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Battery question

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theant

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I am wondering how to store my stock stampede nimh's between runs. Should I store them fully charged and give them a quick charge every couple of weeks or drain them down on a run and fully charge them just before going out. Or......does it not really matter when it comes to nimh batteries?


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I just realized that I actually posted a Similar question a few months back...sorry for reposting. If anyone has some more opinions on this i would still like to hear what you have to say.


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I have read other posts where guys are saying to store the batteries in the fridge before charging. Is this necessary and or does it yield a better charge? I know to keep AA's in the fridge to help maintain a charge on those, could that be possible for nimh's?


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if your going a couple weeks at a stretch between uses i wouldnt really worry about keeping them in the fridge or not cuz you're still gonna wanna charge them before going out. As for NiMHs you can store them with a full charge but they wont keep a full charge very long. You dont have to cycle them the same way you do a NiCD but if you have time to do so its a good idea to do it when you can.
 
I have had inexpensive NiMh battery packs last me for years and if properly taken care of they can withstand up to and over 400 charges. Storing them at room temps is the suggested care by most manufacturers of NiMH battery packs. Cooler temps reduce the natural discharge of the battery pack.

Cycle the battery pack once or twice if it has sat for a long period of time. I have 4 NiMh 3000 Mah Dreadnought battery packs sit for a little over 3 years and now I am using them again. I gave them a full charge before they sat. Then cycled them before I used them again after about 3 cycles they were back up to full capacity.

Further advise I charge my 3000 MaH battery packs at half the MaH so I use a 1.5 amp on my Ice Charger. This keeps the battery pack from getting over 100 degrees at the end of the charge. My discharge rate is at 3 amps and the battery pack will get hot but still stay at about 100 degrees.

Too hot to touch you will fry the battery pack and damage the cells. Yup when I was first learning I melted the plastic sheath on one of my battery packs. I still use it but it does not take the capacity of my other battery packs.

This web site explains the care and use of battery packs.

http://www.copquest.com/battery_care.htm
 
Last edited:
Great!!! That is exactly the kind of info that I was looking for. Thanks alot


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your welcome. I have over 10 years of experience with both Nitros and Electric R/Cs :)
 
I have only been in it for about 4 years now, and only on the nitro side of things. I love electric, but there seems to be a bigger learning curve as far as batteries, motors etc. imo.


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---------- Post added at 9:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:31 PM ----------

One question i have, you say you gave your battery packs a full charge before letting them sit for 3 years. Do you recommend letting the battery packs sit fully charged when sitting for say over a month?


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---------- Post added at 9:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 9:34 PM ----------

Read the link.....makes sense


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