hump pack charging time?

[abadk9420]

I would be careful charging receiver packs or even any 2/3A or smaller pack at more then 1.2 amps they do not seem to like it much and tend to heat up, if you charge them slower they seem to get a better charge and receive more charge before voltage peaking, at least this has been my exspeariance since I got the 2/3A cell batteries for my crawler, I have 2600 mah nimh AA in my radio and they do not like being fast charged at all so I just use the wall charger that came with my radio and slow charge them over night, Biggest thing is just watch the heat on the smaller cells you do not really want them getting any more then just a little warm if you want them to last and hold a good charge, IMO...

 

[RC Addict]

+1 Abad! 2 amps MAX and 1 is better...

 

[cptvkirk]

agreed, I learned from my short, youthful time in the electric buggy world fast charges will smoke a battery pack and still can't provide the same run time as a good trickle charge.

 

[olds97_lss]

But i did find the 1600 you referred to instead of settling on a 1200. After all, that's like a whole what? 1 minute longer run...lol

You'd be surprised. Usually a larger capacity cell can deliver more current all at once, so you get better servo response as well as longer run time with the higher cap cells. It would be more than a minute, it's 33% larger... if I did my math right. (1600-1200=400, 400/1200=33.3%)

So, better instant power delivery and 1/3 longer run time.

 

[spee-d]

I have one a model older than this:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXRST9&P=ML

Does a great job on my receiver packs, micro-t, cordless drill, transmitter, glow heater, 7.2V stick packs and 4 AA holders with NiMH's in it for my camera.

It's adjustable in .5A increments. I like to charge my AAA, AA, 2/3A (receiver packs) at .5A (500mah). Seems to give a longer lasting charge. Not as much punch at first as a 1A charge, but it does last longer. Takes a while longer to charge though.

The "ballpark" math on how long a charger takes is pretty easy to figure out. If your 6V 1200mah pack is completely dead, at a 1A charge rate, it will take 1.2 hours. If you charge it at .5A, it will take 2.4 hours.

With a good high quality receiver pack, you may be able to charge it at 1.5A-2A safely, but I like to charge slower to spare the battery. If you get too aggressive, it shortens the overall life of the cells. So, quick charge may cost you less time, but more $ more frequently due to the cells giving out.

I've been using the 1400mah receiver pack in my aftershock for almost 2 years. Still holds a good charge longer than I have yet to run it.

Considering the versatility of the MRC 960 I linked to, it's a great charger for many charging needs, not just RC specific stuff. If you can make a connector and the device holds 1-8 NiMH or NiCAD cells, you can use the MRC 960 to charge it.

hey i just picked up one of those what should i set it at to charge a sub c pack for my baja 3800 mah. i get that i should set the amps at 1.0-1.5 what about the mv. i can tune with the best of them but when it comes to batterys and charging i know nothing. i do`nt want to sound like a goof or a noob but help.

 

[olds97_lss]

Well, depending on the size of the wire lead, it should be safe to charge a 3800mah pack at 3.8A or less. If the wire lead is the same as a normal receiver wire lead, then I wouldn't go over 2A for fear of overheating the plug/lead and melting it.