K10D battery

Dont know anything about batteries, but is it wise to use the cheap non Pentax ones. I'm tempted to buy 2, so it's a genuine question.
Chris.

The subject has been covered on the forum many times with some people getting on well with generic batteries and others wanting to stick with the Pentax original.

Just be aware that some of the very cheap batteries can be cheap and dangerous fakes and liable to overheat or catch fire. This would certainly invalidate your warramty. The US have issued warnings about cheap LiIon batteries in relation to air travel.

The 7DayShop ones I got seem to be working well with my K10D. They are a reputable supplier.

Agreed

I found a cheap battery D 150 1750mah on amazon for a little over £6.00.
I have ordered one and will report back when it arives

I also use a 7Dayshop battery which I find just as good as the original. I rotate mine in exactly the way John described earlier.

However, John Riley makes a very good point. Lithium Ion is a technology which it is entirely possible to get dangerously wrong, particularly in an attempt to increase capacity. Always buy your batteries from a well known and respected supplier, and personally I would avoid any cheap replacement which claims a significantly higher capacity than the original.


I would add that, unlike Nickel based batteries, Li-Ion batteries like to be kept charged. Actually I think the optimum for long term storage is supposed to be about half charge, but full charge is a lot better than none. Never allow a discharged Li-Ion battery to sit around discharged for longer than you have to.

Li-Ion cells undergo a chemical change when they become dead flat, which would make charging them again dangerous. For this reason all Li-Ion cells include a safety circuit which

1: Cuts the power before the battery is totally drained
and
2: "self destructs" the battery if it ever becomes totally flat (through self discharge from being left "flat" for a long period).

Thankfully since Li-Ion cells have a very slow self discharge rate, you'd probably have to leave them "discharged" for about 6 months to cause trouble, but better safe than sorry.

So how long do these 7dayshop batterys take to fully charge?

At a guess, 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours although I have never really timed it

ok thanks very much , ordering 2 now!
you guys sure they wont leak or blow up?!!!!

Not so far

mine has performed exactly more or less identically to the original for the last 14 months. In fact, everything I've ever bought from 7Dayshop has been very impressive in terms of price/quality ratio and absolutely fit for purpose.

ok cheers chaps im now suitably confident!!

I got a few spares from ebay seller gadgetinfinity. 5 us$ each....so cheap. And completely the same as the original....

So far worked excellent.