jaymac

I am new'ish to RC and bought a 7 cell 1400mah NiMh battery for my RC18 - today I bought the Chargetronics charger as I was told that this was the better prices charger that has AC power. I have read the instructions and am still a little confused but think I get that I have to programme the setting into the charger for the one battery type that I have ie: nimh, 1400mah etc etc. I have a few questions that hopefully dont sound to simple - but after reading some stories about exploding batteries, I would rather be safe than sorry!

1) what would be a good recommended rate to first charge the battery, someone said about 1.5amps? and if the charger detects that the battery is fully charged do I keep it on trickle for a few extra hrs for its first charge or just remove it once the charger says its full / peaked

2) should I always charge the battery at the same rate or for the second charge onwards should I change the rate.

3) does it matter in which order I turn the charger on eg: do I connect the battery to the charger and then turn the power on and the same for switching off - unplug battery then turn charger off etc etc.

Any help would be appreciated - just dont want to blow the battery or charger!

fastmax

A pack charged at a lower amperage will have a longer runtime. A pack charged at a higher amperage will have less runtime with slightly higher voltage. It doesn't matter which you remove first or turn off/on first. For a 1400 pack your maximum charge rate should be 1.4 amps for an 1100 1.1 amps and so on. Nimh batteries do not tend to like being trickle charged. It makes them feel flat or less punchy. Your best bet is to charge it, when it's done remove it and drive. Hope this helps.

jaymac

Thanks for the advice, I think that pretty much sums things up: just charge my 1400 battery at 1.4 until the charger says its full!
Thanks again!

fastmax

No problem.

jaymac

Sorry, I forgot to ask: I have started the first charge but set the trickle rate at 0, so when the charger says its full do I just leave for 14 or so hours anyway even though the trickle is set at 0. Once I charge the pack a few times at 1.4 can I set it a bit higher for a faster charge and if so how high?

fastmax

The trickle charge just keeps a pack at full charge once the fast charge is complete. As soon as the peak charge is done you can just remove the pack and run it. I usually set my trickle charge at .03 or so just to keep it at full peak while it's waiting for me to run it.

jaymac

Thanks for the info, any recommendations on the rate to set after the first charge ie: how much higher than 1.4?

hemiblas

All good advice. You should not charge it higher than 1.4amps

jaymac

Thanks, I'll simply charge it 1.4 and just remove it when the charger says its full!