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Choosing the Best Gas Detector - Battery Types
Deciding Between Battery Types
- Alkaline batteries or battery packs:
- Daily replacement of disposable batteries very expensive
- Environmentally unfriendly
- Convenient: Having ability to use "in a pinch" is strong design advantage
- Rechargeable batteries or battery packs:
- Most cost effective approach
- Operation time per charge can be issue
- Recharging can be logistically complicated
- Time to recharge battery pack can be issue (especially if instrument used for long-duration or multiple shift jobs)
- Optimal approach: Interchangeable alkaline or rechargeable battery packs
Disposable (Alkaline) Batteries
- Advantages
- Excellent capacity per volume
- Good cold temp performance
- Easy access
- No charging downtime
- Disadvantages
- Cost
- Environmentally unfriendly
Temperature performance of typical alkaline battery
Example used is Energizer brandalkaline battery
Rechargeable Battery Types
- Rechargeable Batteries
- Lead-acid batteries
- Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries
- Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)
- Lithium-ion
- Lithium-polymer
Rechargeable Battery Characteristics
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) rechargeable batteries
- Advantages:
- Better TC rating than Liion
- Electrolyte is not flammable!
- Excellent energy density
- Good cold temp performance
- Excellent cycle life
- Low loss of capacity as function of overcharging
- Environmentally friendly
Temperature performance of typical NiMH rechargeable battery
Example used is Energizer brand NiMH battery
NiMH Battery Performance
- NiMH batteries generally retain better than 80% of their original capacity even after 500 charging cycles
"Smart" Battery Chargers
- Some rechargeable batteries (especially NiCd) can be damaged or lose capacity by overcharging
- Many users refer to this loss of capacity as "developing a memory"
- Allowing battery to completely discharge can also cause irreversible harm
- "Memory" effect really due to heating of the battery cells during prolonged overcharging
- Damaged battery pack may only provide a few minutes of power instead of normal hours of continuous operation
- "Smart" battery chargers minimize this type of damage
- Initial phase of charging cycle "fast"
- When charging complete convert to "trickle" charging mode
