Charging Old Battery Pack - help needed!

[markg]

<font color='#000F22'>try this link we use them at work and they are pretty good &nbsp; &nbsp;rs components

[daz]

Cheers for doing the legwork for me Mark.

Paul,

This looks like exactly what you want Gel type 996 Not cheap unfortunately.

Daz

[arty93]

<font color='#000080'>Bloody Hell thirty quid each!

Thanks for all your help, i'll have to decide if its worth buying them now

cheers


paul

[Adrian Kelland]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (arty93 @ Dec. 01 2003,20:16)]Markings on the side of the battery read 'PHOENIX FNC 650 (6V 5A.H)'

Paul

I have the 600R, and my battery recently died. Mine is sealed lead acid, 6V 5AH. part no 0309-S which appears to be available from Sealamp. I've just ordered one at £33.75 inc postage.

I originally had the 996 gel cell version. Sealamp advertise the leadacid as a replacement. This will be my second one, the first lasted about 8 years. You may need the charger adapter.

HTH

Adrian

[daz]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (arty93 @ Dec. 01 2003,21:31)]Okay Daz final questions i promise then you can go back to posting about diving

When buying replacements is the 6V bit important or it what type of battery SLA, NiCad NiMh etc etc

Thanks again for your help



Paul

Hi Paul,

Sorry missed this post of yours in the frantic posting that was going on.

The 6v is important or thereabouts.... &nbsp;i.e. &nbsp;I would hazard a guess that 1v either way is not a huge problem. &nbsp;Undervolted will just be a bit dimmer. &nbsp;Overvolting will shorten the life of the bulb and increase the risk of it blowing when turned on.

Battery technology is not critical as such. &nbsp;NiCad are ok but do suffer memory effects when being charged and discharged regularly. &nbsp;I think they work best when discharged fully and recharged.

NIMH is fantastic, but expensive!!

SLA would seem to be a reasonable way to go, although be aware there is traditional SLA (Cheap and heavy)
There is also Gel SLA which sounds like the one you have got, &nbsp;basically they are IIRC maintenance free, reduced risk of explosion and are not filled with liquid acid sloshing around all over.

Each type may require a different type of charger BTW.

Do you know what the rating on the bulb is? &nbsp;It should be marked on the metal base part of the bulb, voltage and wattage is useful. &nbsp;I just wonder whether the batteries are in series or parallel. &nbsp;ie. &nbsp;Is it 6v at 10ah or 12v at 5ah.?

In theory it might be possible to put together an alternate battery pack based on the correct voltage. &nbsp;The amp hour rating can be adjusted to your requirements based on usage.

For instance if the burn time of the torch with 2x5ah batteries is 3 hours and you are happy for it to be 1.5 hours before a recharge, then 2x2.5ah batteries or 1x5ah battery would suffice. &nbsp;The voltage is the important bit.

Daz

BTW, &nbsp;You would probably find the non rechargable lantern batteries would work at about £3 each.... &nbsp;Rechargable is a more cost effective solution.

[gblades2]

If you are using a similar voltage and capacity of battery then your existing charger should be fine. As it is a slow charger (takes approx 15 hours) it charges at a slow rate which batteries are designed to be able to be charged at indefinetly.

It is the fast chargers (&lt;6 hours in particular) which need to be designed for each battery type. These chargers have to recognise when a battery has become charged and switch to a trickly charge. If you use a type of battery for which they are not designed it may thing the battery is charged before it is resulting in an undercharged battery or worst case it will continue to charge the battery after it has become full which can damage the battery and seriously shorted its lifespan.

[arty93]

<font color='#000080'>Thanks for all you input guys,
I guess i need to decide if the torch is good enough to spend sixty odd quid on replacement batteries for,
or should i just buy a new torch, could i get a decent torch for sixty quid?


Paul

[gblades2]

The UK D4R is £80 at go-dive. Is 18W bright enough for you?

[arty93]

<font color='#000080'>Looking at what i can get for just af few quid more i'm very reluctant to buy some

new batteries for the old torch.

Anyone want buy a UK1200R???


Paul