I don't know much about the internals of batteries, but I know that they can slowly lose charge over time even if not being used. Do you know how long this one will hold a charge when not in use? Also, how long does it take to charge to full? (Is there any type of indicator for when it is fully charged?)
I'm used to charging my DS and my (borrowed) PSP using a standard wall-plug; do USB versions exist, or are yours custom-made as well?
I know very little about the condition of this battery.. it seems to work pretty well, but I got it from a friend in high school, and it was used at the time.. so it's at least 10 years old now. But, lead-acid batteries are quite hearty.
There is no charge level indicator on the battery box itself.. that would be handy, but I'm lazy ;)
The charger I'm using does have an LED that tells you when the battery is fully charged. A full charge takes overnight, but it should be able to top off a partially discharged battery in a few hours. This isn't a deep-cycle battery, so it's best not to discharge it too far.
Paul has a USB charging cable for his PSP.. I think it's standard equipment?
For the DS, there are some 3rd party USB-to-DS cables. I got a package at Fry's for $15 that included two such cables, a car charger, and an AC adaptor.
True. I don't remember ever storing this battery in a totally dead state- I think I had occasion to dust it off and charge it at least once every few years :)
(Worst case, this battery is toast, I recycle it, and get a replacement for about $20..)
Be careful using old SLA batteries from UPSs. The general rule is that those small UPS batteries should be used for no more than about 5 years. After that point failure rates become very high, and are usually in the form of leakage, swelling or venting or extreme overheating. Obviously leakage of the acid is dangerous, and the gas that can be vented from these batteries is hydrogen, which is highly explosive.
I'm not saying this to discourage your use of SLA batteries at all. I just highly recommend that you buy new ones for your trip.
Thanks for the advice. I've definitely seen some UPS batteries in bad condition.. I had an old APC UPS with two smaller 12V SLA batteries, and both batteries had swollen to the point of being hard to remove from the UPS. Presumably this was due to prolonged overcharging.. I've heard that the plates can actually grow in length if you float charge for a very long time.
This battery is pretty old, but it's seen very little use. It wasn't from a UPS, it was from a friend who used it to charge model aircraft batteries. I don't think he used it too heavily, and I've only ever used it for very intermittent portable applications.
I'd be more worried if I were subjecting it to high charge/discharge rates, but I'm mostly discharging it at around 0.2 A and charging at 0.5 A or so. I've been monitoring its temperature, and even at discharge rates of 6 A or so, I haven't noticed any increase in temperature.
Do you still think the battery is worth replacing?
I'd still suggest replacing, but if you know it's been fairly lightly used, you're charging it slowly and keeping an eye on it, and there's no bulging of the case I suppose you should be ok.
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I don't know much about the internals of batteries, but I know that they can slowly lose charge over time even if not being used. Do you know how long this one will hold a charge when not in use? Also, how long does it take to charge to full? (Is there any type of indicator for when it is fully charged?)
I'm used to charging my DS and my (borrowed) PSP using a standard wall-plug; do USB versions exist, or are yours custom-made as well?
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I know very little about the condition of this battery.. it seems to work pretty well, but I got it from a friend in high school, and it was used at the time.. so it's at least 10 years old now. But, lead-acid batteries are quite hearty.
There is no charge level indicator on the battery box itself.. that would be handy, but I'm lazy ;)
The charger I'm using does have an LED that tells you when the battery is fully charged. A full charge takes overnight, but it should be able to top off a partially discharged battery in a few hours. This isn't a deep-cycle battery, so it's best not to discharge it too far.
Paul has a USB charging cable for his PSP.. I think it's standard equipment?
For the DS, there are some 3rd party USB-to-DS cables. I got a package at Fry's for $15 that included two such cables, a car charger, and an AC adaptor.
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(Worst case, this battery is toast, I recycle it, and get a replacement for about $20..)
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I'm not saying this to discourage your use of SLA batteries at all. I just highly recommend that you buy new ones for your trip.
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This battery is pretty old, but it's seen very little use. It wasn't from a UPS, it was from a friend who used it to charge model aircraft batteries. I don't think he used it too heavily, and I've only ever used it for very intermittent portable applications.
I'd be more worried if I were subjecting it to high charge/discharge rates, but I'm mostly discharging it at around 0.2 A and charging at 0.5 A or so. I've been monitoring its temperature, and even at discharge rates of 6 A or so, I haven't noticed any increase in temperature.
Do you still think the battery is worth replacing?
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If there's any bulging though it needs to go.
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How are you going to transport it? It looks like it could use a handle on top...
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