I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done something similar?
Chris -- Chris Eilbeck MARS Flight Crew http://www.mars.org.uk/ UKRA #1108 Level 2 UYB Tripoli UK Member #9527 LSMR
I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done something similar?
Given that the Electron is a budget brand (Madison own) I would suspect that the battery pack is unlikely to contain any control circuitry. You may be able to find out by checking what is written on the charger. If it is a charger as apposed to a PSU then the unit will be a simple battery pack.
Obvious caveats about lack of first hand knowledge apply here!
Chris Eilbeck ([email hidden]) wrote: : I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite : happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work : just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. : The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a : battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a : couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they : need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done : something similar?
Jon Senior jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk said:
Chris Eilbeck said:
I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done something similar?
Given that the Electron is a budget brand (Madison own) I would suspect that the battery pack is unlikely to contain any control circuitry. You may be able to find out by checking what is written on the charger. If it is a charger as apposed to a PSU then the unit will be a simple battery pack.
It says AC Adaptor 6.5v 1000mA. It looks like a simple mains adaptor to me.
Quoted message said:
Obvious caveats about lack of first hand knowledge apply here!
I really hope they're not trying to constant-voltage charge a NiMh pack with this thing. That would be very bad for the cells.
Chris -- Chris Eilbeck MARS Flight Crew http://www.mars.org.uk/ UKRA #1108 Level 2 UYB Tripoli UK Member #9527 LSMR
Chris Eilbeck ([email hidden]) wrote: : I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite : happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work : just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. : The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a : battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a : couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they : need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done : something similar?
It says AC Adaptor 6.5v 1000mA. It looks like a simple mains adaptor to me.
In light of that, and of the cheapness of the replacement, I'd say the charging circuitry is definately in the pack. That makes it far more sophisticated than I'd expected!
Quoted message said:
I really hope they're not trying to constant-voltage charge a NiMh pack with this thing. That would be very bad for the cells.
Only if you left it plugged in for more than C / current hours. ;-) Probably not ideal though. I suspect that this means that you have a choice of adapters, but at £5 you're unlikely to find anything much cheaper.
I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done something similar?
From voiding the warenty on my battery for my 5W only system, it appears to be 5 C sizeish cells soldered in series, and wrapped in plastic. I did not remove the plastic, but could not see any other electronics on the battery. (Unless something is hidden between the cells).
When I charge it I plug the charger into a time switch to avoid over chargeing.
Martin.
-- Typed by monkey #27662472869676 on typewriter #7552416572242 When emailing me, please include the word Banana in the subject line.
I've just bought one of these systems for commuting and I'm quite happy with it so far but I'd like to haev a second charger at work just in case I need it. My LBS doesn't sell the charger on its own. The battery pack is NiMh and sealed. Does anyone know if it's just a battery in the pack or does it contain charging circuitry? I have a couple of NiMh chargers by Mascot which I guess I could use but they need to connect straight to the battery. Has anyone else done something similar?
From voiding the warenty on my battery for my 5W only system, it appears to be 5 C sizeish cells soldered in series, and wrapped in plastic. I did not remove the plastic, but could not see any other electronics on the battery. (Unless something is hidden between the cells).
Thanks a lot! I suspected that they were being really gash with their charging as it says you should discharge the battery fully before charging and never charge for more than 20 hours on the packaging.
Quoted message said:
When I charge it I plug the charger into a time switch to avoid over chargeing.
I'll give it a little while with the supplied charger until I'm happy the lamps themselves won't fail (bathtub reliability curve and all that) then I'll just use a decent charger like my Mascot one. I expect this will do a lot less damage to the battery pack over time. I have a 5.5Ah pack of lithium polymer cells that I'll try too at some point.
Chris -- Chris Eilbeck MARS Flight Crew http://www.mars.org.uk/ UKRA #1108 Level 2 UYB Tripoli UK Member #9527 LSMR
It says AC Adaptor 6.5v 1000mA. It looks like a simple mains adaptor to me.
In light of that, and of the cheapness of the replacement, I'd say the charging circuitry is definately in the pack. That makes it far more sophisticated than I'd expected!
Either that or there's no charging circuitry at all.
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
I really hope they're not trying to constant-voltage charge a NiMh pack with this thing. That would be very bad for the cells.
Only if you left it plugged in for more than C / current hours. ;-) Probably not ideal though. I suspect that this means that you have a choice of adapters, but at £5 you're unlikely to find anything much cheaper.
Well, if it's a trickle charger, then it wouldn't be a problem.
A universal NiMH ( & NiCad) charger costs £15 from Budget Batteries. See:
