Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I've had my Vagabond Mini for a few months and it works as expected with my Einsteins. However, when I tried to charge my Sony camera battery using the Sony wall charger, both the battery and charger became extremely warm to the touch. I usually detect very little heat when the charger is plugged into a standard wall receptacle.

The charger was the only thing plugged into the Vagabond Mini. The charger had been plugged in 30-60 minutes before I checked it, but I immediately unplugged it to prevent any possible damage to the Vagabond Mini, charger or battery. Not sure if it actually charged the battery at all.

Is it normal for a camera battery charger to become extremely hot when charging with the Vagabond Mini?

Did the Vagabond get excessively warm during this time?

I have seen camera batteries get rather warm if charging from a pretty deep depletion, but there should be no difference between a wall outlet and the VML outlet for this purpose. Depending on the battery and its level of depletion, 30-60 minutes could be at the peak draw for the charging process.

Have you tried the battery and charger in a wall outlet since to see if they got warm?

I don't think the Vagabond was warm, just the battery and charger. I have since charged the battery with the charger plugged into a wall and it appears to be okay and did not overheat. I'll try the Vagabond again when I have a battery that needs charging.

I'm having a smilar issue with the charger. The charger was plugged into the wall and battery only, battery not connected to the inverter, and after about 15 minutes the charger is very hot. The battery is cool to the touch.

After unplugging the battery from the charger I attached the battery to the charger and turned the inverter on. The charge on the battery had increased from one led 1/4 charge to 2 led 1/2 charge.

Sorry, I just saw there was an unresolved question here. The original poster was referring to a camera battery and charger run from the VML. It sounds like you are charging a VML battery using a VML charger.

In a low charge state, it is not uncommon for the battery charger to become quite warm while charging the VML battery. This would be the case with any charger of this nature (like for laptops). However, it should not be hot enough to cause any damage to itself or surroundings. However, you should always make sure it is not covered and is not in contact with flammable material.