[Coalescent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa (I know of someone who fast charged the plainviews and that went right. But it might all depend on charger or quality of the battery itself...)

Lisa,

Do you happen to know what kind of charger that person used? I just ordered a Maha Powerex MH-C490F 9v charger to go with some 9v Plainviews I ordered from Norm at Headsave. This is a charger designed to be used with 9.6v batteries, but it's a fast charger. I hope they work with the Plainviews, or I may be putting them up for sale...

-Chad

 

[Puzzle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa If I were you I'd google the brand name and see if I could find an e-mail address of the manufactuer and ask them if their 170 mah 9V batteries can be fast charged or not. And ask what's the worsed thing that can happen if you fast charge them when you're not supposed to. That way you can deside for yourself if it's a risk you want to take. It is normal that you get much less time from a rechargable 9V than a Alkaline. The Duracell ProCells alkalines have probably more than 500 mah. The rechargeables you've got have only 170 mah.

Lisa,

good points - unfortunately the batteries are made in China, and branded for the electronics chain that I bought them from - a bit like the much maligned 'rat shack'. One clue though, on the back of the packaging, the standard charge is given as 16hrs at 17mA, and the box for quick charge is blank.

I didn't realise the mAh would vary so much between the rechargeables and the ProCells. I wonder if any head-fiers know anything more about NiMh battery chemistry.

Cheers

 

[setmenu]

This is a good source of information about various battery chemistry's:

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/index.htm


Setmenu

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coalescent Lisa, Do you happen to know what kind of charger that person used? I just ordered a Maha Powerex MH-C490F 9v charger to go with some 9v Plainviews I ordered from Norm at Headsave. This is a charger designed to be used with 9.6v batteries, but it's a fast charger. I hope they work with the Plainviews, or I may be putting them up for sale... -Chad

Did you buy the charger at Thomas Distribution? They can give you an answer. I've used their helpdesk in the past and they can really help you. The sold the Plainviews in the past so they should know. (never bought anything there and was honest about it, but they helped me anyway.)
I think that it's possible though. I can't remember exacly who was charging the plainviews fast. It was a head-fier, he was using one of these. And after about 300 charges they started to loose capacity. Went from 12 hours of use to 4 hours in his amp (or something like that) When you charge and deplete batteries fully everytime, 300 charges is pretty much what you can expect.

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puzzle Lisa, good points - unfortunately the batteries are made in China, and branded for the electronics chain that I bought them from - a bit like the much maligned 'rat shack'. One clue though, on the back of the packaging, the standard charge is given as 16hrs at 17mA, and the box for quick charge is blank. I didn't realise the mAh would vary so much between the rechargeables and the ProCells. I wonder if any head-fiers know anything more about NiMh battery chemistry. Cheers

Puzzle, I haven't got a clue what to do in your case. Seems to me that your batteries weren't designed to be fast charged. I just read somewhere that the worst thing that can happen is that they can explode and start a fire. So all I can say is don't put the charger close to the curtains and be careful.

 

[Jahn]

Um, guys, check this out.

The left is a normal Alkaline. The right is my old plainview that i had to dremel down to fit the SR-71.

The middle is the new plainview I just got from Norm/Headsave. Um, yeah. It's shorter. Look at the label. It's different. Like a shorter batch or something. I know they don't make these anymore, so they technically aren't "new" but the pair i just got needs NO sanding down. They fit like a glove in the SR-71. I am happy. THANKS NORM!

 

[Coalescent]

I ordered a couple Plainviews from Norm a week or so ago, and I've been in contact with him about chargers and the like.

Some people here might like to know that the Plainviews are apparently fast charge compatible, as he has confirm with Plainview that they will work with the Maha 9.6v charger. Here is the last email he sent: (posted with permission)

Quote:

I have contacted Plainview and been assured by them that the Maha MH-C490F charger will be compatable with the Plainview 9.6v PBNH 1606A NiMH batteries which I supply. I have ordered some chargers from Maha and expect delivery within a few days. The selling price will be $29.95 per charger. Thanks Norm

I would just like to say that Norm is a really fantastic guy. I went to him with a question about the Plainviews, and he actively looked into my query and found an accurate answer for me. Talk about service! Two thumbs up

-Chad

 

[pikawel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa I can't remember exacly who was charging the plainviews fast. It was a head-fier, he was using one of these. And after about 300 charges they started to loose capacity. Went from 12 hours of use to 4 hours in his amp (or something like that) When you charge and deplete batteries fully everytime, 300 charges is pretty much what you can expect.

I was searching the forums for SR-71's average battery life for Plainviews/Maha/ect and I came across this. That sounds like the thread I had.

I'm actually using the version of that charger that can charge two 9V's at the same time but it's the same thing, basically. I'd say that you can pretty much count on two Plainviews lasting you right around a year. Not bad at all!

-Ash

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pikawel I was searching the forums for SR-71's average battery life for Plainviews/Maha/ect and I came across this. That sounds like the thread I had. -Ash

It was you I was talking about. Now I remember.

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coalescent I ordered a couple Plainviews from Norm a week or so ago, and I've been in contact with him about chargers and the like. Some people here might like to know that the Plainviews are apparently fast charge compatible, as he has confirm with Plainview that they will work with the Maha 9.6v charger. Here is the last email he sent: (posted with permission) -Chad

Chad, thanks for this information. I had been wavering about getting the plainviews, but the extended charge time was problematic without having two sets of batterys. This certainly improves their value.

 

[BlindTiger]

What is the normal fast charge time for 9v's anyway?
I use the plainviews with my 1 hr ray o vac charger and it's 4 hrs even with their own brand batteries.

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlindTiger What is the normal fast charge time for 9v's anyway? I use the plainviews with my 1 hr ray o vac charger and it's 4 hrs even with their own brand batteries.

Does it say what the charging current of 9Vs is on your charger or in the manual? The usual charging current is somewhere between 70 and 100 mA. Or at least, that's what I've come across.

The charging time should be somewhere around
1.5 x capacity in mah : charging current in mA.

Although with fast some chargers I've experianced that this little math wasn't accurate...

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlindTiger What is the normal fast charge time for 9v's anyway? I use the plainviews with my 1 hr ray o vac charger and it's 4 hrs even with their own brand batteries.

Maha lists two hours as the fast charge time for a single 9 volt battery, which is longer than the charge time on other sizes of batterys in the same charger.

Coalescent- is it true that the charger only charges one 9 volt battery at a time?

 

[Coalescent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisin Maha lists two hours as the fast charge time for a single 9 volt battery, which is longer than the charge time on other sizes of batterys in the same charger. Coalescent- is it true that the charger only charges one 9 volt battery at a time?

raisin,

The Maha MH-C490F charger, which I purchased to use with the Plainviews I ordered from Norm, can charge four 9.6v batteries at once. It provides the additional voltage needed to charge the Plainviews and Maha's 9.6v battery. You can read the stats on Thomas Distributing's website. Each 9v slot has an independant microprocessor that allows it to fast-charge these batteries well.

All I know from personal experience is that the thing works great. My Plainviews last a surprisingly long time, and it only takes a couple hours to recharge one. I've not timed it exactly, but it isn't very long.

-Chad

 

[chumley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dixie Flatline Lisa, Nospam, anyone else who's using the Maha rechargeables -- do they seem to be identical in size to regular alkaline 9V's? The pages for them at the Thomas Distributing website seem to imply that they're exactly the same size as standard alkalines, but don't state it clearly. Since I'm thinking about an SR-71 at some point, I'd like to be sure that they'll fit, unlike the Plainviews. Thanks!

No, the Maha 9V's are around 1-1.5mm LONGER than Duracell 9V's... this is a PIA, IMO, because the Mahas prevent the rear 'screw down' panel of my SR-71 from fully 'closing' against the body of the SR-71...

If anyone knows of a set of rechargeable 9V NmHi that actually MATCHES the length of a Duracell 9V, I sure would like to know about it...