Cateye SLA batteries

I've just purchased a set of these lights which received good reviews in the
press.
However, they've come in for some criticsism from every day users, the main
complaint being battery life, both run-time and cycle life, and Cateye
themselves state that the battery must not be left on charge for 10 hours.
One buyer stated that he bought another charger and has no problems.

After checking Maplins, RS and Farnell they each offer a couple of types of
charger with Maplins being best VFM when VAT is considered.

So, my question is which type should I buy from Maplins?
A basic constant voltage charger that according to the blurb reduces current
output when the battery is fully charged or a "3 step charger" which
according to the blurb initially charges at a higher voltage that is then
reduced when the battery is 98% charged?
According to Maplins catalogue the former is better for standby and low
cyclic usage and the latter better for high cyclic use with deep
discharging, typical bike lamp by the sound of it. Some of the chargers are
claimed to be able to recover deeply discharged batteries.
So bearing in mind the basic constant voltage type costs £10 and the more
sophisticated ones £22 what should I go for? And can these chargers be left
on for 10 hours (I'm assuming for standby batteries this would be the
norm)?

TIA,
Pete

"Peter B" wrote

I've just purchased a set of these lights which received good reviews in
the
press.
However, they've come in for some criticsism from every day users, the
main
complaint being battery life, both run-time and cycle life, and Cateye
themselves state that the battery must not be left on charge for 10
hours.
One buyer stated that he bought another charger and has no problems.

Thanks for that...you've just reminded me to switch my own charger off. I
usually set my watch alarm to tell me to turn it off these days but
mistakenly set it for am instead of pm (idiot). I've overcharged my battery
(Sigma Sport 6V SLA not Cateye) several times since getting the lights a
year ago. Run times don't seem to have suffered greatly if at all as a
result. It also held charge through about 3 months of non use this summer.
So all in all I'm quite happy with it.

Peter B wrote:
I've just purchased a set of these lights which received good reviews
in the press.
However, they've come in for some criticsism from every day users,
the main complaint being battery life, both run-time and cycle life,
and Cateye themselves state that the battery must not be left on
charge for 10 hours. One buyer stated that he bought another charger
and has no problems.

After checking Maplins, RS and Farnell they each offer a couple of
types of charger with Maplins being best VFM when VAT is considered.

So, my question is which type should I buy from Maplins?
A basic constant voltage charger that according to the blurb reduces
current output when the battery is fully charged or a "3 step
charger" which according to the blurb initially charges at a higher
voltage that is then reduced when the battery is 98% charged?
According to Maplins catalogue the former is better for standby and
low cyclic usage and the latter better for high cyclic use with deep
discharging, typical bike lamp by the sound of it. Some of the
chargers are claimed to be able to recover deeply discharged
batteries.
So bearing in mind the basic constant voltage type costs £10 and the
more sophisticated ones £22 what should I go for? And can these
chargers be left on for 10 hours (I'm assuming for standby batteries
this would be the norm)?

TIA,
Pete

Just make sure you get a *smart* charger that is built for SLA batteries. A
lot of chargers are built for NiMh and Li-Ion batteries and they will not
work with your setup.
What kind of smart charger you get for a SLA setup probably doesn't matter
as long as it doesn't cook your battery and it will give you a trickle
charge once it has detected a full battery. If you fry your SLA battery out
by forgetting the timer or something doesn't really matter so much as it is
a cheap battery. It will maybe last for 100 cycles instead of 500. Big deal.
What you are interested in is that it lasts until you get home and can put
it in the charger again. I had a constant voltage charger that was set at
6.75 V no more no less. It would not cook my battery and it would not
quickcharge them. I had enough juice in my Sigma Mirage setup to get to work
next morning and back home. I could also leave it in the charger all summer
if I happened to forget it.

Recently upgraded to NiMH cells and an expensive charger ( $82 ) since I
have started riding a lot more offroad and need like three hours of strong
light. NiMh cells are a lot more sensitive to overcharging than SLA is. I
overvolted the Sigma Mirage setup to 7.2V which gives a very strong light.
My NiMh pack is 8 Ah and will last me maybe three times as long as the
original SLA setup.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 16:42:18 +0000 (UTC) someone who may be "Peter
B" wrote this:-

So, my question is which type should I buy from Maplins?

One designed for SLA batteries. That may sound obvious and
patronising, but they do behave differently to other sorts of
battery.

According to Maplins catalogue the former is better for standby and low
cyclic usage and the latter better for high cyclic use with deep
discharging, typical bike lamp by the sound of it.

Correct, if the running time gets near the maximum. If your typical
journey does not get near the maximum running time, or you do not
use the light(s) all the time then the former may be enough.

And can these chargers be left
on for 10 hours

Assuming they trickle charge as the battery is near capacity then it
is best to leave the battery charging unless it is in use.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.

Peter B wrote:
I've just purchased a set of these lights which received good reviews in
the press. However, they've come in for some criticsism from every day
users, the main complaint being battery life, both run-time and cycle
life, and Cateye themselves state that the battery must not be left on
charge for
10 hours. One buyer stated that he bought another charger and has no
problems.
After checking Maplins, RS and Farnell they each offer a couple of types
of charger with Maplins being best VFM when VAT is considered.
So, my question is which type should I buy from Maplins? A basic
constant voltage charger that according to the blurb reduces current
output when the battery is fully charged or a "3 step charger" which
according to the blurb initially charges at a higher voltage that is
then reduced when the battery is 98% charged? According to Maplins
catalogue the former is better for standby and low cyclic usage and the
latter better for high cyclic use with deep discharging, typical bike
lamp by the sound of it. Some of the chargers are claimed to be able to
recover deeply discharged batteries. So bearing in mind the basic
constant voltage type costs £10 and the more sophisticated ones £22
what should I go for? And can these chargers be left on for 10 hours
(I'm assuming for standby batteries this would be the norm)?
TIA, Pete


If I am not too late try mx2.com for batteries and chargers excellent
value also do cheap printer ink



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