GGG posted:How many MTH PS-1 engines do you own? How many do you repair? Just yesterday I worked on 4 PS-1/PS-2 5V engine from 1998 to 2000. Pulled 4 original white NiCad batteries out of the engines that still have voltage and did NO harm to the engines. I have one still on my desk holding 8V under load.
So clarify why NiCad is not used or charged correctly for our trains?
Anyone can go to various websites and gather information and misapply it to any circumstance.
I suspect you repair quite a few PS1 engines. In those what percentage would you say have 16-18 year old NiCD batteries in proper working order? What percentage of these engines do you return to the customer with that same battery installed?
When I worked as a mechanic I'd not quite often, but somewhat regularly see cars that had not had their oil changed for 10,000 plus miles. The engines still ran fine. Is your suggestion that something is the proper way to do something as long as it does not cause failure?
"So clarify why NiCad is not used or charged correctly for our trains?"
Sure. EVERY source of information available on the use and charging of NiCD batteries offers the same information. They should receive a full cycle discharge around once a month, and they should not be over-charged or trickle charged. PS1 engines never give a full cycle discharge and they always trickle charge while running. Will failing to do this ruin every battery? No, not likely, but just like the oil change, it is proper maintenance to prevent problems.
I guess the question here is, if you have a bad battery, are you suggesting that NiCD is a better choice than LSD-NiMH for a PS1 engine. I'll assume you have to buy a new battery either way, not that you have a stockpile of one or the other already. It is fairly obvious that if you already own a NiCD, it makes more sense to use it than to buy something else.
I'm not anti-NiCD. They are perfectly fine rechargeable batteries when properly serviced. LSD-NiMH just do everything better for the same price. GGG, is it your position that I am wrong about this and that NiCD is superior to LSD-NiMH and is a better choice, both in general, or in use in a PS1 engine?
JGL
