Dan-Mar Company Inc.

Danmarco®

10319 Wikel Road  Huron, Ohio 44839

Phone 419-433-4479  Fax 419-433-5726

E-mail Sales@danmarco.com


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Six Station 9 Volt NiMh and NiCd Battery Fast Charger-Tester
Pictured: Six Station Battery Charger-Tester with switching power supply (left), and with six NiMh 8.4 volt batteries inserted in battery clips ready for charging or capacity test (right).

 

DESCRIPTION

Dan-Mar Company manufactures a six station Fast Charger and Tester for popular Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMh) and Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) rechargeable "9 Volt" batteries. In addition to charging batteries, the unit also provides a Capacity Test based on the milliamp-hour (mAh) rating of the battery.

Fast charge time is typically less than 2 hours. The Charger-Tester switches to a trickle charge after fast charge, then turns off after a total charge time of 10 hours. Batteries cannot be overcharged.

The capacity test (discharge) requires 2.5 hours, and is timed automatically. During this time, each battery is placed under load and its voltage is monitored. If the voltage falls below a preset level, the Discharge LED changes from Steady On to Flashing. At the end of the test, any Discharge LED that is flashing remains flashing until the battery is removed.

These "9 Volt" rechargeable batteries are currently available in six cell (7.2 Volt) and 7 cell (8.4 Volt) configurations, and in 120 mAh and 150 mAh capacities. The Charger-Tester is customized for the specific batteries to be used.

Each battery station has three LED's to indicate the status - Fast Charge, Charge (trickle) and Discharge. In addition, one LED indicates if the charger is Ready or Finished.

The Battery Charger-Tester is microprocessor controlled. The microprocessor provides the ability to customize many functions including setting the discharge cutoff voltage, the total charge time and the discharge time to meet different battery specifications and customer requirements.

Dan-Mar can design and manufacture a charger specifically to fit your application. Please allow us to quote your requirements.

FEATURES

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Six NiMh or NiCd batteries can be fast-charged or tested at one time.

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Constant charging current.

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Fast-charge is terminated by detecting battery zero voltage slope (dv/dt =0) that occurs when battery is near full charge.

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Batteries cannot be overcharged.

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Battery chemistry may be mixed. (However the number of cells in each battery, i.e. 6 or 7, must match the charger specification.)

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Microprocessor controlled.

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Optional universal switching power supply accepts 100 - 240 volt 50 - 60 Hertz input voltage.

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Custom programmed to meet battery and customer's requirements.

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Custom designs available to meet your exact requirements.

ABOUT RECHARGEABLE 9V BATTERIES

Rechargeable NiMh or NiCd 9 volt batteries have only about 1/4 the capacity of alkaline 9 volt batteries (150 MAH vs 620 MAH). Thus their operating time before recharging is required is reduced accordingly.

Rechargeable batteries self-discharge over several weeks and months, thus their shelf life in the fully charged state is relatively short. As a comparison, alkaline batteries have a 2 to 3 year shelf life, retaining greater than 95% capacity after 3 years when stored at room temperature.

The voltage of a rechargeable battery during discharge is relatively steady compared to an alkaline battery. However, the voltage of a rechargeable battery drops rapidly as the battery approaches full discharge, and the device may stop working without much warning.

The best application for a rechargeable 9V battery is for a device that is always used a known length of time (within the capacity of the battery, of course), then recharged before the next use. For example, wireless microphones in theatre productions or churches. Also, since the capacity of the battery is reduced with use and age, it is necessary to periodically test the batteries to ensure that the device will continue to operate for the necessary time. This is the major feature of the CHARGER-TESTER. The capacity of each battery is tested using the Capacity test feature of the charger every 2 or 3 months, or sooner, if there is an indication that one or more batteries may have a problem. Thus, a battery is not likely to fail during "normal" use. Certainly a rigorous maintenance program is required when using rechargeable 9V batteries.

A substantial cost savings is realized for those applications that use many batteries during a year. For example, churches and theaters that use multiple wireless microphones used every Sunday or weekend realize a payback in less than a year, and sometimes in 6 months or less. For these applications, the system is ideal.

OPERATION MANUAL

For your convenience, the OPERATION MANUAL for the Six Station 9 Volt NiMh and NiCd Battery Fast Charger-Tester is available on-line. This manual is in Adobe® Acrobat®  Reader PDF format (Acrobat Reader required for viewing) and may be downloaded and printed for your own use. To download the manual, just click on the following link.

Manual     for the Six Station 9 Volt NiMh and NiCd Battery Fast Charger-Tester

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