Just got Nimh batts now what?

[SVTSupermaxx]

I just got my Nimh batts for my tx/rx today. These are my first rechargeables for my nitro truck.

My question is, how long do I charge them? I have a overnight charger but, how long is overnight? roughly 6-8 hrs.?

 

[alkyula]

i run dry cells in my TX, but run nothing but nimh RX packs in all my r/c. i use a dynamite peak charger...i think with nimh RX packs you havto use a peak charger for them to charge right. it takes about 30 min for a full charge on a 1150mah nimh RX pack....and the nimh pack wil very notacibly increase servo speed and tourque over the dry cells.

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

peak charger is your best friend!

 

[El Pirata]

Originally posted by SVTSupermaxx
I just got my Nimh batts for my tx/rx today. These are my first rechargeables for my nitro truck.

My question is, how long do I charge them? I have a overnight charger but, how long is overnight? roughly 6-8 hrs.?

What kind of charger do you have? If it does not give as readout to whether your batteries are charged then do what it says. Slap them on the charger now and take them off tomorrow morning.

One more thing, if you have a battery tester most rechargables are around 1.4 - 1.5 fully charged even though they are rated at 1.2.

 

[SVTSupermaxx]

It's just a wall plug in type. Very basic, no readouts, or lights, just a basic charger.

thanks for the advice

 

[El Pirata]

Just plug them in the night before a planned bash and don't forget them the next day when you go bash.

 

[Chevy-SS]

For NiMH battery packs, you need to do simple math. For instance, if you have a small 50mah charger and you want to charge a dead 1200mah RX pack, then it will take you 24 hours to charge that pack (1200/50). If you have an adjustable rate charger, RX packs charge rates need to be kept low, 1 amp or less. If you had a fully discharged 1000mah RX pack, and you charged it at 1 amp, then it would take one hour to charge. If you charge that RX pack at 5 amps, you will ruin it. Just ask me, as I forgot to turn the adjustment knob on my charger and it ruined the RX pack in short order.

Information below taken from: http://www.servocity.com/html/nicad..._batteries.html

Many modelers use high rate, peak detection or time-based chargers to charge NiCAD batteries. Such chargers are NOT recommended for NiMH batteries (unless otherwise specified in the charger or battery literature) as they can cause permanent damage to the NiMH cells. Also, NiMH batteries will not perform well in high rate discharge applications, typically providing only a small fraction of the rated capacity in these instances.

NiMH batteries also have approximately twice the self-discharge rate of NiCAD batteries when in an used state. For example, when your radio is off, a 1650mah NiMH battery can discharge itself nearly twice as quickly as a NiCAD battery, typically within one week. Therefore, you must charge your NiMH batteries the night before each use.

 

[FastEddy]

You should do your self a favor and get a charger designed to shut off at peak. Long story short. A member of this forum forgot to unplug a charger similar to yours and nearly burnt his house down. If that isn't enough to make you spend a few extra dollars on a good charger than.......

Here is the one I have used for several years now and can highly recommend.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...y_name=CTLG_009_012_000_000&product_id=23-422