under several names. Here is one source: http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?...ROD&ProdID=508
There are also other sources for this and other smart charges that will handle more than 4 cells at a time, This page shows some of them, but check your own sources. I cannot vouch for any chargers besides the V4000 model.
http://www.amondotech.com/index.asp?...n=Custom&ID=37
Another hot deal I found is at the local Costco store that is selling a bubble pack of 6 2500 mAh Sanyo AA batteries plus 2 AAA batteries, plus a 1-hour fast smart-charger for about $20. This works out to less than $3 per cell, and the charger is a freebee which conforms to all the "smart-charger" requirements of a Sanyo battery. Take a look below. This is not the new 2700 mAh batteries, but it's still a pretty good deal.
Some notes about Sanyo NiMH batteries:
Sanyo pioneered the first usable Nimh batteries, and has produced more NIMH batteries than anyone else in the wrold. Their NiMH batteries are the most rugged of any Nimh batteries available. They are industrial quality which surpass the durability of any others on the market, including the powerex batteries. In addition, the Sanyo batteries are the most powerful batteries available in an AA size battery. They were first with the 2500 mAh battery, and first with the 2700 mAh battery. Their newest release is the eneloop, the first NiMH battery that does not lose its charge while being stored. What makes Sanyo batteries so much better than it's competirors is it has a lot longer service life before it reaches the point of not holding a charge, and it is a lot more rugged (able to withstand abuse) than the competition. They also use some propriotary technology that allows a higher charge density and better charge/discharge characteristics.
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