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Nicads outdated?


Adam Thompson

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So am I the first one here on the new Aaton forum? Cool. Ok, what to comment on...

 

Can anyone give me their opinion on switching nicads out for NM cells on the Aaton batteries? I read how someone didn't like doing it, but why? Is it just that you need another charger besides the Aaton one? Are there any other drawbacks next to price?

Edited by Adam Thompson
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Pro to NiMH: less polluting to the environment, reduced "memory effect" , high capacity and maximum draw possible.

Contra : higher self-discharge rate, more sensitive to high or low temperatures (in my experience)

 

This of course is for all batteries, not specifically Aaton.

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I answered some of my own questions here:

 

http://www.rathboneenergy.com/batteries/br...rs_nimhconv.htm

 

They do nicad recells for Aaton packs for $137 too and it looks to be the best route.

http://www.rathboneenergy.com/batteries/br...aaton/aaton.htm

Edited by Adam Thompson
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I had three recelled at a chain store called Batteries Plus. They put in 2400 ? nicad cels which run a long time on my Aaton XTR with video asssist. They charged me $79.00 each. They recelled some battery belts for me for $300.00 each, and LA quoted me $475 plus shipping. Just a thought, because they are only batteries. Matt.

 

 

 

 

quote name='Zachary Vex' date='Oct 15 2007, 11:34 AM' post='198510']

Great, thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...

One additional note.

 

I have also re-celled my Aaton batts with higher-amperage nicads. They work fine.

 

One caution; always check the work, especially if you are using a non-camera specialist to do the re-cell. I had on battery that was assembled with an un-insulated terminal that shorted to the shield of the 4-pin connector. It tested fine with a meter, but no one noticed that there was 12V at the shield. It ran the camera fine, but it fried the video assist on an LTR54. And it was an intermittent issue. Seems that it shorted out if you applied a bit of twist when you connected the battery to the camera, but not always. I had to open up the battery case and add insulation to that tab of the battery pack. But it cost us dearly to fix the video assist. They don't have a fuse for that side of the circuitry. The camera was OK and I think it's fused to protect it.

 

So be sure you check any re-cell.

 

-Tom

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Hi,

 

No, NiCd is not outdated - it's probably exactly what you want for an electromechanical device like a film camera; video people are more likely to look at NiMH where the drawdown is constant but lower level.

 

Be careful when saying things like "...will charge anything." Lithium-Ion batteries in standard cell sizes are now common and it would take a particularly spectacular charger to charge NiCd, NiMH and Li-Ion (or Lithium polymer) without blinking. Most lithium chemistries are about 3.6V nominal per cell, meaning a 4-cell pack is 14.4V. This, along with a completely different charging strategy, makes Li-Ion chargers extremely different from NiCd and NiMH, which are more smiliar (not that many old NiCd chargers will safely charge NiMH, though). Mischarging Li-Ion can cause the battery to plate out metallic lithium onto the electrodes; metallic lithium is almost explosively flammable, and is the cause of all those volcanic youtube videos.

 

Unfortunately, the capacity can drop off hugely from the point of manufacture even if they're not used - they're useless in a few years. This is the reason behind the "My iPod battery didn't last two years" screeching, but when young lithium ion has by far the most attractive energy/size/weight/discharge rate relationship of any battery technology, at about 150Wh/kilo.

 

Gas, petrol, or whatever else you put in your car has, by way of comparison, an energy density of about 13KWh/kilo, which is why electric cars are tricky.

 

Phil

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