On Monday, March 25, 2013 9:29:37 AM UTC-7, CLewis95 wrote:
On Monday, March 18, 2013 9:33:49 AM UTC-5, Andy wrote: I am using NiMh rechargable cells in my PowerFLARM portable. Yesterday, while charging, I noticed that the base of the case was hot and I disconnected the unit immediately. When I opened the battery compartment I found all cells were hot to the touch and that each was about the same temperature. I was more interested in preventing damage than recording the temperature but estimate it to have being the region of 35-40 deg C. When charging the same cells in a stand-alone charger they don't get anything like this hot. Applied voltage was 13.8. If you use rechargeables in your portable what peak cell temperatures are you seeing during charging? Andy I thought for sure that I read somewhere that you were supposed to REMOVE internal batteries from the Portable when connecting to an external power source(?) .. It may be that it was never intended to "charge" batteries at all. That might explain the high temps. Curt - 95

Yes if the batteries are not rechargable.

From the Manual.

Rechargeable internal Batteries
The device features an internal NiMH battery charger. When the device is turned off and electrically connected to the vehicle or aircraft battery (either via “Power” socket or power pins on the RJ45 socket), inserted batteries will be charged if the ambient temperature lies within the allowed range for charging NiMH batteries.
If non-rechargeable batteries are fitted to the device, never connect your device to an external power source (e.g. aircraft or vehicle battery)!
The internal batteries may only be charged if the device is resting on a non-flammable, dry base. When the device is being recharged, never allow it to remain unsupervised.
The integrated charging circuit will only charge batteries at an ambient temperature of up to about 40 °C (104 °F). If possible, charge your batteries in a cool, dry environment.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com