ORIGINAL: HawkChalk
~losi 8 1.0 rtr ....
This phrase is meaningless. It may explain the lack of response, people don't know what you have(?)
i was at the hobby store the other day and the guy behind the counter said something about needing to 'deep cycle' a battery after 5 or so cycles (1 cycle being a charge and discharge of the battery) he told me to hook the battery up to a light bulb until the light goes out and then immediately charge the battery fully(instructions say takes 12 hours with supplied charger that came with the rtr/battery). hook it back up to the light until it goes out again and immediately give it a full charge and then its good to go...
any comments or suggestions on this procedure, did the guy tell me the right thing??? I'm about 5 cycles on my battery and wondering if i should do this 'deep cycle' procedure.
thanks in advance.. Rock Chalk
The procedure from the counter-guy is unnecessary and has a risk of degrading your battery.
With a receiver battery, it may be 4-cell (4.8v) or 5-cell (6v). If it's a battery pack for an electric-powered plane, the battery could be any number of configurations; e.g. from 5-10 cells (6 - 12v).
In any event, "deep cycling" a NiMh battery serves no purpose. Nicad cells are subject to a "memory" phenomenum which is alleviated by a deep-discharge cycle. NiMh cells do not suffer from the "memory" phenomenum.
NiMh cells do benefit from a series of "forming" charge/discharge cycles about 3 cycles. Each cycle: slow-charge (12-16 hours at the C/10 charge rate) (e.g. your battery: 1700/10 = 170 ma); followed by a slow-discharge (~300-500 ma rate) until the cells drop to no lower than 1v per cell: 4-cell => 4v; 5-cell => 5v. These cut-off voltage levels are to avoid any reverse charging of any one cell. (For extra safety, many people recommend a discharge cut-off at 1.1v per cell.) The "forming" cycles help the NiMh battery cells develop their full capacity (e.g. the full 1700mah for your battery).