PowerGenix ? NiZn

2nd image is from PowerGenix web site .

Im playing with these ATM ...

Initial discharge of 2 cells = @ 500mAh

Cell 1 = 260mAh from 1.65v [ rested voltage ] new , uncharged

Cell 2 = 280mAh from 1.67v [ rested voltage ] new , uncharged

Well , disappointing to say the least , resting voltage after being discharged is about 1.45v

I threw the two batteries in my cheap charger [ 4 bay that tries to push AA's to the limit = I like this charger ] and after quite a few hours of being recharged [ I wanted to give the cells every opportunity ] they came of my charger at 1.85v

After resting the batteries overnight , they were at 1.81v , and am currently discharging them in my Powerex charger @ 500mAh

If you look at the label , 2500mWh [ so V x A = W ]

If we divide 1.6v by 2500mW , should be 1500mAh [ I think ] , and I dont see it ...

Ok 2nd Discharge @ 500mAh

cell 1 / 751mAh

cell 2 / 813mAh

Some what woeful I dare say for capacity ...

This time I will leave them in the charger and see how high they can go [ voltage ] , see if I can do better than 1.85v off the charger .

I'm confused on what charger you are using in reference to "my cheap charger". Are you not using the PowerGenix charger for NiZn?

No , its a cheap ass $10 4 bay charger thats like 10 years old , its called a "MEZZO" , and it will drive a AA battery to what ever voltage it will tolerate .

My AA's will charge from about 1.36v to 1.46v depending on the individual cell , most go 1.43 to 1.45v , and then sag to about 1.41v or 1.39v , most nimh will hold 1.36v or better for long term ...

Some of my little AAA actually hit 1.49v if left in long enough , yeah this charger bares watching !

But from what I understand Nizm is supposedly 1.6v , so if they are 1.65-1.67v they should be fully charged ...

And the resting voltage when empty is so high , something like a powerex would be useless .... [ on these cells ]

Im currently charging the cells again so will see how high I can drive the voltage , as the charger stops charging when enough internal resistance is met ...

[ Which is why some of my AA's charge to 1.36 or 1.37v = higher internal resistance ]

Mezzo Charger

You need the powergenix white charger to get the most out of these batteries. Also, one single deep discharge can destroy these batteries. I think they are considered dead when they hit 1.4V under load.

From my understanding , the issue with most charger is there inability to charge past 1.5v ...

So as for mAh capacity is a battery thing rather than a charger thing ...

Most AA chargers would terminate early due to Voltage levels , this charger does not do so ..

Maybe one day ill buy the Powergenix battery charger combo

Seems the batteries top out @ 1.9v or maybe 1.91v hot of the charger [ no they never even got warm ]

I actually ran them all night in the charger ... So hopefully the capacity is topped out , Be lucky to see 1000mAh me thinks ...

I will do a discharge latter today .

Ok , discharged @ 500mAh

Resting voltage was 1.85v

Cell 1 / 1331mAh

Cell 2 / 1391mAh

Wowsa , thats becoming usable ... Wonder if these cells can be conditioned ?

But had leave them in the charger a long time , hmmm , wonder if I should use my Hobby charger ??

Anyhow , Get ready for Round "3"

ill see if leaving them in the charger longer helps , I should also check this chargers behaviour [ I really should ]

This time I left the batteries in the charger much longer , till they got a little warm actually ... Still 1.91v hot of the charger

left them overnight to stabilize .. Then discharged @ 500mAh ...

Cell 1 / 1244mAh

Cell 2 / 1347mAh

So no reward there , well , lets try round 4 .... Also left for a longer period to stabilize , I will charge and discharge one more time to see how they go , then charge them again , and let them sit for a week or so and discharge to see if they self discharge ...

Those Powergenix are pretty fragile. I have a bunch of them. So far I have lost one and I have two more which are rapidly getting worse. They do not take well to a deep discharge at all! Like your discharge results are showing they are hard pressed to make 1300mah. Mine have been cycled quite alot and the older they are getting the more self discharge is increasing, although it isn't too bad yet but in my cells that are getting bad the self discharge is getting more and more noticeable after a few weeks of sitting. All this being said I do still like them in most of my torches. The brightness increase is very nice but not all torches will benefit from the extra voltage.