On Fri, 2 Jul 1999 13:39:55 -0700, Jan Steinman <Jan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>>From: "Ron Crabtree" <crabtree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>
>>2. What happens if I charge the batteries for too long a period of time, say
>>10 hours or so?
>
>If you're using the Olympus charger, you may fry the batteries. It produces
>too much current, and can ruin the cells. It is a simple unregulated DC
>power supply, which should never be used for charging nickel cells. (Shame
>on Olympus!)
>
>If you want to leave a charger attached for a longer period, you should
>either use a charger designed for such use, or a "trickle charger" that
>puts no more than about 50mA through the cells.
I don't agree with you, Jan.
The Olympus 30 mA charger, however simple and poor, is suited for
charging the NiMH cells as well as it is for NiCads - as long as you
switch it off in time. The NiMH block batteries are built to be
charged exactly like their NiCad counterparts.
Of course there are much better ways to charge NiMH (and NiCad) cells
- but not when they are sitting inside the pack. You will have to do
with what Olympus offers for a charger. But you are right when you say
that caution is needed.
I do agree with you on the trickle charge for prolonged periods. But
50 mA is far too much for 120-160 mAh cells (and much more than the
Olympus charger can deliver). An acceptable trickle charge current
would be about 2 or 3 mA!
Frank van Lindert
Utrecht NL.
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