I use Triton battery charger to charge my NiCads and NiMH packs. However it looks like I am getting no where with it. In order to get the battery capacity the procedure would be to discharge the battery and re charge it then the charge dose will determine battery life/condition .The Triton charger recommends to set the discharge cut off voltage to 0.9 V per cell and then for a battery of x cells cutoff voltage is x times 0.9 volts .Ok, but then the instructions goes on to say "for Tx and Rx battery packs the cutoff voltage should be set to 1.1V per cell.! When I follow these guidelines (1.1V/cell) to charge my NiCad s and NiMH batteries I don’t seem to get consistent readings. A brand new NiMH pack 1650 mAh 9.6 V would charge for a number of hours at a gentle rate of 0.1 mA and the charger would end the charge cycle reading only some 1200 mA.Then when I put the charge cycle again immediately after the first cycle, it would charge another 250 mA before it ends the charge cycle .Am I doing something wrong here or is the charger acting funny? Thank you.

Yup, your charge rate is too low.

At that rate you are not going to get an accurate reading.

Set the charger for 1C and cycle the battery to see how it is doing.

1C for the nimh pack would be charging at 1.6A, is that safe for the nimh packs?
i agree that 100mAh charge rate is too low but 1.6A may be too much no? I charge my 1650 pack at 300mAh over night with my duratrax ice.

1C works just fine. I do it all the time.

I have both the Triton and the ICE chargers. I like the ICE because it is more straight forward and easier to use. The menu structure on the Triton is a tad confusing. I know you did not ask that question, but I thought I would answer it anyway..

CGr.

That's why I went with the ICE. I don't have anything to charge that's over 10cells, I balance my lipos with a stand alone balancer so ice was a good choice I'm happy with it.

I guess I'll have to start doing some of my charges at 1C because I hate waiting sometimes for batteries to charge up.

Yeah, 1C is fine. I have 1200mah 6V NiMH packs in my planes, in fact, three planes have a pair each. So, it's nice to have a charger that will get them up and ready in short order and the ICE does that job just fine.

For the transmitter, well, I have a large pack in that radio, so I charge that overnight and don't worry about it. If I run that battery pack down, it's time to go home..

CGr.

FYI, I too charge at 1C with the Triton. I've never had a problem yet, neither do the packs get warm. If I can plan on flying the next day I use the wall wart at 100mA.

Run the NiCd batteries through a cycle about once a month. I use three chg/dsc cycles and try to keep a record of each cycle too. First it'll tell you the condition of your battery over time, and second, it'll show you that cycling actually works between #1 and #3.



Edited: forgot to proof-read

I used to charge my NiMH packs at 1C, but found they got pretty hot when they peaked out, and their service life was shortened. Now I charge at about 0.25C or less.

Thank you gentlemen.What cutoff voltage I need to set for discharge cycle;. 0.9 or 1.1 V per cell?Battery packs I use are 4.8V Sanyo AA NiCad and Hydrimax 2000mAh NiMH.Do they stand 1C charging rate?cheers

They shouldn't do this if they are OK.

The ICE ( and Triton for that matter ) feature a temperature probe.

Often it goes unused, but the probe is an important part of the historical data graph info on the ICE.

You use it to check to see if the battery is able to be charged and discharged to it's rated capacity w/o any undue heat build up.

The probe is used to also provide a safety cutoff during all charging operations.

I leave mine at the default of about 90 degrees F. for NiCD, NiMH packs and slightly higher for LiPos.

On RadicalRC's website it says you CAN charge nimh batteries at 1C, or even above 1C for that matter, but it is not the recommended charge rate. They suggest C/10 as the common charge rate (200mah for a 2000ma battery) to prolong the life of the battery.

Everything I have ever read is 1.1v per cell minimum voltage, you might try the RCbattery clinic (www.rcbatteryclinic.com I think) for more info.

I personally never charge my 2700mAh NiMH RX pack at over 1 amp, 1C would be 2.7 amps but Im just paranoid. (Actually usually dont go over 600mA LOL But lower rates are easier on the packs and I dont need it charged THAT fast.)

I also do not have a cycler YET.. I intend to build a discharger circuit that will bring them to 1.1V per cell, but havent done it yet.

Yup, but remember that this is a DIFFERENT situation.

The OP asked about getting "consistent" readings, e.g. testing the battery, which lead to the higher charging rate recommendation.

Ordinarily I charge NiMH and NiCD's at about .5C or so, but to test using the cycling/historical feature of the ICE charger I always use a 1C charge.

Do you discharge at 1C too for cycling/checking the battery?

If you are comparing your cycle results to factory specs, you need to charge for 16 hours at 0.1C then discharge at .2 to .25C down to 0.9 volts/cell. If you discharge faster than that or to a higher volt/cell you will get a smaller number than you get at the .2c and .9v/cell points.