[fractus2]

Found this at Xin's site.

Rechargable Battery and Chargers

 

[Sean H]

Bump^

Any new or additional info on this thread would be appreciated.

 

[iamdone]

I've been very happy with IPower Batteries:

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ip_9V_220.htm

and this charger:

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ip-fc-391.htm

These batteries have longer life and are the quick charge type. The charger can charge 2 9v batteries at the same time independently. So if one battery is charged 1st, the other keeps charging. It also keeps the batteries fully charged if you keep them in there by sending a smaller charge once they are full. It also works with AA and AAA batteries too.

 

[Sean H]

Quote:

Originally posted by iamdone I've been very happy with IPower Batteries: http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ip_9V_220.htm and this charger: http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ip-fc-391.htm These batteries have longer life and are the quick charge type. The charger can charge 2 9v batteries at the same time independently. So if one battery is charged 1st, the other keeps charging. It also keeps the batteries fully charged if you keep them in there by sending a smaller charge once they are full. It also works with AA and AAA batteries too.

Ironically these were the ones I was looking at. These batteries are the higher volt type that Hirsch always referes to in the Plainviews, that actually have a nominal voltage at 9 or above, right? It does say:

"Actual_ 9.4 Volt @ 220mAH_ capacity._ 9.0V Nominal
Checks out at 9.4V after charging. (Actual 9V alkaline is 9.2V)"

If so, these batteries and the charger you have seem like winners.

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Sean H Ironically these were the ones I was looking at. These batteries are the higher volt type that Hirsch always referes to in the Plainviews, that actually have a nominal voltage at 9 or above, right? It does say: "Actual_ 9.4 Volt @ 220mAH_ capacity._ 9.0V Nominal Checks out at 9.4V after charging. (Actual 9V alkaline is 9.2V)" If so, these batteries and the charger you have seem like winners.

I figure that even though the Plainview have 9.6v, having the quick charge and 220maH made up the difference of going with a 9.4v instead. I bought 4 batteries so I always 2 charged and ready to swap in my Headsave Transit amp.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by iamdone I figure that even though the Plainview have 9.6v, having the quick charge and 220maH made up the difference of going with a 9.4v instead. I bought 4 batteries so I always 2 charged and ready to swap in my Headsave Transit amp.

In your Headsave Transit amp, that 220mAH battery won't last as long as another brand's 150mAH battery. How? Because the nominal voltage of your "9.4V" 220mAH batteries is only 8.4 volts (Plainview's 9.6V battery actually has a voltage of greater than 10V after charging).

 

[fractus2]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver In your Headsave Transit amp, that 220mAH battery won't last as long as another brand's 150mAH battery. How? Because the nominal voltage of your "9.4V" 220mAH batteries is only 8.4 volts (Plainview's 9.6V battery actually has a voltage of greater than 10V after charging).

So with the higher voltage (10V) you will get a better sound from say a META42 from the plainviews?

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Eagle_Driver In your Headsave Transit amp, that 220mAH battery won't last as long as another brand's 150mAH battery. How? Because the nominal voltage of your "9.4V" 220mAH batteries is only 8.4 volts (Plainview's 9.6V battery actually has a voltage of greater than 10V after charging).

I just looked it up on www.ipowerus.com website and the nominal voltage is 9.0v at 220maH. I'm not sure how this would make it run out quicker than a battery at 150mah? So, I believe I am running my Transit at 18v with these batteries vs 20+ with Plainview. This is ok with me because I can have these batteries charged in just few hours. And the sound difference is minimal because I have compared it against using the amp with my 24v power supply.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I still can't believe that any 9V-size rechargeable battery delivers a nominal voltage of 9V. Each cell within a pack is actually rated for 1.2V, so a 9V pack that delivers a nominal 9V rating would have to use 7.5 cells - which is impossible, since you cannot have partial cells within any pack and still be functional.

For the record, seven 1.2-volt cells inside a 9V-size pack will measure only 8.4V nominal - but add an extra cell and then the battery pack will measure 9.6V.

The information from www.ipowerus.com is incorrect; their "9.4V" batteries actually have a nominal rating of only 8.4V. That's because their voltage drops very quickly from that 9.4V after-charging voltage to their 8.4V nominal rating in a matter of minutes of use. If a rechargeable battery has a nominal rating of 9V, then their after-charging voltage would have to measure at least 10.2V.

As for the battery life of the iPower battery, expect it to last between charges only about half that of even a cheap throwaway alkaline 9V battery.

 

[SteeleBlayde]

heres plainview's own multi-unit charger:
Eeek! Look at the price of this!

I've been very interested in the plainview batteries for my MINT but I've been looking for something that can charge 3 (at least 2) 9V's, slow charge, and auto-shutoff. It seems Plainview's charger is the only one that can do this from what I gather. I dont think I've found anything on Thomas's site that has what I want and its been pretty hard decoding all the info on this thread.

Anyone have any suggestions for a charger that doesnt cost $235?

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by SteeleBlayde Anyone have any suggestions for a charger that doesnt cost $235?

You might want to look at my post earlier in this very thread.

 

[SteeleBlayde]

I dont understand why you recommended that one though. I had a look at this charger: iPowerUS FC-501 and it seems to have more features and cost less. I cant tell if the AccuPower 20 Charger that you recommended has auto-shutoff either. And neither of them say anything about the option to slow charge.

And there's the MAHA POWEREX 9V Multi-Channel Smart Charger and that doesnt say anything about auto-shutoff or slow charging either.

On top of that, I dont know whether the FC-501 or the Multi-Channel Charger even work with Plainviews! Call me dumb, stupid, or thick but I am very confused.

 

[CBMC]

I think that any of those chargers will work with the plainview. The plainview charger charges at a rate of 25 mA's, even though the batterys suggest not charging over 17 mA's on the battery(think this is a typo at plainview, correct me or confirm). The Accupower, which was a little expensive, charges 9 volts at a rate of 30 mA's, which is fine for a plainview(still takes about 6-7 hours to fully charge). The 5 mA's extra on this charger is not going to hurt anything. The accupower does have a automatic shut-off feature. Once the batterty is fully charged it shuts off(light stops blinking and turns solid). The other reason I picked the accupower is the fact that you can charge 4 of any size(aa, aaa, c, d) in combination with 2 9 volts. It fast-charges the other batterys at a rate of 700mA's. I don't have the I-Power that you mention nor have I ever used it but seems like it would work since it charges 9v's at a rate of 100mA's. The people at Plainview batterys told me that I would be alright as long as I used a charger that took at least 2 hours to charge the plainview.(no 1 hour chargers). Since this charger takes over 2 hours I assume that it will work. I believe the I-Powers have a automatic shut-off also. I stayed away from the ipowers because I could only charge 1 9 volt and 2 aa, aaa, c, or d. I could also charge 2 9 volts with the FC-391 model, but no other batteries.

The maha might be the nicest of the chargers but carries a pretty hefty price tag. Fast chargers charge at a rate of 70-90 mA's. Goes to trickle charge(10mA's) after fast-charge is complete to protect your batteries. And holds a whopping 10 cells. Downside is that it only works with 9 volts and of course the price.

I chose the accupower. If you are only going to be using 2 9 volts and nothing else and money is a object then I think the FC-391 wouldn't be a bad option. The batteries might not last quite as long, since they are being charged at a rate higher than the manufacturer recommends on the label(even though a sales tech at plainview said that a 2 hour or longer charger would be ok, and thomas distributing recommends them for their batteries).

If money is no object and you have a ton of 9v's that need charging then get the MH-C1090F. Then if you still have aa, aaa, c, or d batteries to charge, you can get seperate maja chargeres for them. This will run you in excess of $125, but I said if money was no object.

That is my take on the whole situation, do what you want and feel free to ask any more questions.

 

[SteeleBlayde]

Thanks, that clears up a lot of things. I'l probably go with the Accupower since it doesnt charge as fast as the iPower and will thus help to improve battery life.

However, if the Accupower has auto-shutoff, does it feature trickle charging?

 

[pikawel]

Quote:

Originally posted by pikawel http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ip-fc-391.htm I ordered this and in about a week, I suppose we'll find out how great / terrible it is ...

It works great. Charges my Plainviews in about 3 hours. Long term effects be damned (if there are any)!! I know your confusion SteeleBlayde. If you look at my posts earlier in the thread, I was asking the same questions. Thomas-Distributing recommends chargers that don't sound like they'd work with the Plainviews and such. Well, rest assured, the FC-391 works great.