ORIGINAL: dialtone74
Yes I understand that! Mine will do all batteries. I guess I was asking things like charging rates and overall voltage after full charges. I didnt ask the right questions at first.
Got it.
I'm not familiar with that charger, but I'll assume that it's a "smart" charger that uses a Delta-V point to determine the full charge point of Nicads and Nimh's.
The problem comes in when some of these new chargers allow the user to set parameters that, in the past, were hard-programmed into chargers and couldn't be changed. The problem with that is that people who are unfamiliar with battery technologies will play around and change things that could lead to some significant problems.
The short story, if you CAN set parameters on your charger, is that you should start with any "Default"s that are programmed into it, especially with regard to the Delta-V millivolt settings which are different for a Nicad vs. a NimH battery.
But if you have to choose, set the bottom discharge stop voltage for your Nicads at 1.0v
per cell to be safe, and the NimH discharge stop voltage at 1.1v
per cell.
For safe overnight charging, use the charge rates as I mentioned in the earlier post.
Finally, and only if you HAVE to choose Delta-V voltages, set the Delta-V for Nicads at 12mv, and the Delta-V for the NimH at 6mv. Those settings should keep you out of trouble but still allow the charger to catch the Delta-V correctly.
Also, note that the charge curve for NimH batteries stays pretty flat near the Delta-V if you charge it at too low a voltage. So to make sure that your charger doesn't sail on past and miss the Delta-V of the NimH battery, you should be sure to charge the NimH at a minimum of 20% of pack capacity, and preferably at 40% or 50%. I use 40% mostly because it's kind to the pack but still accentuates the Delta-V so that any decent smart charger can catch it. I'm picking nits here because most high quality chargers actually will catch the Delta-V easily at only a C10 charge, but missing the Delta-V can happen (though rarely) and I like to be safe because I often leave my chargers running overnight.
One more thing; some chargers also let you set a maximum charge-input in mah as well as maximum time. If the charger hits either of those settings, it will cut off the charge process as a safety feature. Read your instructions as to how to set those amounts if your charger allows you to do so.