TOT Ni-Cads and NiMh

[email protected] wrote:

I think you will find that its a problem on solar lights as the solar
cell is never big enough to fully charge the battery and its capacity
just gets lower and lower.

They're made in countries where the sun shines. For the UK market they'd
be better with a little rainwater driven bucket wheel.

Bill

On 14/04/2011 12:52, alexander.keys1 wrote:
On Apr 10, 3:41 pm, wrote:

Don't waste your time. Chuck the whole lot in the bin & use low voltage
lights.



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:41:04 -0700 (PDT), Tabby wrote:

NiCds suffer the memory issue, but are fine for the job. Memory effect
is much overhyped, IRL its seldom a problem.

Bull****. Perhaps you should try telling that to the NiCds I've owned
over the years.

On Apr 14, 9:23*pm, "[email protected]" wrote:
"Tabby" wrote in message

...



On Apr 14, 7:47 pm, "[email protected]" wrote:
"Tabby" wrote in message

....

On Apr 14, 12:52 pm, "alexander.keys1"
wrote:
On Apr 10, 3:41 pm, Bob wrote:

I have been asked to check a load of those solar powered lamps that
come
with spikes for sticking into the garden.
Some have leaked but most seem to have completely dead batteries.
Problem is I don't have any ni-cads, only nimhs, will these charge
in
the lamps or do I have to buy new nicads?
It would be just as cheap to buy new lights and bin the old lot in
that
case but I hate to throw away repairable stuff, seems such a waste.
Any thoughts?

Bob

Replace them with NiMH, I've done it with a solar lamp and two wind-up
radio's, and they work fine. The problem is that the supplied
batteries seem to be rock-bottom quality to keep the cost down, they
have a very short lifespan, and fail to hold a charge after not many
cycles IME.

I think really you could use any old things in this app.

I have just replaced 6 cells in mine.
You just need cells that don't suffer voltage depression (memory effect)
as

NiCds suffer the memory issue, but are fine for the job. Memory effect
is much overhyped, IRL its seldom a problem.

I think you will find that its a problem on solar lights as the solar cell
is never big enough to fully charge the battery and its capacity just gets
lower and lower. They seldom last two years, I expect nimh will

The varying charge discharge levels due to variations in weathjer and
day.night length mean that you are unlikely to see memory effect in
this application.

MBQ

On Apr 15, 1:00*am, Paul Ratcliffe
wrote:
On Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:41:04 -0700 (PDT), Tabby wrote:
NiCds suffer the memory issue, but are fine for the job. Memory effect
is much overhyped, IRL its seldom a problem.

Bull****. Perhaps you should try telling that to the NiCds I've owned
over the years.

Perhaps you should try getting a clue, and a decent charger.

MBQ

On Apr 15, 12:34*am, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

Don't waste your time. *Chuck the whole lot in the bin & use low voltage
lights.

Cabling is a pain though.

Mine use 4xAA packs, with NiMH charged in the house beforehand.
They're only put out for barbecues.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:16:40 +0100, Steve Thackery
wrote:

Ian Field wrote:

The rail companies were right about the wrong kind of snow - the light
powdery stuff that gets sucked into vents and melts on the electrics, but
I'm still suspicious of the wrong kind of leaves though.

Actually that was never said. It was always just "leaves on the line".

What most people don't know is that leaves compact down under the
immense pressure of the wheels to a tough insulating layer. I've
looked closely at an example when I went on a trip to a railway
maintenance yard, and it's quite remarkable - like a tough, dark brown,
hard varnish, but a bit thicker.

The bogies on some trains have an induction loop which - when there is
no electrical continuity between the wheel and the track - induces a
very high voltage; enough to break through that compacted insulating
layer.

When I lived near to a third rail electrified line I nearly had a
panic attack until I got used to the alarming blue flashes as the shoe
made and broke contact. It looked like a nuclear explosion and
sometimes would light up the clouds. Sometimes there'd be a succession
of them, like a strobe. Curiously I don't recall any effect on TV or
radio reception.

On Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:15:08 +0100, Bill Wright
wrote:

[email protected] wrote:

I think you will find that its a problem on solar lights as the solar
cell is never big enough to fully charge the battery and its capacity
just gets lower and lower.

They're made in countries where the sun shines. For the UK market they'd
be better with a little rainwater driven bucket wheel.

Not last month.

Isn't it against the Geneva Convention to have to get the garden hose
out in March?

Albert Ross wrote:
On Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:15:08 +0100, Bill Wright
wrote:

[email protected] wrote:

I think you will find that its a problem on solar lights as the solar
cell is never big enough to fully charge the battery and its capacity
just gets lower and lower.
They're made in countries where the sun shines. For the UK market they'd
be better with a little rainwater driven bucket wheel.

Not last month.

Isn't it against the Geneva Convention to have to get the garden hose
out in March?

Only if you are gassing ethnic minorities with it.

Moles are exempt.

On 15/04/2011 00:34, The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 14/04/2011 12:52, alexander.keys1 wrote:
On Apr 10, 3:41 pm, wrote:

Don't waste your time. Chuck the whole lot in the bin & use low voltage
lights.



They're not mine to chuck, they belong to the old dear next door who
absolutely loves them! Mind you of the 36 I've looked at nearly half
are beyond repair due to the batteries and/or water seepage, animal
damage etc.
Quite a few of the nicads worked after being cycled a few times and the
nimh cells I put in some seem to be working.
Can someone explain what a "pulse-charger" is and the advantages of same?

Bob