Need some help. I have a DigiPeak charger discharger. It can charge 1-14 nicd or nimh packs. Variable charge rate of .2A to 5A. The discharge is dependent on the cell pack #. I am trying to find out if it is possible to check my battery packs using this charger/discharger. Also can anyone tell me how to check packs using a charger discharger like this one? Such as charge at ???amps and discharge at ????amps, how long should pack hold ?????voltage.

Thanks for the help

Doug

If you list a specific battery pack specs then someone may be familiar with it to tell what settings to use.

type, capacity,cells, ect. Also I searched and there are a few digipeaks, Is it a bmi one? or ofna perhaps.

I have several different packs. Not sure what you mean about ofna, etc. Mine is a Digipeak Predict Charger. It will tell you ammeter charge rate, voltage, and mah. Model is 1855. I like the charger , just want to check my packs if possible. For instance:

A 1900mah pack. If I peak charge, then discharge, what mah should I get at max discharge?

When checking a pack like this, should you charge then discharge then recharge to get accurate mah? What mah should you discharge at to get most accurate mah info.

How long should a pack hold voltage?

Thanks
Doug

There are industry standards for the rate and cut-off voltage, but using a rate and voltage similar to the rate you use in the model will mean a lot more, the standard rate is very low. It will not matter much how you charge the pack before a test, just make sure it's full and warm. The pack should read 100 % of capacity if it is in good shape, some say at about 80% is time to toss it. Usually at the max discharge current of the pack the max capacity will not be reached. It will be either one or the other, not both. (I'm assuming you have nickle batts)

Not real sure what you're asking about "holding" voltage for how long, maybe this graph will help.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...hmentid=888679

It was a nickle batt setting for a day, 1 week, 1 month 3month 5 months and as you can see the discharge rate of 10 amps pulls capacity down to 2800 for a 3000 mah batt. Had it been discharged at the industry standard rate the capacity would have been well over 3000.

This graph is showing the voltage hot off the charger and is incremented every second for a total od 2 hrs +

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...hmentid=889503

standard practice is to set the discharge rate to the expected use rate of discharge and measure the time lapse until cell voltage equals 1.1 volts/cell for nicads.
As stated in the previous post you will most likely not see the actual pack capacity as it is stated on the label, but if you do this and keep records on your packs you will see that they are consistently in the same range and any change will serve as an indicator as to when to trash the pack.
I number my packs and do the cycling monthly when I'm in flying mode to spot packs that are deteriorating and I have never lost an aircraft to battery failure of any sort in 34 years.
Over time you will see the capacity creep down a little but when a large change comes around you will know it. Some of my flight packs have lasted nearly 10 years with some only going 4-5 from the same suppliers.

"Big Stiks are supposed to touch a wingtip when they roll, Aren't they!?"