Rechargeable batteries

[Steven 1935]

Hi

What is the difference between Ni-CAD and Ni MH rechargeable batteris

[oakleyfamily]

a nicad should really be fully discharged before re-charge (not really a problem for nimh).

a nicad has probably half (or less) the energy potential of a same sized nimh

nimh don't like high temperatures as much though.

look at the number on the battery, the bigger the number the longer it lasts before re-charge (eg 800mh as opposed 1600mh.

If you are looking to buy a batteries to fit a charger that you already have you need to make sure the charger likes both types...also, if the charger was previously supplied with a particular capacity (say 800mh) and it was a low cost one, it probably has a timer in it based on that figure (so, to charge a 1600mh battery you would have to unplug and replug the charger to trigger the second timed charge to fully charge them)

just buy nimh and forget the older nicads.

[fo3nix]

as oakley says, it's just the composition of the battery, but NiMH are superior.

go for NiMH batteries, ideally about 2500mAh rating; making sure that your charger can cope with them.

[DavidUK]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that, as well as being cheaper in the first place, NiCads also have a longer life in terms of the number of times they can be re-charged. But it is annoying having to keep making sure that you fully charge and discharge NiCads each time. It is so much more convenient with NiMh that you can partially drain them then do a top-up charge with no adverse consequences.

[fo3nix]

It is, however, still good to do a complete drain and full charge of NiMH every 40 cycles or so.