Greenbatteries.com - Responsible Renewable Energy: RE: How do I tell if a Rechargeable Battery needs to be replaced?

Hi Dave,

There are a couple of ways to get an idea of a batteries remaining useful life. One way is to get an inexpensive rechargeable tester (one that will allow testing under a load) like this unit

http://www.greenbatteries.com/ecunbate.html then fully charge the battery and test it in this battery tester. You will get a pretty good idea of the capacity of the battery and its ability to retain a charge if you do a bit of testing and make notes over a period of a few days. One of the ways that a battery shows it's age is to no longer retain a charge very well.

Another way is to get a charger with battery analysis features like the LaCrosse Technology BC-900 Alpha Battery Charger and Recovery System http://www.greenbatteries.com/bcalbachandr.html

or the new Maha C9000 (we do not carry that one yet but will have some soon) they both have excellent battery analysis features and are specifically designed to do the type of "how much life is left in this battery" analysis.

Hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Curtis

Responsible Energy Corporation
Curtis Randolph - CEO
16157 Galena Meadows Drive

Reno, NV 89511

phone 800-790-7866

fax 815-301-3958
cell 775-722-9901
www.greenbatteries.com

From: Summers, Dave
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 1:50 PM
To: info@greenbatteries.com
Subject: How do I tell a Rechargeable Battery needs to be replaced?

On your web site I gather a regular battery tester will not tell you if a NIMH battery needs to be replaced.

I just had your “10 cell AA/AAA NiMH Smart Battery Charger with Discharge / Conditioning function” delivered to me. I’ve never had the ability to run the AA and AAA through a discharge cycle so I hope this charger will help. It is your number V6988 for $42.95.

The instructions say this charger will detect bad cells, but I imagine this is “works / does not work” versus “just about reached it’s end of life” type of test.

I’ve got some rechargeable batteries of various brands that are now several years old and I don’t know if they have 80% of original capacity or 10%. How can I tell their condition so I can have usable battery packs I can rely on? Most of my flashlights, remotes, etc. use four batteries and I assume just one weak cell can mess up the whole pack. I also don’t have a way to tell how old any of the batteries are, I’ve not marked them when purchased.

Thanks very much.

Dave