Nicad Cycling Question????  
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Nicad Cycling Question???? - 2/20/2002 2:31:23 AM   
zero244


 

Posts: 176
Joined: 1/19/2002
From: Mcminnville, OR, USA
Status: offline 		I purchased a Sirius Supertest and have been cycling my batteries with it. When I discharge my fully charged batteries I am getting mah numbers that are about 4 or 5 percent lower than the battery rating. Im discharging a 4 cell pack at 250 mah and getting a reading of 573 for a 600 mah pack. The same holds true for all my packs...........regardless of mah capacity. They are are all coming in at 4 or 5 percent lower than the rating of the pack.
I slow charge all my new packs..............giving them 140 or 150 percent charge before I start fast charging them. I have tried several different chargers.......including the trickle charger that comes with your radio, a Sirius Pro charger and a old Multicycle from Litco and the results are the same.

Is this unusual.....or is this the norm. By the way the Multi-Cycle from Litco is a excellent charger. I bought it years ago when they first got into the charger business. I havent used it that much since Ive been out of flying for a while. I wish they would of continued this line of chargers.

Thanks


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Nicad Cycling Question???? - 2/20/2002 5:08:41 AM   
slam



Posts: 67
Joined: 1/4/2002
From: BB , BC,
Status: offline 		In using my Ace Smart Test I have just recently begun checking my packs. They are anywhere from 1 to 3 years old and all tested above the rating. eg 600MAH tested at 643MAH, etc.
This is after quick charging them.

From what I've read they will vary and one shouldn't be concerned unless they are significantly lower. Your tester might be under reading. The main point is you have a starting point and if they deteriorate significantly you will know to replace them.

(in reply to zero244)
       Post #: 2

Nicad Cycling Question???? - 2/20/2002 3:06:15 PM   
HitecRedneck



Posts: 215
Joined: 12/22/2001
From: Kingsland, AR, USA
Status: offline 		Flying electric I am always checking batteries. This is what I have found in general, most packs will cycle slightly less than what they are rated at. I can put a load of 1.5 amps on them and they come in at just slightly above. The wide variations of test to capacity are the ones I'm looking for ie 450 mah on a 600 mah battery pack.

(in reply to zero244)
       Post #: 3

Nicad Cycling Question???? - 2/21/2002 6:30:27 AM   
Jazzy



Posts: 1106
Joined: 1/8/2002
From: Erie, PA, USA
Status: offline 		Zero,
If you're getting readings below 80% of rated capacity start to worry. Otherwise you should be A.O.K.
There is another thing to take into consideration. Not all cyclers discharge to the same cell voltage level. My Supernova discharges to 0.9V per cell whereas my Accucycle discharges to 1.1V per cell. Two tenths of a Volt may not sound like much but I've recorded up to a 300mAh difference with the same cell using both cyclers. (1600mAh NiMH AA cell).
My packs never seemed to reach rated capacity until I started using the Supernova. Now they all exceed rated specs. Except of course the really old ones!
Just something else to consider.

Jeff

(in reply to zero244)
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N-Cd/Ni-MH rating - 2/21/2002 7:37:27 PM   
Red Scholefield



Posts: 4973
Joined: 12/8/2001
From: Newberry, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Ni-Cds and Ni-MH are rated at a C/5 discharge. If you cycle them at a higher rate you may not get full rated capacity if they are close to the rated to start with. The mean of the actual capacity can be from 10 to 15% higher than rated when discharged at C/5 of the rated capacity.

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AMA 951 Leader Member

(in reply to zero244)
       Post #: 5

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