I have a few uniross batteries for my digital camera, and now in the summer here in UK they run out of power all the time , could it be because of the heat ? does anyone else get the same problem that i get with them? does anyone know how to keep them in a safe place or any other idea? I agree with Elvis and Creviaz, however I find that my digital camera (Ricoh Caploi RR30) is only happy when the batteries are more than half charged. Same goes for disposable Duracells -bags of power left even though the camera shuts down. Most digicams will need "NiMh" batteries (Nickel metal hydride) as they hold more charge and deliver it at a higher current, with I suppose less internal resistance.
I have proved this by checking them in my battery tester and then running them down in power hungry items like a hair trimmer and a torch!
I was always told that
1/ the first charge should be complete, to fully charge the battery,
2/ they shouldn't be recharged until fully discharged and that
3/ you should use a "smart" charger to avoid overcharging
My supposedly flat batteries are still full of juice and the torch runs for hours before they are fully discharged. It is really bright when the cells go in, not faint or brown at all.
It is also worth checking that the terminals are clean and bright. A bit of sandpaper or steel wool can clean them up if corroded.
Recently in the UK Aldi were selling rechargeable 2100 mAh AAs at 拢4 for a pack of four -about the same as disposable Duracells. I bought loads but have still to use them.
It is worth noting what this "mAh" figure means: miiliAmp hours. An Ampere is a unit of current, like the volume of electricity pushed through the circuit. A milliAmp is one-thousandth of an Ampere. 2100 mAh means that on full charge the battery will push one milliAmp for 2100 hours, or 2100 milliAmps for one hour, or anything in between. Now 2100 mA is 2.1 Amps and is a lot of current - a 60 Watt bulb in the UK only takes 0.25 of an Amp!
So your camera probably requires a battery to have the ability to push a certain level of current, not just produce a voltage with little current flow. Batteries have an "internal resistance", which may vary with charge and output current, but it will limit their ability to "push" current, just as if there was a resistor placed in series in the circuit.
My advice would be to buy high capacity batteries, look after them well, experiment with makes and always keep some spares on full charge, Get a cheap torch to fully discharge them between charges. Are they old? They may be getting past their shelf life. All types of battery do suffer in the heat, but more so at extreme cold. it's more likely that you're using your camera more - so they'll run out faster.
Personally I recommend getting some 2800mAh batteries (AA) - I use these in my cameras & they are probably the best you can get without spending mega-bucks. A set of four can be had for about 拢15, but well worth it. Rechargeable batteries need to be treated with TLC, from the very first charge ( 16 hours) to not being left with half a charge in the way you charge & discharge them affects their capacityt to store a charge. The theoretical life time is 1000 charge cycles but in practice the effectivness is about half of that. |
