Recharger for 12 volt NiCad bike light



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Charly

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I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
charger. Does anyone know generally about 12 volt NiCad chargers and how I could get one or
specifically on for this exact make and model? thanks, Charly
 
Thanks

"Matt O'Toole" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "charly" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> > I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
> > charger. Does anyone know generally about 12
volt
> > NiCad chargers and how I could get one or specifically on for this exact make and model?
>
> Maha makes a wide variety of chargers -- here's an excellent "smart"
charger
> that would handle most bike light systems with no problem, in fact it
could
> handle just about anything up to 14.4V:
>
> http://www.mahaenergy.com/products/prosumer/mhc777plus.htm
>
> I think it's about fifty bucks, which is pretty cheap for this kind of thing. It will handle your
> other charging needs too, and any other bike light battery you'll have in the future.
>
> If you happen to have a DeWalt power tool in the house, you can adapt the charger from that.
>
> The really cheap solution is a wall plug transformer like what comes with most bike lights,
> probably yours too. If you can figure out what the appropriate size is for your battery, you
> should be able to get one from
an
> electronics supplier for less than $10. I'm guessing it would be
something
> like 15V, 300mah... One from a similar bike light system should also be fine, just expect to
> pay more.
>
> Either way, you'll have to find a plug that fits too, or replace your
plugs
> with new ones that fit light, battery, and charger. Some bike lights use standard plugs, some use
> proprietary ones.
>
> Matt O.
 
Thanks "derral" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:eek:[email protected]...
> check around some of the hobby shops which sell electric model stuff,
>
> "charly" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
> > charger. Does anyone know generally about 12
volt
> > NiCad chargers and how I could get one or specifically on for this exact make and model? thanks,
> > Charly
> >
>
 
check around some of the hobby shops which sell electric model stuff,

"charly" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
> charger. Does anyone know generally about 12 volt NiCad chargers and how I could get one or
> specifically on for this exact make and model? thanks, Charly
 
"charly" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
> charger. Does anyone know generally about 12 volt NiCad chargers and how I could get one or
> specifically on for this exact make and model?

Maha makes a wide variety of chargers -- here's an excellent "smart" charger that would handle most
bike light systems with no problem, in fact it could handle just about anything up to 14.4V:

http://www.mahaenergy.com/products/prosumer/mhc777plus.htm

I think it's about fifty bucks, which is pretty cheap for this kind of thing. It will handle your
other charging needs too, and any other bike light battery you'll have in the future.

If you happen to have a DeWalt power tool in the house, you can adapt the charger from that.

The really cheap solution is a wall plug transformer like what comes with most bike lights, probably
yours too. If you can figure out what the appropriate size is for your battery, you should be able
to get one from an electronics supplier for less than $10. I'm guessing it would be something like
15V, 300mah... One from a similar bike light system should also be fine, just expect to pay more.

Either way, you'll have to find a plug that fits too, or replace your plugs with new ones that fit
light, battery, and charger. Some bike lights use standard plugs, some use proprietary ones.

Matt O.
 
Rule of thumb for chargers: Never exceed 10% of the maximum current. If the battery pack puts out 3
amps max, limit the charging current to no more than 300 milliamps (that's 0.300 amps). This
prevents overheating the cells, shortening their life. Obviously lower charging current results in
lower heat, but it takes longer to reach full charge.

If the battery is rated for 5 amphours and you charge it for 10 hours at 500 milliamps, it will be
fully charged. If you charge at 250 milliamps, it takes 20 hours.

--

alan

Anyone who believes in a liberal media has never read the "Daily Oklahoman."

"charly" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a Trek Super Vision 20 bike light. They don't make em anymore. Unfortunately I lost my
> charger. Does anyone know generally about 12 volt NiCad chargers and how I could get one or
> specifically on for this exact make and model? thanks, Charly
 
"alan" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Rule of thumb for chargers: Never exceed 10% of the maximum current. If the battery pack puts out
> 3 amps max, limit the charging current to no more than 300 milliamps (that's 0.300 amps).

This isn't quite right. Batteries don't really have a "maximum current" rating. The rule of thumb
for simple NiCd chargers is to charge at the "ten hour rate" which is the capacity/(10 hours),
commonly referred to as the C/10 rate. A 2.4Ah NiCd would be charged at 240 milliamperes. See,
for example,

http://www.powerpacks-uk.com/Charging%20NiCd%20Batteries.htm http://www.buchmann.ca/Chap4-page2.asp
http://www.allegromicro.com/techpub2/cadex/index312.htm
http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/battery/oem/chem/niccad/index.html

Sophisticated chargers operate at a 1C rate or higher, and they employ end-of-charge detection to
prevent overcharging.

> If the battery is rated for 5 amphours and you charge it for 10 hours at 500 milliamps, it will be
> fully charged. If you charge at 250 milliamps, it takes 20 hours.

Fully charging a completely discharged NiCd cell takes from 14 to 16 hours at the C/10 rate
because charging at the C/10 rate is only about 70% efficient. (Charging at a 1C rate takes about
1.1 hours.) NiCd manufactures generally recommend that NiCds not be charged indefinitely at the
C/10 rate.

PF
 
I stand corrected. Thank you. I learn new stuff here every day!

--

alan

Anyone who believes in a liberal media has never read the "Daily Oklahoman."

"PF" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> This isn't quite right. Batteries don't really have a "maximum current" rating. The rule of thumb
> for simple NiCd chargers is to charge at the "ten hour rate" which is the capacity/(10 hours),
> commonly referred to as the C/10 rate. A 2.4Ah NiCd would be charged at 240 milliamperes. See, for
> example,
>
> http://www.powerpacks-uk.com/Charging%20NiCd%20Batteries.htm
> http://www.buchmann.ca/Chap4-page2.asp http://www.allegromicro.com/techpub2/cadex/index312.htm
> http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/battery/oem/chem/niccad/index.html
 
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