charging batteries that got wet

RLJ

2 months ago my batteries and charger for a digicam got immersed in water. Now I am wary of charging in case it causes a problem and am afraid to sleep or go out while they are charging. Should i just buy another charger set of batteries? Or would a fuse blow if there was a problem. Could it cause fire?

PS sorry not sure where to place this. Thanks

Tallon

Bin them and the charger & buy new ones.. they will catch fire

RLJ

Tallon wrote: »

Bin them and the charger & buy new ones.. they will catch fire

thanks

Tallon

RLJ wrote: »

thanks

NP

RLJ

Will any brand charger and battery set do? My camera is a Finepix A825 and there is ever ready one for 9 euro half price in dunnes.The branded are up to 30 euro

Tallon

RLJ wrote: »

Will any brand charger and battery set do? My camera is a Finepix A825 and there is ever ready one for 9 euro half price in dunnes.The branded are up to 30 euro

Yes any charger will do. I really reccomend that you get some high quality camera batteries though, they are a bit expensive but they will last a long time, especially in that camera

CabanSail

I cannot see why there would be a fire risk once the charger has dried out. It's either going to work or it isn't. The water shouldn't do any damage to the batteries themselves. As long as it was fresh water & not salty the charger should be OK.

If you are nervous about it then replace it as they are not that expensive.

RLJ

Thanks

CabanSail wrote: »

I cannot see why there would be a fire risk once the charger has dried out.

well dried out now cos it has been couple of months and i do not want them plugged in when i am not here or asleep

It's either going to work or it isn't. The water shouldn't do any damage to the batteries themselves.

yes it charges OK, at least the light comes on. Thing is i am nervous of having it plugged in overnight or when i am out

As long as it was fresh water & not salty the charger should be OK.

It was water from the tap into washing machine, took off hose before turned off water and of course the batts and charger were on the counter

If you are nervous about it then replace it as they are not that expensive.

just replace the batts?

CabanSail

There will be no problem with the batteries as they are sealed.

I doubt there will be a problem, other than corrosion, in the charger either.

It is always good practice not to leave batteries unattended when charging.

RLJ

I doubt there will be a problem, other than corrosion, in the charger either.[/quote] batts and charger look perefect no sign of corrosion. There were only in the water a couple of secs as i saw it happen

Safe then?

coylemj

I'm assuming these are AA batteries since you talk about (plural) 'batteries'. If the batteries shorted then they will have overheated and the sides will feel slightly warped when you run your finger along the length. If the batteries are not in any way deformed in shape then you have nothing to worry about, just make sure that the charger is correct for whichever type of (Ni-CD or Ni-Mh) battery you have.

Rainbowsend

Yes perfectly safe, I have put batteries and memory card through the wash before and they both worked perfectly, though the memory card wont retain any smutty pictures now Chargers will cut out when the batteries are charged and you cant overcharge them. Relax

RLJ

coylemj wrote: »

I'm assuming these are AA batteries since you talk about (plural) 'batteries'.

yes AA

If the batteries shorted then they will have overheated and the sides will feel slightly warped when you run your finger along the length.

no warp they were not plugged in when they got wet so would not have shorted right?

just make sure that the charger is correct

came with camera thanks

coylemj

Unless they were totally immersed in water, it's unlikely that they were shorted so I say just go ahead and use them as if nothing happened. If they don't show any external damage then they're probably still 100% usable.

CabanSail

Even if they were totally imersed it would be OK. Water is not conductive enough to apply a dead short.

RLJ

Thanls everyone they did notblow up yet. i have them plugged in and charging but turn off the power if going out. will that f--- up the batts

coylemj

CabanSail wrote: »

Even if they were totally imersed it would be OK. Water is not conductive enough to apply a dead short.

That actually depends on how ionized the water was at the time, if there was salt in the water for example it certainly would short in double quick time.

bernard0368

If you dont feel comfortable for the sake of a few euro replace them.

CabanSail

coylemj wrote: »

That actually depends on how ionized the water was at the time, if there was salt in the water for example it certainly would short in double quick time.

Even salty water will have a high enough resistance to offer a reasonable load to the battery. To do harm to the battery the resistance would have to be less than 1 ohm (which would give ~1.5 Amps) over the distance from one terminal to the other (~50mm) Very salty water would discharge the battery & may ruin it due to corrosion but I doubt it would damage it.

Drinking water is going to be about 50uS/cm, so over 5cm it would be a resistance of about 10Kohms, so no problem at all.

Sea water is about 50mS/cm so it will offer a load of 100ohms, so it would draw a current of 15mA, which is not a high load.

coylemj

CabanSail wrote: »

Even salty water will have a high enough resistance to offer a reasonable load to the battery. To do harm to the battery the resistance would have to be less than 1 ohm (which would give ~1.5 Amps) over the distance from one terminal to the other (~50mm) Very salty water would discharge the battery & may ruin it due to corrosion but I doubt it would damage it.

Drinking water is going to be about 50uS/cm, so over 5cm it would be a resistance of about 10Kohms, so no problem at all.

Sea water is about 50mS/cm so it will offer a load of 100ohms, so it would draw a current of 15mA, which is not a high load.

I'll buy that, sounds like good science, thanks.

CabanSail

It's an area I have to know a bit about for work, which allows me to be pedantic