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Charging batteries inside an appliance.

Hi

I have an interesting idea below which may help you or other people
and I am wondering if you know anything about it

In some items such as digital cameras and MP3 recorders the batteries
can be hard and
time consuming to remove from their case so that they can be recharged
or replaced. I
thought of an easier way to save doing this and I am wondering how safe
it would be to
do. I am thinking of using rechargeable batteries that are a slightly
lower voltage
than the non rechargeable, and then slowly charging them when they are
in the case of
the digital camera or MP3 recorder. I could do this by having two wires
going into the
battery case so that they are attached to the correct ends of the
batteries to charge
them. On the other end of the wires would be a small plug that would
plug into wires
that attach to a battery charger. I would not use the appliances while
they are being
charged.

I do have some battery chargers for small batteries and I could
connect the terminals
on the batteries to the charger like described above. However, if these
charges charge
too quickly I may have to get another charger that does it more slowly.
I think my
chargers may take about 15 hours to fully charge from a flat battery.
However, I could
get another charger that takes about 24 hours if a slower rate is
needed.

I heard batteries can get hot if they are charged too quickly so I am
wondering what a
safe time would be?

Also I am wondering what a safe voltage would be to charge batteries
of appliances
while they are inside the case and if there is much chance a trickle
charge battery
charger could damage them?

Your help will be appreciated.
Regards Richard.
 
Hi

Thanks for your letters.

So would an ordinary battery charger do that charges AA batteries in
over 10 hours?

If the charger only does AA batteries would it also be suitable for AAA
type by extending the wires into the appliance as I explained on my
last letter?

If I connected a timer to switch the charger off for a few hours each
day would that be ok to prevent the problem of a constant trickle
charge?

Currently I have Nickel Cadmium chargers. Would Nickel Cadmium
batteries be as good as any for the purpose?

Your help is appreciated,
Regards Richard.
 
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