Finally!

[rel322]

So all my gear has finally come in and I can start using my Grand. But I have one question, I checked the volts on the 3 batteries I have (2 from a vendor, and 1 from Keeno). The one from Keeno is holding at 4.18, and the ones from the vendor are holding at about 3.8/3.9. (Measured last night, working off of memory).

So my question is this, should I charge the 2 batteries from the vendors before use?
Also, is there anyone else here who's color blind, if so what do you do to differentiate between the charger's red and green light? (To the non-colorblind people, would removing the battery from the charger every hour or so to check the volts and replace them, if not full, be bad for the battery?)

 

[whatitstrue]

I'm not color blind so I can't help there. But I would start withh the one thats fully charged and charge the other 2. At 3.8 volts my batts ussually take 2-3 hours to fully charge.

Glad your up and running though!!!!!!!!!!

This calls for a banana dance!!!!!!!

 

[Della Cirque]

I would use the one from Keeno and charge the two from vendors.
Not sure how to answer the colorblind question...I would think checking them in an hour would be ok though.

 

[RocketRod]

From what I have seen on chargers the led on the right is usually the green one. Hopefully yours isn't a bi-color LED. Also it would make sense to me that any battery placed into a charger would light the charge LED first no matter if it was fully charged or not. But then again, I don't have your vision problem. I also think that using the other 2 would be OK for a short time before charging. It's also OK to pull them off to check their voltage. You may want to be a little .... in charging batteries anyway. These are just my honest opinions.

 

[nerak]

So all my gear has finally come in and I can start using my Grand. But I have one question, I checked the volts on the 3 batteries I have (2 from a vendor, and 1 from Keeno). The one from Keeno is holding at 4.18, and the ones from the vendor are holding at about 3.8/3.9. (Measured last night, working off of memory).

So my question is this, should I charge the 2 batteries from the vendors before use?
Also, is there anyone else here who's color blind, if so what do you do to differentiate between the charger's red and green light? (To the non-colorblind people, would removing the battery from the charger every hour or so to check the volts and replace them, if not full, be bad for the battery?)

I agree that you should pop the one battery that is fully charged in your REO! The others should be charged.

Before you use the one battery that meters at 4.18 pop it into the charger. Notice which light is lit. It should be the one that is green. You can then know which side lights up when a battery is charged.

The AW IMR batteries do not have a memory. So placing them into the charger multiple times will not harm them or shorten their life.

On the other hand, The AW IMR's life will be extended if you do not discharge them to below 3.5. So always throw them on the charger when they get a little low.

 

[rel322]

Alright, thank you all for the excellent advice. But I think I may have an issue. The charger that I bought is... You'll notice above each battery slot is a single led and between them is an led with USB underneath it. My charger didn't come with any instructions so I assume I can this charger via USB but I don't have one. Also, I have yet to throw my batteries on it (looking for an open outlet). Does anyone have this model or advice to decipher the lights?

 

[nerak]

Alright, thank you all for the excellent advice. But I think I may have an issue. The charger that I bought is... View attachment 83674 You'll notice above each battery slot is a single led and between them is an led with USB underneath it. My charger didn't come with any instructions so I assume I can this charger via USB but I don't have one. Also, I have yet to throw my batteries on it (looking for an open outlet). Does anyone have this model or advice to decipher the lights?

I found this site: XTAR 4.2V lithium battery charger WP2 II - Detailed info for XTAR 4.2V lithium battery charger WP2 II,lithium charger,XTAR 4.2V lithium battery charger WP2 II,WP2 II on Alibaba.com

Looking at their pics you see that the one light above the charging bay is what turns to tell you when the battery is charged. So the color is a problem in your case. I didn't find a manual there, still looking.

 

[RocketRod]

Because they are a single LED my assumption is they are bi-colored. Do a Google search for the model and I'll bet you get more info than be provided from a dummy like me. Middle LED looks to be a power on type LED. The USB may only work on one battery bay. Bet the LED's blink when charging and go to solid when done.

 

[nerak]

On this site you can download a product brochure. http://www.xtarlight.com/en/05-chanpin/p-001-1.asp?styleid=145
Do not know if it is a user manual. But this is the manufacture site.

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

Also, if you're colorblind, try using a kitchen timer or your alarm clock. Set it for 2 hours. That should take care of your charge. If it doesn't charge it fully, then you just need to increase your time. I know its not perfect, and it will take a little trial and error to fine tune your charging process...but at least that way, you don't have to depend on colored lights.

Keep us posted!

 

[hildicat]

I am also red/green color blind and have a similar issue with one of my chargers. What i have noticed is that when the batts are charging the LED (assuming its red at this point) actually pulses about every second or so. When they're charged (assuming green) the LED remains constant, no pulsing. That is the only way I can tell if they're charged, but it works for me. Sorry, I am not at home and cannot tell you which model charger I have, but maybe yours works the same way. You could always pop on one of your discharged batteries and see if you notice any difference at all with the lights. I would suggest getting a Pila charger. It costs a bit more but it has separate definitive lights to show charging vs. charged.

 

[rel322]

Alright, an Update:
So I plugged the charger into my car to charge the two batteries (each at about 3.93) and at the end of my errands (about 30-45 min) they were fully charged to 4.22 (is this considered overcharged?).

Also, Holy Crap! Blind squonking should never be learned for the first time while driving, but all I can say is wow!!!! (I mean it Rob, wow) The Reo is an amazing PV. Just one question, I noticed that where the atty screws into seems to leak? (kinda fills with a little juice) is this normal? or have I just flooded my atty?

 

[Mudflap]

4.22 volts is typical from some of the less expensive chargers. It's not overcharged, but from some of my reading on batteries, it may reduce the number of useful recharge cycles over the lifetime of the battery. Nothing dramatic, from what I've gathered.

 

[Della Cirque]

Alright, an Update:
So I plugged the charger into my car to charge the two batteries (each at about 3.93) and at the end of my errands (about 30-45 min) they were fully charged to 4.22 (is this considered overcharged?).

Also, Holy Crap! Blind squonking should never be learned for the first time while driving, but all I can say is wow!!!! (I mean it Rob, wow) The Reo is an amazing PV. Just one question, I noticed that where the atty screws into seems to leak? (kinda fills with a little juice) is this normal? or have I just flooded my atty?

Yay! You are a REOnaut now! Congratulations!
A little juice in the juice cup is fine (where the atty screws in). As you become a squonk master you will see it less and less.

 

[Oceaneco]

I have that exact charger, and when I put a low battery on the charger, the red is a brighter tone than the green light. I don't know if you can tell the difference if you only use one station on the charger? The red led really shows a glow on the charger, where the green is a much dimmer led. I don't know if that helps any.