ok heres a question about reciver batterys
07-14-2014, 09:59 PM
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ok heres a question about reciver batterys
ok i run all my planes recivers on 2000 mah nimh 6volt packs.. i have only been flying for a little over a year so heres my question?
ok a chargered the batterys in 2 of my planes to go flying on saturday. then the weather went crazy so i couldnt go. i am going to take same 2 planes on wednesday they show ok on my Digital Voltmeter MkIII from Hobbico.
so what i am asking is in cases like this what do i do recharge the batts or just fly them or use my charger to cycle them ?
ok a chargered the batterys in 2 of my planes to go flying on saturday. then the weather went crazy so i couldnt go. i am going to take same 2 planes on wednesday they show ok on my Digital Voltmeter MkIII from Hobbico.
so what i am asking is in cases like this what do i do recharge the batts or just fly them or use my charger to cycle them ?
07-15-2014, 03:00 AM
#2
They may be fine to fly on Wednesday from a Saturday charge, but if your unsure just top them off with your charger. Remember battery charge levels is kinda like fuel tank fuel levels, you can't use in the air what is still on the ground.
Bob
Bob
Last edited by sensei; 07-16-2014 at 03:31 AM.
07-15-2014, 04:50 AM
#4
I wouldn't necessarily cycle them. My glow and gas models all have NiMH receiver packs and I keep the most flown packs on a timed powerstrip that puts one hour of charge in them every day. That way they're always ready to go. Every few months if a pack hasn't been used i cycle it.
I your example I would charge for a couple hours before going to the field if it's a 60 to 100mAh wall wart. If it's a more powerful charger you can zap it for 15 minutes - or if 12v charge it up on the way to the field.
You got the right idea - believe the voltmeter.
I your example I would charge for a couple hours before going to the field if it's a 60 to 100mAh wall wart. If it's a more powerful charger you can zap it for 15 minutes - or if 12v charge it up on the way to the field.
You got the right idea - believe the voltmeter.
07-15-2014, 08:32 AM
#5
OK Rcworld2000 first good on ya for your choice of batteries the double A sized (which I suspect you are using) 2000Nimh are an excellent choice for the type airplanes you are flying. Yes a larger cell size is called for in certain large airplanes with very powerful servos but that is not your problem.
Welcome to one of the first dilemma's that most folks encounter when they first start flying. And that of course is What to do in this situation.
What follows is exactly what I train all who are interested or I am personally mentoring:
First it needs to be understood for me I make the same suggestions whether or not the battery chemistry is Nicd or Nimh both do suffer a rather rapid self discharge rate. There is no point into going into the exact figures it is only necessary to understand that both do self discharge rapidly.
You charged I suspect if I read correctly likely occurred friday evening as would be appropriate for saturday but if you do not charge and attempt to fly Wednesday, I count five days! That would be downright dangerous and totally unacceptable. For my students they are taught that the only safe procedure is a full minimum charge of eight hours the night before on a battery that has already had at least one forming charge prior for a full fourteen hours.
I do not do unneeded cycling. Now if you miss a day I will admit I have not recharged on some occasions but even this is risky. The caveat should always be in the situation you described, simply recharge the nite before without fail. That I feel is a no brainer and that is of course just my opinion.
Even a loaded VOM May give you what you want to see after five days but it cannot give you any indication of lost capacity due to self discharge untill its to late.
Good battery discipline is a fact of life for RC flight and one of the more difficult things to instill in new folks, every one is looking for the easy way but it does not exist. Learning good battery discipline is a must if we are to be successful.
My apologies if I got preachy but this is an important thread for lots of folks. So what Jetmecho5 said is top advice. If you use Nimh or Nicd always charge over night before the flying day and never later than the next day and if it goes beyond the next day just charge the night before. Don't do unneeded cycling.
John
Welcome to one of the first dilemma's that most folks encounter when they first start flying. And that of course is What to do in this situation.
What follows is exactly what I train all who are interested or I am personally mentoring:
First it needs to be understood for me I make the same suggestions whether or not the battery chemistry is Nicd or Nimh both do suffer a rather rapid self discharge rate. There is no point into going into the exact figures it is only necessary to understand that both do self discharge rapidly.
You charged I suspect if I read correctly likely occurred friday evening as would be appropriate for saturday but if you do not charge and attempt to fly Wednesday, I count five days! That would be downright dangerous and totally unacceptable. For my students they are taught that the only safe procedure is a full minimum charge of eight hours the night before on a battery that has already had at least one forming charge prior for a full fourteen hours.
I do not do unneeded cycling. Now if you miss a day I will admit I have not recharged on some occasions but even this is risky. The caveat should always be in the situation you described, simply recharge the nite before without fail. That I feel is a no brainer and that is of course just my opinion.
Even a loaded VOM May give you what you want to see after five days but it cannot give you any indication of lost capacity due to self discharge untill its to late.
Good battery discipline is a fact of life for RC flight and one of the more difficult things to instill in new folks, every one is looking for the easy way but it does not exist. Learning good battery discipline is a must if we are to be successful.
My apologies if I got preachy but this is an important thread for lots of folks. So what Jetmecho5 said is top advice. If you use Nimh or Nicd always charge over night before the flying day and never later than the next day and if it goes beyond the next day just charge the night before. Don't do unneeded cycling.
John
Last edited by JohnBuckner; 07-15-2014 at 08:36 AM.
07-15-2014, 08:39 AM
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OK Rcworld2000 first good on ya for your choice of batteries the double A sized (which I suspect you are using) 2000Nimh are an excellent choice for the type airplanes you are flying. Yes a larger cell size is called for in certain large airplanes with very powerful servos but that is not your problem.
Welcome to one of the first dilemma's that most folks encounter when they first start flying. And that of course is What to do in this situation.
What follows is exactly what I train all who are interested or I am personally mentoring:
First it needs to be understood for me I make the same suggestions whether or not the battery chemistry is Nicd or Nimh both do suffer a rather rapid self discharge rate. There is no point into going into the exact figures it is only necessary to understand that both do self discharge rapidly.
You charged I suspect if I read correctly likely occurred friday evening as would be appropriate for saturday but if you do not charge and attempt to fly Wednesday, I count five days! That would be downright dangerous and totally unacceptable. For my students they are taught that the only safe procedure is a full minimum charge of eight hours the night before on a battery that has already had at least one forming charge prior for a full fourteen hours.
I do not do unneeded cycling. Now if you miss a day I will admit I have not recharged on some occasions but even this is risky. The caveat should always be in the situation you described, simply recharge the nite before without fail. That I feel is a no brainer and that is of course just my opinion.
Even a loaded VOM May give you what you want to see after five days but it cannot give you any indication of lost capacity due to self discharge untill its to late.
Good battery discipline is a fact of life for RC flight and one of the more difficult things to instill in new folks, every one is looking for the easy way but it does not exist. Learning good battery discipline is a must if we are to be successful.
My apologies if I got preachy but this is an important thread for lots of folks. So what Jetmecho5 said is top advice. If you use Nimh or Nicd always charge over night before the flying day and never later than the next day and if it goes beyond the next day just charge the night before. Don't do unneeded cycling.
John
Welcome to one of the first dilemma's that most folks encounter when they first start flying. And that of course is What to do in this situation.
What follows is exactly what I train all who are interested or I am personally mentoring:
First it needs to be understood for me I make the same suggestions whether or not the battery chemistry is Nicd or Nimh both do suffer a rather rapid self discharge rate. There is no point into going into the exact figures it is only necessary to understand that both do self discharge rapidly.
You charged I suspect if I read correctly likely occurred friday evening as would be appropriate for saturday but if you do not charge and attempt to fly Wednesday, I count five days! That would be downright dangerous and totally unacceptable. For my students they are taught that the only safe procedure is a full minimum charge of eight hours the night before on a battery that has already had at least one forming charge prior for a full fourteen hours.
I do not do unneeded cycling. Now if you miss a day I will admit I have not recharged on some occasions but even this is risky. The caveat should always be in the situation you described, simply recharge the nite before without fail. That I feel is a no brainer and that is of course just my opinion.
Even a loaded VOM May give you what you want to see after five days but it cannot give you any indication of lost capacity due to self discharge untill its to late.
Good battery discipline is a fact of life for RC flight and one of the more difficult things to instill in new folks, every one is looking for the easy way but it does not exist. Learning good battery discipline is a must if we are to be successful.
My apologies if I got preachy but this is an important thread for lots of folks. So what Jetmecho5 said is top advice. If you use Nimh or Nicd always charge over night before the flying day and never later than the next day and if it goes beyond the next day just charge the night before. Don't do unneeded cycling.
John
ok great thats what i have been doing is topping off when this happends. and i all ways charge the night before thanks
07-15-2014, 09:46 AM
#9
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John
Buckner has given you some very good advice. The one place that may now have some exceptions is the use of the low self discharge NiMh designs such as the Eneloop's. They do seem to hold a charge nearly as well as the LiPo's do. I use them in all my transmitters now (and camera's) and they seem to hold up very well. I do keep a close eye on the voltages under load on the transmitters and so far I have gone as long as two months without having to recharge even with fairly moderate usage. I have Enelooops in my DX5, 6I, Futaba and Tactic and the batteries hold up well for long periods. The problem with Nixx batteries is that a voltage reading does not tell the whole story, the voltage can read quite high even with a nearly depleted battery. To guard against that I always charge at 0.1C for at least 10 hours periodically as that will insure a full charge and not harm the cells should they be nearly full when I start the charge. I do not trust fast chargers and use the fast charge only in an emergency as, if they fail you can ruin a battery with high temperature or if they false trigger, you wind up with not a full charge. You will always be safe if you use John's advice.
Buckner has given you some very good advice. The one place that may now have some exceptions is the use of the low self discharge NiMh designs such as the Eneloop's. They do seem to hold a charge nearly as well as the LiPo's do. I use them in all my transmitters now (and camera's) and they seem to hold up very well. I do keep a close eye on the voltages under load on the transmitters and so far I have gone as long as two months without having to recharge even with fairly moderate usage. I have Enelooops in my DX5, 6I, Futaba and Tactic and the batteries hold up well for long periods. The problem with Nixx batteries is that a voltage reading does not tell the whole story, the voltage can read quite high even with a nearly depleted battery. To guard against that I always charge at 0.1C for at least 10 hours periodically as that will insure a full charge and not harm the cells should they be nearly full when I start the charge. I do not trust fast chargers and use the fast charge only in an emergency as, if they fail you can ruin a battery with high temperature or if they false trigger, you wind up with not a full charge. You will always be safe if you use John's advice.
07-15-2014, 12:41 PM
#10
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My Feedback: (26)
Nimh or NiCad most be checked under load. If you meter can't do that than get one that does. A charger for these batteries most have the ability to charge them at a high rate and then place them on a low rate for storage. If you can find an ACE unit with variable charging options than purchase one.
07-15-2014, 03:30 PM
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07-15-2014, 05:22 PM
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Nimh batteries need to be slow charged for their first charge, usually a std wall charger is fine but if your running 6 volt you need a fancier charger, just charge at around 100 ma for the first time. It kind of breaks in the battery so it can accept a faster charge rate.
07-16-2014, 09:11 AM
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I will probably get corrected for this, but I use 6v NIMH batteries for the receivers in all of my planes. I use the JR trickle chargers that plug into the wall since I have a JR radio and use JR or universal connectors and I just keep my planes plugged in and charging at all times when I am not at the field. When I'm ready to fly I simply unplug the plane from the charger and go fly. I check the batteries under load before every flight and I do not fly on a battery that is not in the "green" on my volt meter. I've never had a problem with a battery discharging too fast or while I'm in the air and the planes are always charged and ready. When I get back home I plug the battery back into the charger and place it on the storage rack. Now I would not follow this procedure with Lipos or Nicads, but this has worked well for me with NIMH batteries.
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