I've been lurking at a different place after having a new knee hinge fitted=
and sending email is a bit tedious from here.
> How do you know when the batteries are fully charged.
They get warm. How warm varies, but a charged battery "leaks off" the
unwanted charging current as heat.
There are three basic types of battery charger:
Trickle charger. These charge at a "safe" rate continuously but are
painfully slow.
Timed charger. These assume that the battery is at least part used and give=
s
about a half charge before dropping down to a trickle charge. These could
damage a fully charged battery.
Voltage controlled charger. These measure the battery voltage and reduce th=
e
charging current when it is 90% charged. These are the fastest, like the
Canon BP5 for stills cameras which tells you how it is progressing with
1,2,3 flashes or continuous. It gives a very useful charge in less than hal=
f
an hour.
They cost more but the advantage of this type of charger is that batteries=
tend to last longer as they don't get overcharged but the charger has to
match the battery.
David Brinicombe
|