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Thread ID: 59799	2005-07-13 04:04:00	Battery Charger advice please	Pato (2463)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
371751	2005-07-13 04:04:00	With the help of Posts I purchased a Maha MH-C204W charger which Rapid charges two AA's 2300mAh in about an hour (2.0A). It states "Do not use one-hour quick charge on any battery rated under 2000mAh" Does that mean I can't charge 1600mAh batteries I have or does that mean they will just take longer than 1 hour?. Also says "Batteries must be able to accept a 2.0A rapid charge current". How do I know which batteries to purchase to meet this requirement?.	Pato (2463)
371752	2005-07-13 04:16:00	With the help of Posts I purchased a Maha MH-C204W NiMH charger. It states the Rapid Charge Current is 2.0A Charge two AA's in about an hour. It also says "Do not use one-hour quick charge on any battery rated under 2000mAh". Does that mean I cannot charge 1600mAh batteries or that they will take longer than one hour?. Also they say "Batteries must be able to accept 2.0A rapid charge current". How do I know which batteries to purchase?.	Pato (2463)
371753	2005-07-13 04:47:00	A 2300 mAh cell can provide 2 . 3A for one hour (if the seller is honest ;)) . So it can handle a charging current greater than 2 A, Probably the charger gives something like 2 . 5A for an hour . Most modern cells are made to handle fast charging . A smaller capacity cell won't be capable of supplying such a high current, and might not be capable of handling a high charge current, because they are of older designs . Many uses of rechargable batteries do pull currents much higher than the "1C" rating . Model aircraft pull something like 10C or 20C . They sacrifice some battery life . Sometimes their batteries explode or just set fire to other things . ;) If the charger senses cell temperature, you would probably be able to charge 1600 mAh cells with no problems at all . If they use the "dV/dt" sensing for full charge, the lower capacity cells might get a bit warm . If you've got a lot of such cells, try charging some . ;) But keep an eye (or finger) on their temperature . The charger manufacturer is probably just protecting itself by stating this as a limitation . If you want to be totally "safe", use cells with capacity of 2000 mAh or above .	Graham L (2)
371754	2005-07-13 05:13:00	It means that if you do have some 1600 mAH batts, you shouldn't use the fast charge mode on them . Edit . On this charger fast charge is 2 cells only . It charges 4 cells at a lower rate . If you haven't bought batteries yet, get something like 2500mAH Energizers if you want to fast charge . Usually batteries last a lot longer if you don't fast charge them .	PaulD (232)
371755	2005-07-13 05:24:00	Pato, I have merged your duplicate thread out of the PressF1 forum into the Chat forum (off topic). There is also no need to make duplicate posts in both forums. :)	Jen (38)
371756	2005-07-13 06:01:00	Sorry Jen that was totally unintended. Put it down to old age.	Pato (2463)
371757	2005-07-13 06:05:00	Thankyou GrahamL and PaulD. I knew someone could supply the answers. I now know a lot more about chargers and batteries.	Pato (2463)
371758	2005-07-13 06:13:00	It means that if you do have some 1600 mAH batts, you shouldn't use the fast charge mode on them . Edit . On this charger fast charge is 2 cells only . It charges 4 cells at a lower rate . If you haven't bought batteries yet, get something like 2500mAH Energizers if you want to fast charge . Usually batteries last a lot longer if you don't fast charge them . It appears to me that you can only 'fast charge' with this charger? or am I misunderstanding the situation?	Pato (2463)
371759	2005-07-13 07:28:00	Yes fast and FASTER compared to the Maha 401FS which charges at 300 mA or 1000 mA (fast). The 204W charges at 2000mA with 2 cells or 1000mA with 4 cells.	PaulD (232)
371760	2005-07-13 09:23:00	Yes fast and FASTER compared to the Maha 401FS which charges at 300 mA or 1000 mA (fast). The 204W charges at 2000mA with 2 cells or 1000mA with 4 cells. Thanks Paul. It is a nice little charger and am very pleased with it. Without getting info from past Posts in F1 I would not have known what to look for.	Pato (2463)
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