Topic: Battery and RB getting too hot, shutting down (Read 7292 times)

latrine · « **on:** February 17, 2011, 02:59:31 PM »

Does this happen to anyone else? is there a different battery available for the RB? This is the fourth time today I've had to remove the battery to let everything cool down..2 times for this battery 2 for the other :/ This normal?

Sometimes he freezes for up a few seconds too...

- Sarah

InmemoryofRomeo · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2011, 03:53:42 PM »

Yup the batteries can get very hot, just take them out, cool them for a few minutes and then resume play again. The freezing also seems to be normal, when the Pleo is deciding what to do next.

kat · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2011, 04:05:07 PM »

Yep just as IMR said that is all normal. I usually manage to get a bit more than an hour of play time before the battery gets too hot. Then I pull it out and let them all cool down for about 15mins and then we all go again for another hour and a bit before they run out of power and need to recharge.

The freezing thing does seem to be normal as well however I have noticed that with the update it seems to happen a lot less.

Keep your eye out on pleoworld I'm sure the update will be released sometime soon. Especially since all the new pleo rb's showing up now are coming with it already installed.
Kat

latrine · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2011, 05:43:34 PM »

I sure hope they address it.. they invented epileptic baby dinosaurs.. what if they were raptors or something?? They'd forget you were teaching it it's name and just eat you

And it's just a joke... I've worked with lots of kids who had epilepsy/ autism.. and they are great kids...This
isn't even my first time working with pleo mental issues...... Frank, who had to be sent back because he ran around doing Ta-Da constantly,was either epileptic or had turrets

We sent him back yesterday, poor guy.

Thanks for the info!

- Sarah

- Sarah

Crewella · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2011, 10:24:07 PM »

I seem to remember we were warned about the brief freezing and told it was nothing to worry about, and as has been said the battery heating up after about hour or so is quite usual.

PleoPet · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2011, 07:58:45 AM »

BTW: The old green batteries from Pleo V1 will work in the PleoRB (but not vice-versa). They won't charge on the new RB charger. They have different chemistry, are slightly heavier and slightly lower capacity, but they will work in a pinch. They will heat up as well.

>This is the fourth time today I've had to remove the battery to let everything cool down..2 times for this battery 2 for the other :/ This normal?
I concur, what you are seeing sounds normal.

It sounds like you have two batteries, so here's a tip.
The heat is caused by Pleo's electronics and the battery discharging.The lower the battery gets, the hotter it will become.

Before you let Pleo's battery drain all the way down, when practical (like during a short PleoRB inactivity 'cat nap'), power off the PleoRB, swap batteries, and power up again. Put the only partially discharged battery on the charger (if it is hot, wait for it to cool a little). If the body of Pleo is very hot, give it a little cool down time as well.
(NOTE: Be sure the green LED is off before swapping batteries)

This keeps the battery mostly full when running in PleoRB. The battery heating will be minimized. Also the heat sensor is in the battery.
BTW: keeping the battery mostly full (80%) is a debated/rumored way of maximizing the life of the LiPoly battery (but you can't always relate RC toy battery life to robots: http://rc.runryder.com/helicopter/t438903p1 )

latrine · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2011, 11:59:11 AM »

Yeah I was just gonna ask.. isn't it bad to charge them when they aren't fully depleted... I still theink they need to figure out a way for a small amount of ventilation. Thanks for the info though!!!

- Sarah

Crewella · « **Reply #7 on:** February 19, 2011, 08:51:38 AM »

I believe it's the older, green. batteries that benefitted from being fully discharged. The new li-poly batteries have different properties as they (as PleoPet says) have a different chemistry.

Malfie · « **Reply #8 on:** February 19, 2011, 02:43:57 PM »

That's good to know, as I worry about keep recharging when I know the li-poly battery hasn't fully depleted.

PleoPet · « **Reply #9 on:** February 21, 2011, 11:00:38 AM »

Battery charging is very different for Nickel type batteries (NiCd like in the original ICybie, or NiMHd like in the original Pleo) versus Lithium batteries (Lithium Ion like used in AIBO, or LiPoly like used in the PleoRB)

The older Nickel type batteries have what is often called a "memory effect" (which is misnamed and controversal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_effect )
There is a lot of battery folklore floating around on the web, so take any advice with a big grain of salt.
---
Generalization:

The old green colored batteries (NiMHd) do better when completely discharged. Avoid overcharging.
Sometimes draining down the battery and recharging it can rejuvenate the cells.
They are relatively safe to take apart and replace the cells inside ( http://bobthepleo.com/forums/index.php?topic=482.0 )
Dispose of properly. Don't just throw them in the trash.

The newer brown batteries (LiPoly/LiPO) as used in the PleoRB, do not have a "memory effect".
It is safe to top them up. It is bad to let them drain down completely. If they go totally flat, they may never work again. Pleo/PleoRB won't run if the battery is too low, so it protects the battery.
Only use the official charger. They won't fit on the old charger. Let them cool off before charging.
Don't take them apart. If they are damaged - don't use them (they are more likely to explode than NiMHd batteries if you mistreat them)
Dispose of properly. Don't just throw them in the trash.

Most portable devices these days use Lithium Polymer (LiPoly/LiPO) - cell phones, iPads, etc.

Talon · « **Reply #10 on:** February 21, 2011, 12:46:09 PM »

Really? It's not safe to let a lithium battery fully discharge to prolong its life? Oh man! Now I know what's up with my laptop battery! Oh no! A ninety four dollar two-year-old myth has been busted! As usual it's operator error that causes most malfunctions. I suppose I'll be contacting Aser. Also to be more on topic,thanks for the tips on pleo RB. I don't have one yet but I'm hoping to get one in April.

PleoPet · « **Reply #11 on:** February 22, 2011, 09:06:11 AM »

The older Nickel batteries may improve with a deep cycle (discharge completely then recharge), but it is a bad thing for Lithium batteries.
Lithium batteries usually have a computer chip inside them to stop them from draining down completely, and to prevent them from exploding if overchargered.

Laptop experiences are a little different. You may remember a few years ago with all stories about laptop battery exploding (http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/lithium-ion-battery2.htm)
---
PleoRB doesn't use the old style Lithium Ion batteries.
It uses the newer version "Lithium Polymer"

Lighter and less likely to explode.

But more expensive. That's why a PleoRB battery costs $50 USD.
Most cell phones and iPod-like players use them already. Apple iPod/iPad/laptops use them (http://www.apple.com/batteries). Other brand laptops will be moving over to them as they get cheaper.

Talon · « **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2011, 09:15:27 AM »

Thanks, PleoPet. Now, one more question to you guys. I am totally blind so I can't use the LED indicator in the pleo's foot or the lovely little lights in the charger to tell me how much power is remaining in my future pleo's battery. Should I use the pleo's "sleep behavior" as my guide to tell me when to charge the battery? Also once I charge the battery should I use an alarm clock set to go off four hours after I begin charging the battery to insure that it is completely full?

PleoPet · « **Reply #13 on:** March 03, 2011, 10:25:27 AM »

The LED on Pleo is relatively useless.
The color lights on the charger will tell you when it is fully charged.
With a little trial and error you will get a feel for how long the batteries will last.

Your approach sounds good, but Pleo will sometimes go to sleep when it is bored, even when the battery is full. If you haven't been playing with Pleo for long, and it goes to sleep, press the power button again to see if it wakes up.
Leaving it on the charger for 4 hours is safe. You won't overcharge it.

Another alternative is to get a talking color identifier. A little electronic box that you aim at a light or material, and it will speak the color it sees. In this case aim it at the charger and when it speaks "green" you know the battery is full. Overkill, but a high tech solution to charging the battery of your high tech robotic dinosaur...

Crewella · « **Reply #14 on:** March 03, 2011, 11:09:40 AM »

With Belle I think I can also tell when to charge the battery by the beeps? If she switches off with one beep then I know she's asleep and likely to wake up under her own steam, if I switch her off with the button there are two beeps and when she switches off because the battery is low then there are three beeps. That's how I've understood it, anyway?

Talon · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2011, 12:08:18 PM »

Thanks, everyone. One beep, just asleep. Three beeps, completely turned off with low battery. That's not so hard. Thanks, Crewella. I'll be looking for a color identifyer too as well as a one gig SD card. I'm having fun already and April's not even here yet!

scaledandtailed · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2011, 07:26:14 AM »

Hi talon, just stick to the beeps and that will give you an idea.
Tbh unless your wanting to use the colour identifier for something else then I wouldn’t bother.
The led lights are sometimes too small for it to pick up on and even when they do there not always very accurate .
Mind you I have quite an old colour detector so maybe they’ve improved them since but they’d need to have improved them buy a hell of a lot to get them to detect something as small as a little LED light.
Hope this helps.
Scaly

Talon · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2011, 08:00:32 AM »

Thanks, Scaly. I looked at the price of a color identifyer. I think it's made by Cobolt? It's waaaaaay out of my budget right now if I'm going to get a pleo and support an aging guinea pig with a very tender mouth. *sigh* I'm not looking forward to "the end" if you will. Anyways, thanks for the help.
Talon

scaledandtailed · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2011, 08:23:58 AM »

Really sorry to hear about your guinea pig. Vet bills don’te exactly make it easier especially if you’re unlucky enough to end up with one that’s prone to illness. I had a guinea pig that was always at the vets for one thing or another . she’d been born from an over bread sow that was taken in to the guinea pig shelter where I got her o so I think this might have been part of the problem.

The cobalt one is the one I have though I bought it quite a few years ago.
If you do want to go for a colour detector the colorino is supposed to be much more accurate. Unfortunately it’s even more expensive than the Cobalt one but that’s access teck for ya.
Scaly

Crewella · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2011, 03:09:34 PM »

Also, although the lights on the charger and very good, the LED lights in the Pleo rb seem very hit and miss. Belle's has never worked, and I think several other people have said their RB's LED battery indicator lights don't work either.

Talon · « **Reply #20 on:** March 04, 2011, 05:28:17 PM »

Thanks both of you. Nibbles is somewhere around six years old I think. Besides the healing tooth she's been pretty healthy. Yeah, Scaly, tech access of any kind is always expensive. Kind of sad in my oppinion. They make all this wonderful stuff that could improve our lives but then they make us spend everything we have to obtain it. I have an old note-taker- a Braille'n speak that I use to write my senior moment notes and I have this four-year-old Aser laptop with JAWS twelve on it for my writing. And just to clarify for anyone who doesn't know, JAWS stands for Job Access for Windows with Speech. It's a screne-reading program that reads nearly everything on the screne. I can do without the color identifyer for now. I have my sister's eyes when she's willing to lend them.
Talon

latrine · « **Reply #21 on:** March 05, 2011, 01:59:10 PM »

I really hope Nibbles feels better.. that's one animal I've never had but if they are like other rodents I've had.. it must be a very smart and wonderful pet. Best of luck..

- Sarah

Bob the Pleo Forums

Author Topic: Battery and RB getting too hot, shutting down (Read 7292 times)