Team Tekin Battery Nurse - Whats your thoughts?
05-09-2007, 02:43 AM
#16
Originally Posted by DA_cookie_monst
If you get a battery and show it 1.2V, the battery will come up to 1.2V without actualy being charged.
05-09-2007, 07:26 AM
#18
using the term balance implies a charge and a load
05-09-2007, 07:37 AM
#20
I (heart) Lipo!
05-09-2007, 07:54 AM
#21
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (10)
While racing still requires use of Sub "C" NiMh batteries and all the current cells Need to have some charge in them all the time. I give full credit to Tekin for noticing this problem and taking the initiative to bring a product into the market that solves this problem.
I agree that if you must bring the battery voltage from 1.0 volts to 1.2 volts that you must pass some charge current into the cell albeit a very small amount, if you never bring that cell above 1.2 volts you can also never charge that cell. The amount of "slow charging" that is involved will in no way effect the high performance capability of the cell. In fact by insuring that the cell never gets to discharge completely will keep the cells fairly equalized and operating like new for longer. For all us racers that is a good thing!
Thanks.
I agree that if you must bring the battery voltage from 1.0 volts to 1.2 volts that you must pass some charge current into the cell albeit a very small amount, if you never bring that cell above 1.2 volts you can also never charge that cell. The amount of "slow charging" that is involved will in no way effect the high performance capability of the cell. In fact by insuring that the cell never gets to discharge completely will keep the cells fairly equalized and operating like new for longer. For all us racers that is a good thing!
Thanks.
05-09-2007, 10:26 AM
#23
Calm down guys. 
I'm sure that there is some sort of current being given to the cells. It's more then likely mili amps...how much current could a 9v battery deliver on it's won to 6 packs?! Seriously. This simply "holds" the batteries state of voltage at your preset value. It won't charge them no matter how long their on the Nurse. Imagine it like the float system in your toilet...water evaporates, the float will drop and more water. Simple.
The system is designed to be operated on a 110v while at home and during transportation the 9v takes over. Simple, effective, and lightweight.
Tekin is attacking the self discharging characteristics of all the current cells. This has seemed to be a problem since the Gp3700's and new IB's came out. I'm not a battery guy but I'd wonder if it has to do with the super low IR's and the higher voltages....
I'm sure that there is some sort of current being given to the cells. It's more then likely mili amps...how much current could a 9v battery deliver on it's won to 6 packs?! Seriously. This simply "holds" the batteries state of voltage at your preset value. It won't charge them no matter how long their on the Nurse. Imagine it like the float system in your toilet...water evaporates, the float will drop and more water. Simple.
The system is designed to be operated on a 110v while at home and during transportation the 9v takes over. Simple, effective, and lightweight.
Tekin is attacking the self discharging characteristics of all the current cells. This has seemed to be a problem since the Gp3700's and new IB's came out. I'm not a battery guy but I'd wonder if it has to do with the super low IR's and the higher voltages....
05-09-2007, 10:51 AM
#25
The mains power is supplied by just a regular mains adaptor, I'm sure your local distributor will include something suitable. If not it is just a case of going down to the local electronics shop to get a suitable replacement.
05-09-2007, 10:54 AM
#26
This is not a trickle charge. This is a intelligent charge as needed to compensate for self discharge.
If a battery needs a constant charge to maintain the resting voltage it is already damaged. At that point if you do not keep it charged it will snowball to worthless quickly. You have a choice to keep it charged or have a nice paperweight.
Working on a operation and theory write up for you to discuss and tear apart.
Tekin Prez
If a battery needs a constant charge to maintain the resting voltage it is already damaged. At that point if you do not keep it charged it will snowball to worthless quickly. You have a choice to keep it charged or have a nice paperweight.
Working on a operation and theory write up for you to discuss and tear apart.
Tekin Prez
Last edited by Tekin Prez; 05-10-2007 at 08:42 AM.
05-09-2007, 11:47 AM
#27
I would like to thank everyone for their comments and opinions on this product. I doesn't sound like there is much in the way of personal experience using this unit, because of how new it is. I do not believe this is just a simple trickle charger, but just what it is advertised to be, a device that can keep cells held at a pre-set voltage (for 6 cell packs 7.8 or 8.0 volts) by applying a small charge when necessary. If it can run off a 9 volt battery for 6 to 8 hours how much can it be charging six - 6 cell packs? I think this technology makes good sense for sub "c" cells. I for one will go months between racing and normally that means I am either being a maintenance slave to my cells, or I just let them go, write them off and buy new ones when I start racing again. This unit sounds like it could easily pay for itself in one season of racing.
My only other consideration is:
1. How long will we continue to use this latest type of sub "c" cells (EP, IB) until a new type of sub "c" cell comes out and we do not have to work so hard to maintain our batteries.
2. How long until we all go to Lipo's and stop using sub "c" cells all together?
Last thought, I did read about the product at the Tekin website, but the deatils on how the product works is lacking, I hope Tekin can get more details out about this product.
My only other consideration is:
1. How long will we continue to use this latest type of sub "c" cells (EP, IB) until a new type of sub "c" cell comes out and we do not have to work so hard to maintain our batteries.
2. How long until we all go to Lipo's and stop using sub "c" cells all together?
Last thought, I did read about the product at the Tekin website, but the deatils on how the product works is lacking, I hope Tekin can get more details out about this product.
05-09-2007, 02:51 PM
#29
The Battery Nurse has magic fingers. Sometimes the simple things can be the best.
The problem... As the batteries begin to self discharge it allows internal shorts to form, which causes more discharge, which causes more shorts…. Snowball effect until the battery is literally 0V and will not accept a charge.
Taking advantage of the fact that the natural resting voltage of a battery is around 7.8v the Nurse is able to maintain the voltage without increasing the charge in the cells or allowing them to discharge. When the battery voltages are above the setpoint she does nothing except check on them and provide a little activity. As they approach the setpoint an intelligent pulse charge is applied as needed. If the battery needs a constant charge to maintain the voltage the cells are already self discharging at a faster than normal rate.
We are not ready to say it makes bad batteries better, but we are seeing some signs of recovery in weaker packs. Also as Randy noted they seem to be ready to go the first charge and do not need a wake up cycle. The plan is to keep good batteries good or at least hang on for longer. At the very least it is nice to be able to store batteries for weeks or months without them turning into paper weights.
Before anyone accuses the Nurse of having any negative effects let’s remember why this product is even needed. Amazing performance typically comes at a trade off and in this case it has shown to be life span. Inactive storage and the snowball effects of selfdischarge accelerate the early deaths. Much of the damage may occur before the batteries reach the consumer due to inactive storage and matching. This is life support not reconstructive surgery.
She will help indentify packs with weak cells. IE you put 6 packs on with 40% charge in them and after 1 day 5 packs are still holding and 1 is needing a constant charge to keep it at voltage... then that pack has a suspect cell at least.
Time will tell which magic works best with which batteries and if weak cells can be repaired The science tells us that over time the internal shorts should be reduced. If no new shorts are allowed to form, the net result should be good.
Here are a few intended methods of use. We will use a 6cell pack as an example. There are settings for 5 cell and 4 cell also.
1 You can discharge and balance the batteries and store them using the 7.8v setting. This stores the batteries empty and performs a natural balance. I consider this a better balance technique than discharge. With a small intelligent charge the cell voltage will not rise on the good cells to make up for any drop on bad cells. The weak cells are forced to a natural resting voltage and all cells are balanced at the same voltage.
2 For long term storage we recommend a 10 amps discharge to 6v, balance tray, charge the batteries 20% to 50% and store them using the 8.0v setting initially and 7.8v setting long term. The 8v setting helps you read between the lines on pack quality, and some of the cells seem to naturally sit closer to 8v with a charge. A little flexibility.
3 You can put your batteries on the nurse right after use.
We included alligator clips, but expect many to solder the batteries, I do. You can also put a connector on them.
When removing from the Battery Nurse we recommend a discharge, balance and charge as usual. Charging right off the nurse for the first run of the day seems to work pretty good as well.
We are still testing if storing charged or empty provides better results. It is a dark art subject to the condition of the batteries when we start. We are looking forward to the feedback from our fellow racers and customers. Our results have been very good or we would not be selling it.
She is cute and she is smart…. Sounds like another girl I know!
Tekin Prez
The problem... As the batteries begin to self discharge it allows internal shorts to form, which causes more discharge, which causes more shorts…. Snowball effect until the battery is literally 0V and will not accept a charge.
Taking advantage of the fact that the natural resting voltage of a battery is around 7.8v the Nurse is able to maintain the voltage without increasing the charge in the cells or allowing them to discharge. When the battery voltages are above the setpoint she does nothing except check on them and provide a little activity. As they approach the setpoint an intelligent pulse charge is applied as needed. If the battery needs a constant charge to maintain the voltage the cells are already self discharging at a faster than normal rate.
We are not ready to say it makes bad batteries better, but we are seeing some signs of recovery in weaker packs. Also as Randy noted they seem to be ready to go the first charge and do not need a wake up cycle. The plan is to keep good batteries good or at least hang on for longer. At the very least it is nice to be able to store batteries for weeks or months without them turning into paper weights.
Before anyone accuses the Nurse of having any negative effects let’s remember why this product is even needed. Amazing performance typically comes at a trade off and in this case it has shown to be life span. Inactive storage and the snowball effects of selfdischarge accelerate the early deaths. Much of the damage may occur before the batteries reach the consumer due to inactive storage and matching. This is life support not reconstructive surgery.
She will help indentify packs with weak cells. IE you put 6 packs on with 40% charge in them and after 1 day 5 packs are still holding and 1 is needing a constant charge to keep it at voltage... then that pack has a suspect cell at least.
Time will tell which magic works best with which batteries and if weak cells can be repaired The science tells us that over time the internal shorts should be reduced. If no new shorts are allowed to form, the net result should be good.
Here are a few intended methods of use. We will use a 6cell pack as an example. There are settings for 5 cell and 4 cell also.
1 You can discharge and balance the batteries and store them using the 7.8v setting. This stores the batteries empty and performs a natural balance. I consider this a better balance technique than discharge. With a small intelligent charge the cell voltage will not rise on the good cells to make up for any drop on bad cells. The weak cells are forced to a natural resting voltage and all cells are balanced at the same voltage.
2 For long term storage we recommend a 10 amps discharge to 6v, balance tray, charge the batteries 20% to 50% and store them using the 8.0v setting initially and 7.8v setting long term. The 8v setting helps you read between the lines on pack quality, and some of the cells seem to naturally sit closer to 8v with a charge. A little flexibility.
3 You can put your batteries on the nurse right after use.
We included alligator clips, but expect many to solder the batteries, I do. You can also put a connector on them.
When removing from the Battery Nurse we recommend a discharge, balance and charge as usual. Charging right off the nurse for the first run of the day seems to work pretty good as well.
We are still testing if storing charged or empty provides better results. It is a dark art subject to the condition of the batteries when we start. We are looking forward to the feedback from our fellow racers and customers. Our results have been very good or we would not be selling it.
She is cute and she is smart…. Sounds like another girl I know!
Tekin Prez
Last edited by Tekin Prez; 05-09-2007 at 04:50 PM.
05-09-2007, 08:54 PM
#30
She is cute and she is smart…. Sounds like another girl I know!
