STEVESRCWORLD

My Feedback: (23)

HELLO,

i am running two 6 volt 1450 mah batteries in my plane. they are on a y harness connected to one switch so that i get 6 volts but 2900 mah's. i have a hobbico accu cycle elite for a charger. do i charge the batteries togeather at 1450 mah or charge them at the 2900 mah? i am charging them both at the same time through the switch.the batteries are hydrimax ni mh. thanks

guver

My Feedback: (325)

If it works they would be charged the same way (2900 mah and 6 volts) and it may work with a very slow rate, but it can also overcharge one battery toward the end of charge also. The best is to charge separately while measuring capacity and then second best is to charge them together in series as a 12 volt 1450 battery if they require the same amount of charge..

KB9STD

My Feedback: (1)

You need to charge the pack seperately.The easiest way to accomodate it, is to put the packs on seperate switches.Look at this link for a good explanation. http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/parallel.html

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

If you are running 2 packs you might as well run 2 switches. It gives you an extra safety measure in the case of a switch failure which is a lot more common than a pack failure.

mrasmm

hrm.. I'm gona jump in here. I think it is fine if you want to charge the packs together, just for the simple fact that they are being run down at the same rate (unless I missunderstood, and if so disregard all of this). I would agree with guver. If you can charge them seperate, that would be the better way to go, but if not, charge them in series rather than parallel (ie a 12v 1450mAh pack).

maybe red will jump in here and correct me, but I think that it applies to receiver packs that would be charged in parallel that might have different capacity, age, or # of cycles, all of which you would want to charge seperately. I could be wrong, but I don't think this article applies quite as much to packs connected at the same time with the same number of cycles that are roughly the same age and have roughly the same measured capacity, and charged in series. Of course it's not a good idea to charge nicd's in parallel, so if you are going to be leaving them in the plane, then you'll probably need to just go seperate charge jacks.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

But wouldnt charging them in series be more difficult than charging them separately? Sure its possible but it doesnt seem very practical. You would have to rig up something to connect them to in order charge that way.

Really, the easiest way to charge to packs at once is 2 chargers or a charger with 2 outputs.

mrasmm

yeah, I agree, that would be the best way \. The only reason you might want to charge them in series is so that you can get your packs charged quicker and get back out running and you don't have two seperate chargers. Other than that, there is not much of a reason for it. I don't think in parallel is really a good idea with these types of batteries.

STEVESRCWORLD

My Feedback: (23)

thank's for the input guy's. i have decided to install two seperate switches so i can charge them one at the time.

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Thats really the way to go. Since you are already carrying around 2 packs in the plane you might as well add the extra switch. It adds very little weight but a lot of security.

Just dont forget to turn both of the switches off after flying!