18
1. Make certain that the battery has been fully charged. For the best
charge, burn the battery for ten minutes and then bring it back to a
full charge.
2. Place the light head into the water. Make sure that there is enough wa-
ter to prevent overheating. A one gallon basin or bucket is sufficient.
3. With the battery out of the canister, connect the light head to the bat-
tery.
4. Actuate the switch and measure the voltage. For NiMH battery packs,
back the lid away from the battery enough to allow you to insert the
volt meter probes tomake contact with the metal posts. Do not allow
the probes to touch each other while in contact with the battery termi-
nals.
5. Record the time and voltage every ten minutes until the pack reaches
10 volts. It is recommended that the timer have an alarm to alert you
when an interval has ended. The alarm will prevent you from forget-
ting about the battery and discharging it completely. A complete
discharge is practically certain to damage the battery's cells.
6. Stay near the pack to monitor the voltage decay as the 10 volt limit
is approached. As the pack nears 10 volts, the voltage will drop more
rapidly. Record the time when the battery reaches 10 volts. This time
is the amount of time that your light battery can provide a useful light
beam.
7. Record the burn time and date on the battery. Don't forget to update
this information with each subsequent test of your battery.
8. Charge the battery immediately. Never discharge your battery below
about 9 volts as it can damage the cells to experience deep discharge
for any prolonged period. Any time the battery is discharged it should
be charged as soon as possible. A quick recharge is especially impor-
tant when the battery is deeply discharged.
To test the NiMH battery pack, your volt meter must have long enough probes to reach the middle of the connector
assembly.
Keep a close eye on the volt meter as the discharging battery approaches 10 volts. You can damage your battery
pack if the voltage drops below 9 volts, and the rate of discharge will increase rapidly below 10 volts.
Summary of Contents for Explorer
Page 28: ...28...