Alternative color chargers or other charge testing methods for the colorblind?

[njgeek]

I've been reading a lot on the dangers of overcharging. Right now I have a bunch of eGo batteries (two 650Mah, two 900Mah) and two chargers that both have the red/green charge status light. The problem is, I can never tell which is which.

Are there any chargers with blue/orange or some other easily distinguishable color? Or is there some other method of testing which isn't color dependent?

 

[mikkey9]

The only way to tell the difference is by the output current, which should be printed on your chargers, it should say something like:- Output: DC 4.2V XXXMah

The x`s will be between about 100 to 500
my charger is rated 150Mah and it came with my 650Mah batts and i know 1300Mah batts charge at 450Mah.
using a low rated charger to charge high rated batts won`t do any damage, (they just take ages to charge)
using a high rated charger on a low rated batt WILL cause damage.
i`m sure somebody on here will post the correct formulae tp work out the highest rate charger you can safely use with each batt

 

[njgeek]

The only way to tell the difference is by the output current, which should be printed on your chargers, it should say something like:- Output: DC 4.2V XXXMah

The x`s will be between about 100 to 500
my charger is rated 150Mah and it came with my 650Mah batts and i know 1300Mah batts charge at 450Mah.
using a low rated charger to charge high rated batts won`t do any damage, (they just take ages to charge)
using a high rated charger on a low rated batt WILL cause damage.
i`m sure somebody on here will post the correct formulae tp work out the highest rate charger you can safely use with each batt

Hmmm...I have a charger that says Input 100-240V 50-60Hz/100Ma, Output 5.0V =/500Ma. One cable is Input DC 5V 500mA Output DC 4.2V 420mA, the other is Input DC 5V Output DC 4.2V =/450mA.

I read that you should use the 450mA for 900mah and higher batteries, the 420mA for 650mah batteries. Are you saying I can use the 420mA charger for both safely, it'll just take longer to charge my 900mah batteries?

 

[mikkey9]

NO NO NO STOP
the other way round
450Mah will destroy your 650 batts
my 650 charger runs at 150Mah and takes about 3hrs, if i use it for my 900`s they take about 4.5 hrs
I don`t know if 450Mah is safe for 900Mah batteries i only know that the 450 charger comes with the 1100 and 1300Mah kits

 

[njgeek]

The 450 charger came with my 900Mah battery (Joyetech battery, Joyetech charger).

I've been using the 420 cable for the 650Mah batteries and the 450 cable for the 900Mah battery.

I really need to figure this stuff out, I have a horrible head for electrical numbers.

 

[mikkey9]

Just been googling and found this:-

http://www.eemb.com/pdf/Li-ion/LIR14500(650mAh).pdf

these are very similar to whats inside the ego body (i think joytech get theirs manufactured a slightly different size so users can`t open and replace them)

 

[mikkey9]

reading through several different websites it would seem that the standard charging currents are half the rate of the battery.

650Mah batt charge rate 325Mah
900Mah batt charge rate 450Mah

and it seems the maximum charge rate is the same as the battery rating.
so charging a 650 batt at 650Mah will take 1 hour, at 325Mah will take 2 hours and so on

 

[njgeek]

I don't really get any of this. I think I'll just get a charging bag and hope for the best.

 

[erinspeed]

The technogeeks hijacked your thread. This is about COLOR OF THE LED's. The colors are indistinguishable from each other. I started a similar thread a while back, and got a couple offers to modify my chargers. While that sounds fine, I'm not comfortable using home-modified charging equipment.

 

[markfm]

I take it the eGo button, right on the PV, doesn't stop flashing when it is done charging? (I was just checking instructions that mention the button flashes while charging -- maybe they're old instructions, or maybe it just keeps flashing...).

 

[njgeek]

I take it the eGo button, right on the PV, doesn't stop flashing when it is done charging? (I was just checking instructions that mention the button flashes while charging -- maybe they're old instructions, or maybe it just keeps flashing...).

The button flashes when it needs charging and stops flashing once you throw it on the charger...at least, that's how mine are.

 

[markfm]

The instructions I found must be old, vendors keep twiddling with things. "The battery also blinks when connected to a charger, indicating the battery is charging." My Rivas had similar functionality -- the PV did something while charging (maybe blink?), something else when done charging.

 

[MickeyRat]

Considering the fact that you've lived with this problem for some time, you probably know whether this would work. But if you were to look at the charger through a red light filter, I think that red would show brighter than green. That might be a way to deal with it. That said, a person with your problem probably knows all about that.

 

[njgeek]

Considering the fact that you've lived with this problem for some time, you probably know whether this would work. But if you were to look at the charger through a red light filter, I think that red would show brighter than green. That might be a way to deal with it. That said, a person with your problem probably knows all about that.

That could work. I had a pair of red tinted sunglasses once that let me distinguish colors with amazing accuracy...maybe 8/10 instead of 3/10. That's not a bad idea, I'll have to try that out.

 

[mikkey9]

OMG sorry,
thread read to me as you couldn`t tell which charger was which and you were worried about plugging in the wrong batteries.
sorry again

 

[njgeek]

OMG sorry,
thread read to me as you couldn`t tell which charger was which and you were worried about plugging in the wrong batteries.
sorry again

It's okay, I got caught up in the stuff you were talking about too, I'd really like to find a cheap low powered charger I can feel safe charging any eGo batteries on (650, 900, etc). Even if it takes forever, at least I don't have to keep worrying about numbers and colors.

 

[Spazmelda]

I read a similar solution to the red filter elsewhere on the Internet. This person suggested taping red cellophane (like a plastic photography filter) over the LED. It would make the green darker and not affect the red as much.

ETA: just did a little test and this might work for you. I took a piece of packing tape and colored it with a red sharpie. Put that over the LED light of a charger. I took pics using the same settings on the camera of the LED with the filter in both red and green, then converted to black and white. I know you don't see in black and white, but I wanted to see what it looked like with no color at all.

E (again) TA: I don't use energizers in my e-cig. That charger was just convenient.