Filed under: FAQ by Jeff Servaas |
Is there such thing as a low self discharge 9V battery?
Well, no, not really. And due to the internal structure of a 9V battery, there is not likely to be one released using the technology used inside the IMEDION and eneloop AA batteries.
But does it matter?
According to some people, the Maha 9.6V batteries are of a high enough quality, that they are in effect a low self discharge battery. Here’s a comment from a Maha 9.6V battery user in relation to using Maha 9V rechargeable batteries in smoke detectors:
“…I consider a smoke detector application to be low power such that
the self discharge characteristic of the battery will be the primary
driver as to length of use before recharging/replacement. With the maha
9.6v batteries in a various detectors, the run time is somewhere
between 6 and 12 months before the “replace battery” beeper kicks in -
all depending on the specific detector. The combo ionization/smoke
detectors or CO2 detectors draw more current than just ionization
detectors. Will those 9.6v batteries still supply sufficient current to
signal a _loud_ warning buzzer or beeping close to the end of their
useful charge? There was a CPF thread a while back that discussed that
aspect at some length. I tested a few of these specific Maha 9.6v
batteries under something I thought was close to end of charge - I had
to plug my ears to let the detectors sound off long enough to be
believable. No problem….
…While a 9V battery with the label of “low discharge” does not appear to
be available, in my experience the Maha 9.6v battery possesses
sufficiently adequate electrical/chemical characteristics to come close
enough to a “low self-discharge” battery for my usage.
BTW, you really need to purchase the Maha MH-C490F charger that charges
four 9.6v or 9V cells intelligently in a few hours, not all night as is
usual with 9V charging stations. and then leave the cells on trickle
charge after charge termination for longer than an hour. I credit that
charger for saving 4 existing older 9v batteries from the recycling
bin. It took a few charging cycles but the old 9V batteries were
sufficiently rejuvenated to become useful again.” bcwang
RSS feed for comments on this post.
| TrackBack URI
You can also bookmark
this on del.icio.us or check the cosmos
|