The first time I heard of the name Brian Clark is when I watched the DIY solar panel instructional videos from Green DIY Energy. That was about a year ago.

During that time, the power utility company just raised the power rates and I was paying a large sum of money for electricity at home.

I wanted to learn how I can use solar energy to supplement the power needs at home. Hence, that has lead me to purchasing the Green DIY Energy manual.

There were 6 high definition (HD) videos on homemade solar panel that come with the program. Brain was the host and he gave a very clear and concise instruction in the videos.

I did a further research on Brian Clark and found some interesting information. Brian and the GreenDIYEnergy team have been going around impoverish communities and teaching them how to make residential solar panel.

He has conducted solar workshop teaching people new skill on build solar array so they can make a living from it.

In the year 2009, Brian and his team have been to Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico, PineRidge, Indian Reservation South Dakota and Uganda, Africa where they conducted the solar workshops.

Through the SolarGoodWill.org web site, Brian Clark is sharing his specialized knowledge on solar power and teaching people how to generate electricity from the sun. In some rural communities, they have no access to electricity and their only option is solar power.

If you would like to give a donation, you can do so at the SolarGoodWill.org web site. Here’s some great news. Every dollar you donate, Green DIY Energy will match your donation up to $1000.

For more information about them, check out the Green DIY Energy review on this blog. You can also get access to Brian Clark’s step by step DIY solar panel videos.

==> Click here to visit Green DIY Energy now!

How many rechargeable batteries do you use at home? On my last count, I think I have more than 9 currently in use. The rechargeable batteries are quite expensive compared to ordinary AA or AAA batteries. Luckily, they are cheaper to use in the long run.

I have a drawer full of old rechargeable batteries. Some of the batteries have been in there for couple of years.

How to check if the batteries are still useable or dead?

I found out we can check the condition of the battery by using a voltmeter. However, this is not an absolute test. Using a voltmeter will only tell us if the battery is bad.

Okay, here’s how you test the battery. First, find the positive and negative terminal on the battery. This should be very easy.

Next, take the red lead of the voltmeter and place it on the positive terminal. Then, take the black lead and place it on the negative terminal of the battery. Take the DC reading of the battery and write it down.

If the reading is “zero”, this means the battery is dead. If there is less than 1 volt on the reading, this indicates the battery has been discharged too far and caused damage to its internal components.

We are not done yet.

Place the battery on a smart charger and let it run for 3 to 5 minutes. Take another reading of the battery. If the reading is not up to the nominal voltage of the battery, this means at least one of the cells or more are internally shorted. Without a current protection from the smart charger, the battery will turn hot until it melts the charger.

Sounds complicated?

It is quite simple actually. Let me give you an example so you’ll understand how to check a rechargeable battery with a voltmeter.

Let’s say you have an old 18 volts power tool battery. When you touch the lead of the voltmeter to the positive and negative terminal of the battery, it reads 10.7 volts. Next, put the battery on the charger for about 4 minutes for charging.

Remove the battery from the charger and take its voltage reading again. Let’s say it now reads 11.5 volts. This battery is dead because current is getting in but there may be a short. If you continue charging the battery, it will heat up and burn the charger.

Using a voltmeter is a quick and dirty way to check the condition of a rechargeable battery.

Can the dead battery be reconditioned?

It depends on the stage of damage of the battery. If the battery is still in good condition, you can bring it back to life with a proper reconditioning procedure.

If you want to know how to bring a dead rechargeable battery back to life, check out the “How To Recondition Batteries At Home” e-book. You can find them at www.reconditionbattery.com.

I have been reading a lot lately on rechargeable battery. I started my research since I had to buy a new battery for my laptop. The battery is really expensive!

Since then, I was wondering if there are any ways to extend the life of a rechargeable battery.

As I was doing my reading, I got a very good tip from an e-book that I bought. The title of the book is “How To Recondition Batteries At Home”. In one chapter of the manual, it talks about getting a good smart charger.

The idea of using a smart charger is not to overcharge the battery. Overcharging a battery will kill its lifespan very fast.

So what is so special about a smart charger?

Apparently, a smart charger will sense when a battery is fully charged. It has a feature known as “trickle charging” that keeps the battery tops off. The trickle charging process charges the battery at a lower power rating and usually it will last for another 15 to 30 minutes.

What if we bought a cheap “dumb” charger?

Firstly, a dumb charger will take a longer time to charge a battery because it has a lower charge current. A dumb charger would not have the feature to revert into trickle charging. This means, the charger will keep on charging the battery at the same power rate even though the battery is full.

The result of overcharging is reduced battery life or in some cases fire or explosion due to excessive heat.

I use a lot of AA rechargeable batteries at home. Most of the time when I recharge them, I will leave them on the charger overnight.

Is the charger overcharging and killing the batteries?

I hope not, or I’ll be wasting a lot of money.

If you are keen to learn more on how to extend the life of reusable battery, check out the “How To Recondition Batteries At Home” e-book. You can find them at www.reconditionbattery.com.

Related blog post:

1) Battery storage for solar panels – 3 useful battery bank tips

2) 5 tips on maintaining deep cycle battery for home solar power system.