|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 0:11:09 GMT 1
Okay, so I read that you should charge your batteries within a few hours of flying. (NIMH) Also, my pack says to keep warm before flying. So I try to charge before flight but sometimes weather and stuff cancells your flight plans. So today I ended up with all four of my batteries fully charged but then it started raining. So my question is, is it okay to pop em back on the charger till it reads a full charge a few minutes before flying as I know they slowly lose their charge over the next couple of days?
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 0:40:45 GMT 1
Will this cause some "memory" problem with the batteries since they are not being discharged before being put back on the charger? I want to stock up on batteries so I can have them all charged up for a nice long day of flying.
|
|
|
|
Post by cjg on Jul 14, 2007 2:11:16 GMT 1
NIMH are not nearly as prone to memory problems as NICD. I charge my batteries after a flight (after a cool down period). Then a few days later, when ready to fly, I "repeak" them to get a full charge back in before flying. If you use a peak charger (such as is supplied) you don't have to worry about this.
The "keep the battery warm" thing refers to winter flying. They dont' have to be warm off the charger.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 10:56:42 GMT 1
thanks for your help, man. So I can just re-charge them for a few minutes before flight (if they have already been charged earlier) to get the full flight time out of them without ruining my packs?
Sorry man, just re-read your post and I think you might have mostly answered my question. Too many beers. And youngsters, don't drink!!!! It's bad for your health.
Did I just say "youngsters"? I need to go ride my YZ again I'm feeling old now. I"m only 27!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 11:20:42 GMT 1
Oh, and how long do I have to wait before recharging a pack right after flight if I am trying to have a long day of flying and want to keep recharging packs?
|
|
|
|
Post by duck9191 on Jul 14, 2007 13:12:01 GMT 1
its best to wait till the battery cools down, you will get more cycles out of it this way. i always repeak my batteries before i fly, more time in the sky that way.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 17:43:41 GMT 1
ok, thanks guys. Any more battery/electrical tips would be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 18:05:35 GMT 1
oh yeh, and why do I hear that my car charger won't charge my 8-cell? The wall charger charges it at .4A, so couldn't I just turn my car charger down to .4A? There must be something I'm missing here.
|
|
surjer
Squadron leader
Posts: 168
|
Post by surjer on Jul 14, 2007 19:45:01 GMT 1
its the total voltage that the charger outputs. 8 cells require a higher voltage than 7 cells do. Soooo, your DC Peak charger can output enough in the amperage category but not in the voltage category. .40A @ 9.6V is different than .40A @ 10.1V. Your wall charger however IS capable of outputting the higher voltage...
Hope that helps..
|
|
|
|
Post by duck9191 on Jul 14, 2007 19:51:06 GMT 1
ya, the cub car charger wont, but the parkzone one for the p51 will. you can find them on ebay pretty cheap or just keep your eye out and get a good charger, i got a duratrax ice for $50, it aimed more at r/c cars but it works just fine for almost any battery.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 14, 2007 20:59:35 GMT 1
sweet, thanks guys. This is all slowly starting to come together. I was into nitro and electric RC cars back in the early 90s when I was a kid but I don't remember much.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 15, 2007 1:51:44 GMT 1
oh, and is it ok to leave your batteries on trickle charge overnight?
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 15, 2007 2:02:09 GMT 1
ya, the cub car charger wont, but the parkzone one for the p51 will. you can find them on ebay pretty cheap or just keep your eye out and get a good charger, i got a duratrax ice for $50, it aimed more at r/c cars but it works just fine for almost any battery. Sweet, what are some good chargers I could use for 8.4v, 9.6v, and maybe even up from there as I might do some modifying? If you happen to know? Oh, and should I have a multimeter? |
|
|
|
Post by duck9191 on Jul 15, 2007 5:58:24 GMT 1
i didnt have to many problems with the PKZ1519, the one that comes with the p-51. i did notice when i got my elite 8 cell 1500's it would charge for 10-15 min and stop, you would have to d/c the batter and reconnect it and it would charge for another 10-15 then do it again until the battery started to get warm. i think it might have something to do with the crappy connectors causing a false delta peak and kicking the charger out. it kinda depends on how fancy of a charger you want, the PKZ1519 is nice and basic, but something like the duratrax ice or triton 2 have options to cycle and discharge batteries, breaking in motors and what not. also if you do plan on getting a decent charger make sure its lipo compatible, save ya some money down the line.
as for the multimeter there not bad to have, you can pick up a analog one for a few dollars, that way if your not 100% sure that your battery is fully charged you can test it or if you think that there is a sort some were you can test that also. or you can do what i did when my meter died a untimely dead, i ended up getting a dc clamp meter so i can check to see how many amps my motor is pulling along with checking voltage.
|
|
|
|
Post by thecreepa117 on Jul 15, 2007 17:37:46 GMT 1
yeh I just checked out the duratrax ice, and that thing looks sweet. Just don't think I am informed enough to even use most of those options at this point. Think I'm going to go buy a multimeter today though, to help me better understand battery characteristics and what not. One more question, how do you think my stock AC charger would do with an 8-cell Elite 1500 pack? Oh wait, just read on it that it only charges 500-1000 mah. So I guess I'm not getting a full charge out of my 8-cell 1100 mah pack. Now I'm also gonna have to find out if my 7-cell 1400 mah packs are even getting a full charge out of the stock DC charger. Will a multimeter tell me these things? I think I am about to go across the street to home depot.
|
|
