What's the best nicd battery charger?

We often get by announcements of new are said to offer very high energy densities, deliver 1000 nicd battery charger/discharge cycle and are paper-thin. Are they real?  Perhaps — but not in one and the same battery. While one battery type may be designed for small size and long runtime, this pack will not last and wear out prematurely. Another battery may be built for long life, but the size is big and bulky. A third battery may provide all the desirable attributes, but the price would be too high for commercial use.

nicd battery charger manufacturers are well aware of customer needs and have responded by offering packs that best suit the specific applications. The mobile phone industry is an example of clever adaptation. Emphasis is placed on small size, high energy density and low price. Longevity comes in second.

Compromises also exist on lithium-based batteries. Li‑ion packs are being produced for defense applications that far exceed the energy density of the commercial equivalent. Unfortunately, these super-high capacity Li‑ion batteries are deemed unsafe in the hands of the public and the high price puts them out of reach of the commercial market.

In this article we look at the advantages and limitations of the commercial nicd battery charger. The so-called miracle battery that merely live in controlled environments is excluded. We scrutinize the batteries not only in terms of energy density but also longevity, load characteristics, maintenance requirements, self-discharge and operational costs. Since NiCd remains a standard against which other batteries are compared, we evaluate alternative chemistries against this classic nicd battery charger type.

The to develop rechargeable lithium batteries followed in the 1980s, but failed due to safety problems. Because of the inherent instability of lithium metal, especially during nicd battery charger, research shifted to a non-metallic lithium battery using lithium ions. Although slightly lower in energy density than lithium metal, the Li‑ion is safe, provided certain precautions are met when charging and discharging. In 1991, the Sony Corporation commercialized the first Li‑ion battery. Other manufacturers followed suit. Today, the Li‑ion is the fastest growing and most promising nicd battery charger chemistry.