1. The Battery Charger!

   1. We do suggest one of the three High-end analyzer options on the market today

      • Cadex, Christie, or PAG Analyzer / Chargers

      • These three have No continued trickle charge mode which is a silent killer

      • We carry, promote, and sell all three

   2. We never suggest using any shiny semi-sophisticated smart charger on your expensive battery packs.

   3. We Never suggest using Any charger that uses a continued trickle charge after full charge.  The reasons will be explained later on this page and other links that we provide.  A trickle charge is a silent killer and Never harmless.

2.  

   • Battery Handbook 

   • My rough draft and it needs to be updated.  Browse and take what you need.

   • Cadex 1 About 7 sections total in the links.  Follow the navigation buttons at the bottom of each page in this link.  These are Extremely well written articles.  When I discovered these articles in, "The Greenlight Lies", I stopped bothering with my very rough draft.  Their opinion is very like my own.

3. Heat, a silent killer

   • The more heat your battery pack is exposed to, the shorter your total charge-discharge cycles will become.  Many photographers leave their battery packs in automobiles for long periods of time and that extreme heat is like working in the desert.  It really tears up a battery pack.  Extreme cold is also not good for your battery packs function, but heat will kill them.

   • How can I reduce the heat my battery packs are exposed to?
     For years Broadcast Engineers and Professional Film Photographers have been asking us about ways to reduce heat and increase the life of their battery packs

     1. Purchase Coleman, Igloo, Rubbermaid or other brand quality coolers to store your battery packs. 

     2. Place any foam egg crates that you use inside the coolers between the battery packs for transporting. 

     3. Do not place ice or those blue freezer packs inside the cooler.  Some photographers have taken this extra step in enthusiasm and produced condensation inside their decks or other equipment. 

     4. By using the cooler you are storing the battery packs at the ambient temperature. 

     5. If you are in an already hot environment you may be able to do the actual storing of the packs after going inside your vehicle with the engine running and the air-conditioner on, creating that artificial interior ambient temperature which is of course cooler than the ambient outside temperature.  If your battery packs are to be shipped, then use the coolers to ship them.

     6. When charging the battery packs, charge them in the coolest area possible.  Also, while charging set the battery packs on the most narrow side that will still stand up on your surface.  This will allow more heat dissipation from the charge of the battery pack.

     7. When possible, do not charge the battery immediately after full discharge.  Allow the battery to cool before charging when possible.

     8. Purchase battery packs that are built in a flat design and not a nested or 6 pack design as they have a harder time dissipating heat.

     9. Avoid trickle charge chargers or charges that go into some type of trickle charge after the battery has reached full charge.  Leaving a fully charged battery on trickle charge for a weekend over 52 weekends is equivalent to a full years use of the battery.  The trickle charge treats the battery like a crock pot treats a roast.

     10. We recently had a gentleman call about his auto-resetting circuit breaker opening in the charge mode.  He was in unusually hot weather and in bright sunlight.  His charger was in an un-air-conditioned building directly in front of a large thick plate glass window.  Ouch, I was sunburned!  The breaker was saving his battery and triggered him to call us.  Thus educating him on proper handling of his battery packs. Everybody's Happy Now!

4. NEVER DISCHARGE BATTERY PACKS WITHOUT A VOLTAGE CUTOFF OF BETWEEN .8V & 1.0V PER CELL. HIGH DISCHARGE RATES CREATE MORE HEAT THAN A BAD CHARGER! HEAT IS A NUMBER ONE ENEMY OF ANY BATTERY PACK!

   Once we get past the old fable of MEMORY, we find that today's battery problems are not memory so much as they are unbalanced cells or reverse discharge cells within the battery pack. Heat deteriorates the insulator between the plates of metal inside the cell.

5. Send your battery packs to Rathbone Energy for Rebuilding or Recelling!

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