Will my NB-4L charger charge my S-90's NB-6L battery?

[CMontalvo]

My wife has a PowerShot 1000 Elph with an NB-4L battery and I just bought an S-90 which has an NB-6L. Canon tells me that the batteries aren't interchangeable and the manual warns against using the wrong charger. But I'd really like to take only one charger when we go on vacation and I'm trying to find out if one or the other of the two chargers will work on both batteries.

The NB-4L charger shows an output of .65 mA and the NB-6L has an output of .7mA. Can anyone tell me if one charger will charge both batteries without harming them and, if so, which of the two chargers I should use?

Thanks!

Bob

 

[Mel7]

Canon has good reason for their comment.
Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_polymer_battery
Note the cautions about exploding batteries when charged incorrectly.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkroomlens/

 

[CMontalvo]

Thanks for the warning, Mel. The Wikipedia article says, "Overcharging a Li-poly battery will probably cause explosion or fire."

But I subsequently found another source ( http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm ) that implies that any danger is associated with higher VOLTAGE, not amperage, and both chargers have the same 4.2V output ratings. I assume that the extra .5mA on the NB-6L charger might have some negative impact on the NB-4L but I'd doubt that the reverse would be the case. In other words, I suspect that I can pack the NB-4L charger, subjecting the NB-6L battery to slightly lower amperage, without much impact.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Bob

 

[emblum]

I assume you realize that the batteries don't fit in each other's charger, correct?

 

[CMontalvo]

OMG! Stupid me, it appeared that the batteries were the same size but the NB-6L is about an 1/8" longer. Looks like I'm stuck with schlepping two chargers around while traveling...

Bob

 

[Mel7]

They are really small chargers though.
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkroomlens/

 

[Ring A]

Thanks for the warning, Mel. The Wikipedia article says, "Overcharging a Li-poly battery will probably cause explosion or fire."

But I subsequently found another source ( http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-12.htm ) that implies that any danger is associated with higher VOLTAGE, not amperage, and both chargers have the same 4.2V output ratings. I assume that the extra .5mA on the NB-6L charger might have some negative impact on the NB-4L but I'd doubt that the reverse would be the case. In other words, I suspect that I can pack the NB-4L charger, subjecting the NB-6L battery to slightly lower amperage, without much impact.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

The voltage is important, amps don't matter. Amperage is the stored power like the food in your refrigerator. A larger refrigerator can store more food than a small one. The higher the amps the longer your camera will run

But the two batteries you have are different sizes so the chargers are not compatible anyway.

Bob

--
'I don't necessarily believe everything I say'!

 

[cyberjor]

The current is important as well as the voltage. Lithium cells are all close to 3.7V, but there are 2 other important parameters: mAh capacity and discharge rate. These current-related parameters affect the battery performance a lot.

For example, you could have two 3.7V 1,000 mAh batteries. The first may have a maximum discharge rate of 1 amp, while the other can discharge at 10 amps. This is more important when actually using the battery than when charging it though.

In terms of charging, charge rate is generally determined by battery capacity. A 700 mAh battery may want a 700 mA charge rate, and a 1,000 mAh may want a 1,000 mA charge rate.

A universal charger will sense the battery capacity and charge accordingly - a charger meant for a specific battery won't do that, and might cause damage to the wrong battery.

 

[HarleyFrank]

Sorry, amps are not storage. It is current (rate). Voltage is pressure. If you want storage you can use amp/hours (amps over time). Amps times voltage equals power.

HF

 

[HarleyFrank]

Good explanation! Well done!

HF

 

[Ring A]

Sorry, amps are not storage. It is current (rate). Voltage is pressure. If you want storage you can use amp/hours (amps over time). Amps times voltage equals power.

We're discussing the mAH capacity (Milliamp Hours) printed on rechargeable batteries.The capacity increases as the number increases.

HF

--
'I don't necessarily believe everything I say'!

 

[HarleyFrank]

mAH is correct for capacity....so that would be correct.

HF

 

[HarleyFrank]

Do keep in mind that mAH means milliamps per hour. Amps by itself is NOT a statement of storage.

 

[wastedimages]

Just out of interest - are there any USB NB-6L battery chargers available, I have tried googling, but so far have seen only mains adapters...

 

[BobbyT]

Amps, shmamps. What does Canon know about electronics, batteries, chargers, and stuff like that? I would just plug it into the wall and see what happens. In a foreign country, it can be even more exciting. Just be sure to take some extra magic smoke along so you can replace it when the charger/battery catch fire.

 

[HarleyFrank]

Amps, shmamps. What does Canon know about electronics, batteries, chargers, and stuff like that? I would just plug it into the wall and see what happens. In a foreign country, it can be even more exciting. Just be sure to take some extra magic smoke along so you can replace it when the charger/battery catch fire.

Well said

 

[Adam-T]

the Batteries are the same voltage and the chargers basically the same - so much that it's ridiculous that Canon didn't just make the S9- take the 4L as the shape is very close . you can JUST wedge a 4L into an S90 charger if you're careful but the 4L is a touch wider so the S90 battery ought to work in a 4L charger .

basically if you can get the contacts to line up , it'll work - same for all the canon batteries of the same voltage .. some of the larger ones are 7.5V (NB2L, BP511, the G11 battery etc) so don't try charging it up in one of those

--
A Problem is only the pessimistic way of looking at a challenge

 

[Sandeman684]

Do keep in mind that mAH means milliamps per hour. Amps by itself is NOT a statement of storage.

mAh does not mean milliamps per hour, but milliamps times hours. 1 mAh means you can draw one milliamp for one hour.

Saying mA per hour is similar to saying miles per hour per hour. As an amp is defined as one coulomb per second. So mA/h is a a thousandth of a coulomb per second per hour, a bit strange. A mAh is a thousandth of a coulomb per second for an hour (so, in fact, equal to 3.6 coulomb).

One multiplied with the voltage, this gives the total energy stored in the battery. So, at 1V, a 1000 mAh battery contains 3600 Joule of energy.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliampere-hour

 

[Ring A]

If you use a sledge hammer!
--
'I don't necessarily believe everything I say'!

 

[linuxworks]

The NB-4L charger shows an output of .65 mA and the NB-6L has an output of .7mA. Can anyone tell me if one charger will charge both batteries without harming them and, if so, which of the two chargers I should use?

.65 = .7

there isn't that much precision, here.

chargers measure the current and limit the current. they have zero idea about capacity and they don't need to know about it. there is no 'reading' for it, either. there are 3 terms on a li-ion battery: 2 for charging and 1 to measure temperature (some chargers ignore this, though!)

they charge until they reach the target current flow OR when the temperature goes too high.

if the battery did fit and the voltage was the same (3.7v) then it would work just fine.

--
Bryan
(pic stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works )