Rechargeable battery life related question

>I have been using rechargeable Energizer 2300 mAh AA batteries for the
> past 2 years.
>
> Now, the batteries don't last much longer in my Canon S1 IS camera.
> Some times, I get low battery blinker soon after 10 pictures or so. I
> don't use the LCD much.
>
> Is it normal for these kinds of batteries after 2 years of normal use?

It depends on how you used them. If you really babied them, it would be
unusual. If you were particularly hard on them, they could have reached
this state earlier.

steve
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question 

"Steve Wolfe" <anx RemoveThis @codon.com> writes:
> > Is it normal for these kinds of batteries after 2 years of normal use?
>
> It depends on how you used them. If you really babied them, it would be
> unusual. If you were particularly hard on them, they could have reached
> this state earlier.

I don't think the usage matters much in this instance. Sanyo (the
OEM) apparently made several batches of bad batteries at around that
time. They have been pretty good about replacing them. I have a
bunch of bad ones myself, none of which have been recharged more than
10x or so. For the ones sold under the Energizer label I'd suggest
returning them to Energizer.
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question 

> Canon S1 IS has an excellent video capability and I have used that
> function extensively. Does that constitute being "hard on them?"
>
> Other than that I don't think I have either been hard on them or
> treated them like babies. I have just used them normally: charge one
> set while using another set and cycle likewise.

NiMH batteries are good for about 500-1000 charges, so start by estimating
how many times you've cycled them. Since you've only had them about 700
days, I would be surprised if you were anywhere near that point.

Second, ask yourself how deeply you discharge them. After being discharged
to a certain point, further discharge will damage them. Third, ask yourself
how you charge them. Overcharging will damage them, and charging them too
quickly will significantly reduce their lifespan as well.

If none of those things sound like how you've treated your batteries, then
like I said, it's unusual for them to be at that point already. (Others
pointed out that your manufacturer had some bad batches, do keep that in
mind.) If, on the other hand, those all describe how you treat your
batteries, you're lucky that they've lasted this long.

Also, when the camera shows that the batteries are empty, or nearly so, take
a voltmeter and measure the individual cells. There have been a couple of
times when I've had one cell out of a pack fail (usually after 3-4 years of
use), and while the pack still works, it will act sort of like what you
describe.

steve
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question 

On 16 Dec 2006 20:26:19 -0800, skarkada DeleteThis @gmail.com wrote:

>> It depends on how you used them. If you really babied them, it would be
>> unusual. If you were particularly hard on them, they could have reached
>> this state earlier.
>>
>> steve
>
> Canon S1 IS has an excellent video capability and I have used that
> function extensively. Does that constitute being "hard on them?"
>
> Other than that I don't think I have either been hard on them or
> treated them like babies. I have just used them normally: charge one
> set while using another set and cycle likewise.

No, actually using NiMH batteries has nothing to do with being
"hard on them", and for what it's worth, the greatest strain put on
the batteries is probably taking flash pictures, not videos.

What's hard on the batteries is failing to recharge them before at
least one cell gets so low that it approaches 0 volts or even
reverse charges. Virtually all digital cameras will power off well
before this occurs. The problem arises when the batteries are left
in the camera too long, and the very slow but steady drain causes
the batteries to *all* go dead, even though the camera is powered
off. If you could measure the battery voltage in an S1 IS at
exactly the point where the camera powers off due to low voltage, it
would probably be very slightly above 4.0 volts, maybe 4.1v. or
4.2v. Leave the batteries in some cameras for another month or so
and at least one of the NiMH cells will drop to nearly 0 volts. It
might appear to be ok if you put it back in the charger, but it will
have lost some of its capacity. Do this repeatedly and the NiMH
cell will lose not a little, but most of its original capacity.

In other words, be tough on the batteries. Use them so frequently
that they need to be recharged often and they'll last a long time.
You abuse them by *not* using them, and most people don't understand
this since it most other products last longer when babied. Not
rechargeable batteries, though . . . This is one reason why for
some cameras that get *really* good mileage from their batteries,
such as Canon's A6x0 series, if the cameras aren't used to take
great numbers of pictures, it can be a better to use alkalines than
NiMH batteries.
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question 

I agree with ASAAR and Steve.

I will like to add this:

You must NOT wait till one pair is exhausted. You must charge it as soon as
possible, even if more than 50% of charge remains in the batteries. There is
no memory effect in the ????. Instead if you drain one of the 2 (of the
pair), the damage is big and if this repeats some times, this battery will
lost. If you use them that way, your batteries will last for about 4 years.
I have and use tenths of ???? for the last years and only a small percentage
are damaged. Another think that you must care is to mark each pair and use
them and charge them together as one unit. Don't mix pairs or not equally
charged batteries. Charge the batteries at most the last week prior use.

Now is time to buy two new pairs. Buy the "eneloop" by Sanyo, that it will
not self discharge as the old NiMH. (about 15 euro the 4). Old ???? lost
more than 30% of their charge every month, while the "eneloop" losts 30% in
2 years. Of course, those new batteries do not need to be freshly charged to
use, as it will not self discharge. Any good ???? charger can charge those
batteries.
--
Dimitris M


>
> Steve Wolfe wrote:
>> >I have been using rechargeable Energizer 2300 mAh AA batteries for the
>> > past 2 years.
>> >
>> > Now, the batteries don't last much longer in my Canon S1 IS camera.
>> > Some times, I get low battery blinker soon after 10 pictures or so. I
>> > don't use the LCD much.
>> >
>> > Is it normal for these kinds of batteries after 2 years of normal use?
>>
>> It depends on how you used them. If you really babied them, it would
>> be
>> unusual. If you were particularly hard on them, they could have reached
>> this state earlier.
>>
>> steve
>
> Canon S1 IS has an excellent video capability and I have used that
> function extensively. Does that constitute being "hard on them?"
>
> Other than that I don't think I have either been hard on them or
> treated them like babies. I have just used them normally: charge one
> set while using another set and cycle likewise.
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question 

> no memory effect in the ????. Instead if you drain one of the 2 (of the

???? = NiMH (this was from wrong codepage)
--
Dimitris M
 >> Stay informed about: Rechargeable battery life related question