Ni-Cd batteries must be fully discharged every 5 to 10 charges to avoid memory effect. If the battery has not been entirely discharged, the charge will not be complete and will set a new lower energy capacity. This is called the 'memory effect'.

a rule, rechargeable batteries lose around 80% of their charge within three months. The speed of self-discharge depends on the temperature. The higher the temperature, the greater the amount of self-discharge over time.

The memory effect does not occur with Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries. They can then be recharged before being fully discharged.

Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries are a mixture of Nickel and Cadmium. The cadmium represents +/- 15 of 20% of the battery weight. They are ideal for most types of domestic devices such as alarm-clocks, calculators, remote controls, torches... Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are a mixture of Nickel and Metal Hydride. They are 2 to 3 times more powerful than cadmium-based rechargeables and they have no memory effect.

No, you can use a newer Ni-MH charger to charge your old Ni-Cd batteries but you should not try to charge Ni-MH batteries with a Ni-Cd charger. Here's why: Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries are chemically very similar and when both are fully charged the battery voltage will start to drop. The Ni-MH voltage drop is much more subtle and more difficult to detect.

What is a battery? Battery, can be any device that stores energy for later use. The word battery is limited to an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy into electricity, by use of a galvanic cell. A galvanic cell is a fairly simple device consisting of two electrodes (an anode and a cathode) and an electrolyte solution. Batteries consist of one or more galvanic cells. A battery is an electrical storage device. Batteries do not make electricity, they store it.

No, you can use a new Ni-MH charger to charge your old Ni-Cd batteries but you should not try to charge Ni-MH batteries with a Ni-Cd charger. Here's why: Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries are chemically very similar and when both are fully charged the battery voltage will start to drop. The Ni-MH voltage drop is much more subtle and more difficult to detect.

Research has shown that the "memory effect" is a rare phenomenon and is almost nonexistent in high-drain applications such as flashlights.

No, they are not. Many cell phone and camcorder batteries, for instance, are small lead-acid batteries (the same materials used in a car's rechargeable battery). If you follow proper maintenance, such as recharging batteries only after their charge has been exhausted, they will last longer. For a wealth of information on rechargeable household batteries, visit the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation Web site.

They are not. Rechargeable batteries, while a good idea, do not suit the purpose of a good pet containment system. To be most effective, rechargeable batteries need to be totally drained before recharging. What do you do while the battery is recharging? How do you know when the battery is sufficiently drained? To save our customers from worrying about these questions, we offer a battery plan.

Rechargeable batteries have the greenest environmental credentials. Using rechargeable batteries reduces household waste massively. Globally, 15 billion ordinary batteries are thrown away every year, all of which end up in landfill sites. Rechargeable batteries can be reused again and again which massively reduces the impact disposable batteries have on the environment. The most ecological rechargeable batteries available are NiMH rechargeable batteries (Nickel Metal Hydride).

All the high performance NiMH rechargeable batteries you see on the BatteryLogic website can directly replace any 'throwaway' batteries you are currently buying from supermarkets and high street stores. All our batteries can be recharged again and again. Rechargeable batteries are extremely kind to your pocket as well as to the environment.

Ideally, you should only use your battery pack once per day, if this is not possible, make sure it is fully cooled before charging it again.

One of the characteristics of a ni-cad battery is that it has a memory. A fully charged battery should give you around 1,000 shots. But if you constantly shoot 500 shots and then charge the battery for 7 hours, your battery wouldn't give you 1,000 shots anymore; it would only give around 500 shots. In order to insure that the battery will operate at full capacity, it must be fully discharged and fully recharged occasionally.