I just bought a niMH for the increased capacity for my new g20ei. I did not realize the slow charge rate needed. My accu-cycle "plus" on low charges at 500. The battery states charge at 200 for 11 hours. My futaba wall charger is at 100. I thought i was doing good getting a 2000mah battery for the ignition, but now i have a charging issue. Any suggestions..?

You can typically charge these batteries at higher rates.

The first time you want to slow charge it until it reaches capacity.

It may be a good idea to cycle it and check what it delivers.

After you've used it once or twice you can charge at a higher rate.

I recommend getting a multi charger for the first charge, like this one or similar.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXL331&P=7

I have many NiMH batteries and fast charge them all with this http://www.siriuselectronics.com/ind...roducts_id=346 and have no problems at all. I always do a slow charge and recycle a few times first and then I'm good to go.

I have not had good luck with Nimh batteries used as ignition packs ( something about too much internal resistance ) so I have returned to nicads ( and maybe lipo's ) for this purpose.

triton charger does them all

It is really important to do a slow charge C/10 to form the new cells for 14 to 16 hours. You can run into problems over peaking and or not getting the most capacity from your pack. I have a dual regulated lab power supply that I use to form charge mine. I use three C/10 charge and C/5 discharge cycles and then consider my packs formed and ready to quick charge.

Sirius has a form charger for $50.00
http://www.siriuselectronics.com/ind...roducts_id=351

Newer NiMh packs with low internal resistance will work well as ignition packs. You can find them at NoBs Batteries.
They have an excellent FAQ that describes the differences between NiCd, NiMh and LiIon packs. Look at the left side about the middle.
http://www.hangtimes.com/nobsbatteries.html

The Triton makes a horrible slow charger. It wants to time out. I use mine to discharge my packs and to quick charge them after they are formed.

John

In closing. It always amazes me that we will not take the time to properly learn how to take care of our battery packs. You can get lucky and just fast charge a pack instead of properly forming it but the maximum life will be attained if you form charge them first.

Read Red's Battery Clinic for a great primer on packs.
www.rcbatteryclinic.com/

John

really ive never had trouble slow charging with mine, i have the newer model too

That could be the difference mine is the original version. Most of my packs are 1500 mAh so C/10 is 150 mA.
I cannot get my older version to charge at 150 mA for 16 hours.

I've re-read my posts and I come off sounding like I have all the answers. I appologize about that as it was not my intention.
I do have a lot of experience with packs and have some that are 5 years old that still check to within 85% of their original capacity.

I am replacing a lot of packs this year even though the packs test good. They are just getting to old for my peace of mind.
John

JNorton

I don't think you need apologize for any of your comments, as they are informative and accurate. Failure to familiarize oneslf with the equipment is not just applicable to batteries, but cuts across the whole RC spectrum: engines, prop selection, fuels, airplane aerodynamics, and on and on. Lots of people read the ads hype and tend to believe the incomplete truths that they see. With all the claims of "best this and best that..." its understandable that a plug and play perception is woven throughout the industry. Hands on experience or threads such as this one are ways to supplement that information with real world experience on how to get the best service out of equipment.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in a helpful way.