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Video showing heavy flour in AA batteries: any way for layman to testNiMH batteries?

  • Thread starter Amanda Riphnykhazova
  • Start date
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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I have a Panasonic DECT phone which takes AAA batteries. The ones I am using are 2-3 years old and although they always measure OK on a simple battery meter, give such pathetic call quality that I strongly suspect the have very few amps indeed. (compared to how the phone used to work). When left off the hook, the phone is dead within a day or so.

So I just bought on ebay some new NiMH ones called Rayzel (no reviews available) with an ominously anonymous light green casing. They claim to be 2100 MAH to replace the present 650MAH ones. They say they come from a place called Virginia but are scheduled to take 5 days to get a couple of hundredmiles to me by USPS.

Then I saw the video showing how these can apparently weigh as much as the normal ones but be filled with flour or crack or something and in fact be some poxy module a few millimeters in mass. Which, far from giving 2100Ma, gives in reality only 66Ma and looks as if it may well last as long as fiveminutes so long as no meaningful load is put on it.

Is there any way of testing them to make sure they are what they say they are before leaving misleading positive feedback? I have no way of knowing how long the phone which is designed to be left on the hook is supposed to last when left off the hook. If I buy a very cheap battery tester, would it have no cut out circuits and put a proper constant load on the battery suchthat if left in place, the voltage may lower over the course of a few minutes connection? (or does that only happen when the battery is actually completely failing)

I also have a Philips TSU500 remote in which I use slightly pricey Sanyo Eneloop batteries supposedly heavily quality controlled by Costco before sale.. They are now possibly as old as 6-8 months and used to last a week or sobefore stopping working. Now they can go from fully charged (2-3 days in acharger) to dead in 3 days. Again, I am wondering if there is any way to test them before I decide that they need replacing rather than that the TSU500 itself is chewing up batteries and needs replacing!
 
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William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
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Assuming this isn't a joke...

I don't believe AAA cells can have 2100mAh capacity. So that's a problem.

What ever happened to buying OEM batteries?

If there's a battery store near (such as Interstate), try it.
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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Assuming this isn't a joke...

I suppose it may well be a joke, look at
and you decide: It even warns viewers off the seller and says they refused to refund ALL of the money paid.
I don't believe AAA cells can have 2100mAh capacity. So that's a problem.

Yes, that occurred to me as well when I saw the video but there seem to be lots of them on ebay and I wondered what they really were and how to test them if they do work on arrival and aren't completely fake. There IS a major leap of faith between something marked 650MAH and an offer of 2100 MAH
What ever happened to buying OEM batteries?

If there's a battery store near (such as Interstate), try it.
I didnt know that Interstate made AAA batteries but how do they compare in price to the ones from Virginia on ebay? Assuming the ones arent just useless
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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Thomas Distributing show that they distribute Eneloop NiMH batteries which I wonder about in OP.

I did check with Panasonic and they say they recommend NiMH so I assume I shouldnt be using NiCAD and cant recharge Lithium ones. So how far can I push the milliamps realistically? And, again, is there any way of testing whatever I do end up with please?

I suppose I can just charge them along with the present batteries and leavethem next to each other for a few days and see how long they last before they die. But that says nothing about how long any batteries I get are goingto LAST?
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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Now I have seen a report that for cordless phones, you should use special low discharge batteries and that ordinary NiMH ones will just die if left off the base So i am not sure I can even perform the test I thought obvious!The low discharge ones say they are something over 900MAH.

There seem to be lots of sellers specifically targeting their sales towardsPanasonic cordless phones. I wonder if there is any difference or if "lowdischarge" means anything (in practical terms)?
 
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Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
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[email protected]
A friend of
mine sent me a link that showed that what is inside the large 6 volt
lantern batteries are just a whole bunch of AA batteries. I told him
that the video was crap. He didn't believe me and went out and bought
one of these batteries and pried the bottom off. Just like I told him
there were 4 large cells in the thing, not a whole bunch of AA cells.


** Ever pried open a 9V alkaline battery?

There are six cells inside ( LR61s) smaller than AAAA.



.... Phil
 
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Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
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"Amanda Riphnykhazova"

Now I have seen a report that for cordless phones, you should use special
low discharge batteries and that ordinary NiMH ones will just die if left
off the base

** Total bollocks.

There seem to be lots of sellers specifically targeting their sales towards
Panasonic cordless phones. I wonder if there is any difference or if "low
discharge" means anything (in practical terms)?

** None.

Cordless phones are normally left on constant charge.

Low discharge cells ( ie Eneloop) have advantage when the device is left
with no use or charge for months on end.

Like a digital camera or torch often is.


..... Phil
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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Yeah, interestingly low discharge is also described as low self-discharge, indicating that they will discharge THEMSELVES if left alone and turned off.."Like a digital camera or torch often is" It doesnt seem to say anything about whether they will discharge any more than other batteries if left 'on'in a working phone. Although the description implies it strongly, doesn't it!
 
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William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
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"Amanda Riphnykhazova" wrote in message
There seem to be lots of sellers specifically targeting their sales
towards Panasonic cordless phones. I wonder if there is any
difference or if "low discharge" means anything (in practical terms)?

It doesn't, because you're presumably leaving the 'phone on the charger base
when it's not in use.

I've owned cordless phones with both nicad and NiMH batteries, and had no
problems with either. You're worrying about something of no importance.
 
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William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
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"Amanda Riphnykhazova" wrote in message

When in use, a battery discharges according to how much current is drawn.
Whether it's a low-self-discharge battery doesn't matter -- unless you're
drawing a tiny bit of current over a long time. Common sense.
 
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Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
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"Amanda Riphnykhazova"

Yeah, interestingly low discharge is also described as low self-discharge,
indicating that they will discharge THEMSELVES if left alone and turned off.


** Low self discharge implies the opposite.

The self discharge of regular NiMH cells is quite high compared to Alkaline
cells - leave them for a few weeks to a couple of months and most of the
energy is gone.

IIFC, Eneloop claim up to 12 months with 80% retention.

Neither of which has any bearing when used with cordless phones.



..... Phil
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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WOW is this getting complicated!!!

So you cant just buy a battery and charge it? You have to differentiate between different types of NiMH charger or you will kill the battery? That is AMAZING!

Especially when Costco doesnt even sell chargers for their Eneloops (mine are either light or dark blue with no explanation of what is the difference)and makes no recommendations as to charging. Not to mention, how do I figure out how to charge (for example) a Reyzel without spending a fortune on the tester? Or is it generally OK to trickle charge any battery so long as you dont mind waiting?

So maybe I DO have to buy Panasonic rechargeables to work properly in a Panasonic phone, assuming there aren't fakes out there! Or possibly the trickle charge from the base may well do the trick?

Oh and one other thing, I am not a troll but just checked the charger I am actually using (and dont remember when I accidentally switched) but this one IS a NiCAD!!! So I assume the Eneloops are now dead for all practical purposes. Anyway I can now stop blaming the remote controller.

Can I buy some sort of aa/aaa trickle charger to do the job in future?
 
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William Sommerwerck

Jan 1, 1970
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I would recommend the MAHA MH-C9000 charger. It's no longer modestly priced,
but it does all sorts of stuff (such as breaking in and reconditioning), and
you can set the charge current as you wish.
 
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Amanda Riphnykhazova

Jan 1, 1970
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Well I have tended to leave the Eneloops in the NiCAD charger, thinking that it was a NiMH charger and that it had a cut out circuit in it. For days or weeks on end.

Clearly they are dead now and I would imagine I will find that they can look as if they are charging to full (or is it just a surface charge?) but in reality they will lose all their charge quickly now even if left out of theremote. And cant be reconditioned

No, they didn't come with any charger, which with no charge instructions was a bit of a mistake on the part of Costco?

Incidentally, what does battery recondition mean? Does it mean feeding a short burst of 120v reverse polarity to bust up crystals or is that a myth?
 
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