Mustafa charger prices

[darkness]

I went down to Mustafa to take a look at chargers. There have tons of chargers over there, most of them are in the region of $10 to $16, very cheap! Some of the cheap one even have discharging capability (similar to what the Maha charger offers).

Nonetheless, I got a Sony 1hr quick charger instead, the prices are as follows:

Sony 1 hr charger + 2 Sony 1700mAh batts - $38 (retail is $45 I think)
Sanyo 1850mAh x 4 - $11.50 (got from AP for $14... I got another pack from Mustafa)
Sanyo 1850mAh x 2 - $6.50 (bought another 2 to make up with the other 2 sony batts to form another pack)

Conclusion: if you want to buy cheap Sanyo batts go there! Chargers are very cheap too, at least the Sony one is selling below market price. The GP 1 hr charger is selling for $62 compared to $70 market price.

 

[Tweek]

darkness, it is not advisable to mix batteries of different capacities together. Not sure why, but I'm quite sure it was mentioned somewhere.

 

[darkness]

The problem with mixing chargers of different capacities is that the combined capacity becomes limited by the lowest rated one (mixing 2 1700mAh with 2 1850mAh packs become limited to only 1700mAh).

I actually considered that lah, but the stupid Sony batts cost $12 for 2?!?!? In the end got the Sanyo ones instead loh. I just make sure that I don't mix these 2 into the other Sanyos, gotta be careful...

 

[jimtong]

Originally posted by darkness
The problem with mixing chargers of different capacities is that the combined capacity becomes limited by the lowest rated one (mixing 2 1700mAh with 2 1850mAh packs become limited to only 1700mAh).

I actually considered that lah, but the stupid Sony batts cost $12 for 2?!?!? In the end got the Sanyo ones instead loh. I just make sure that I don't mix these 2 into the other Sanyos, gotta be careful...

I have a Sony 1 hour quick charge also, bought at $40 from CP

A question... if I buy 4 sanyo NiMh batts, can I use sony charger to charge them?:dunno:

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by darkness
The problem with mixing chargers of different capacities is that the combined capacity becomes limited by the lowest rated one (mixing 2 1700mAh with 2 1850mAh packs become limited to only 1700mAh).

Is that the only shortcoming? It is the obvious one but I thought mixing batts will be not good in other ways.

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by jimtong
A question... if I buy 4 sanyo NiMh batts, can I use sony charger to charge them?:dunno:

I'm quite sure u can.

 

[jimtong]

Originally posted by Tweek


I'm quite sure u can.

That was a fast reply Thanks.

 

[Digipix]

I don't think the Sony Super Quick Charger can work with other brands of rechargeable batteries. Not sure it will work? Anyone to confirm? :dunno:

 

[darkness]

Tweek, I'm not too sure if they are other repercussions. Hopefully, the batteries don't leak due to differing chemical compositions or ratings or whatever... else I'm screwed!!

Digipix, chargers are chargers, don't think they can recognise what batteries go into them... But I'm currently charging a set of GP 1600 mAh batts, so I'll know if it works by tmr morning...

 

[kawan]

Originally posted by Digipix
I don't think the Sony Super Quick Charger can work with other brands of rechargeable batteries. Not sure it will work? Anyone to confirm? :dunno:

as long as it's a NiMh charger, yes it can charge NiMh batt
don't try to use NiCd charger or Rechargeble Alkaline charger to charge NiMh... it will not work

 

[Digipix]

I think it will work with 1700mAh and below batteries... not very sure either, would love to find out your result. Keep me posted!

 

[Digipix]

Let say if you put in 1850mAh batteries in the Sony Super Quick Charger which is rated 1700mAh, will you still get a full 1850mAh charge? :dunno:

 

[kawan]

Originally posted by Tweek


Is that the only shortcoming? It is the obvious one but I thought mixing batts will be not good in other ways.

if you're mixing diff cap batt during charging, you might end up either overcharge (lower cap's)/ belowcharge (higher cap's) the batts..
if you're using them , the lower cap's will be over drain till < 1.0V and that is not good for the batt life.

 

[kawan]

Originally posted by Digipix
Let say if you put in 1850mAh batteries in the Sony Super Quick Charger which is rated 1700mAh, will you still get a full 1850mAh charge? :dunno:

sony 1h charger isn't it a timer base?
so, I'm quite sure it will not fully charge the higer cap's batt

but if it use -dV to monitor charging, then it's suppose to fully charge the higher cap set too..

 

[darkness]

Originally posted by Digipix
Let say if you put in 1850mAh batteries in the Sony Super Quick Charger which is rated 1700mAh, will you still get a full 1850mAh charge? :dunno:

Yes, you'll get a full charge, but the time taken will be longer. Battery charging works by potential difference, where current flows from the charger into the batteries. Obviously, to charge the batteries, the charger's potential must be higher! This flowing of current does not depend on the batteries' rating.

 

[Digipix]

No idea whether timer based or dV based? But would love to find out if it works...

Any expert here have tried that? Can it achieve a full charge if use to charge higher rated batteries?

 

[Digipix]

Originally posted by darkness


Yes, you'll get a full charge, but the time taken will be longer. Battery charging works by potential difference, where current flows from the charger into the batteries. Obviously, to charge the batteries, the charger's potential must be higher! This flowing of current does not depend on the batteries' rating.

So it works? Don't really understand your explanation...

 

[darkness]

I mean to say that the charger's voltage is higher than the battery's in order to charge it. So as long as the charger can maintain this potential difference, the battery can be charged. Unless a higher battery capacity equates to higher max voltage (which I doubt, since NiMH are supposed to be rated at 1.2V), the batteries can be charged in any charger regardless of capacity. But of coz, the charger's circuitry may be a lot more complex than I envision, since it's suppose to have some "smart" features to turn off the charger when it's fully charged, etc., so the way it detects whether they are charged or not is quite arbituary.

 

[Digipix]

So you mean the charger will still stop when a full 1850mAh charge is complete? or the charger will stop at 1700mAh? :dunno:

 

[ziyter]

hey darkness ,

I am currently using this Sony NiMh charger model is BC-34HL , just wondering if it is the the same quick charge charger you bought ?

Thanks