what is the proper way to cycle a battery? My batts are starting to lose a little runtime and umph. I use nimh's
thanks
jeff

no cycler on your charger?

nimh batteries don't have infinite life. They can only be charged so many times before the runtime on them starts to suffer drastically. Also, nimh batteries should never be drained completely. They are a different type of battery then nicads. They don't suffer from memory effect, so cycling won't do you any good.

If the runtime is real bad, you're better off tossing them and getting new ones.

oh I didn't know that. That kinda sucks these batts have about 20-30 charges on them and I'm losing runtime already. Fusion power 3600's and venom 3000 with about 10-15 charges. My charger is a vision peak 2. I usually run them down to about the 25% mark. would it help them if I charged them at 1 amp a couple times? My charger charges at 1,2 or 4 amps.

Yeah if you have a bit of time, charge them on 1 amp. Otherwise 2, I wouldn't go to 4 but that's just me.

That many runs they shouldn't be losing power. You should try to drain the nimh packs though, they'll get a better charge.

What are you charging at right now? Does your charger go into trickle charge mode when the battery is full, or do you have to take it off before it blows up?

If you're charging at 4amps, changing it to 1amp will definetaly help with getting longer runtime.

ponch, draining a nimh battery to 0% is bad for the battery. Never drain a nimh battery.

I usualy charge at 4 and it goes to trickle afterwards. should I not be charging at that high? seems like at 2 amps a 3600 takes like forever to charge lol.

OOPS sorry, IDK what I was thinking...

Why do people discharge batteries then?

3600 is a big pack.

Batteries 101:

mah stands for milliamp hour. 1000mA = 1A, so for example, 3600mah = 3.6ah. This means that if you put a 3.6 amp draw on the battery, it would take 1 hour to fully discharge.

Thinking in reverse, if you charged it at 3.6amps and it was dead, it would take 1 hour to charge. The lower you charge at, the longer it will take. Charging at a lower setting will help against peak detection problems, which help to get a better charge on the battery.

I charge my 3300packs in my starter box at 2amps and have never had a problem. When they are real low, it takes forever to charge, but that's ok. I start the charge before I go to bed and when it's done it'll simply trickle charge. In the morning, I swap to the other battery, start it up and head off to work. When I come back, they are ready to go .

Charging at high amps, like 4 should only be done in an emergency. Say you forgot to charge your batteries and you need some charge just to get you buy, then go for it. Otherwise stick to the lower settings for longer battery life.

lol that's why for starter boxes I love my gel cell, it may be heavy but I haven't charged that sucker in 2+ weeks lol

The man is right. I normally charge my 3300 venom packs @ 1 amp. It takes longer, but they'll last me all weekend. My charger has cycle capabilities, but I've messed with and stopped it few minutes later because I have no idea what a right discharge rate is. I've read 30amp discharge is correct. But that to me sounds really high.

I charge the 3600's in my box at 5 amps and they take about a half hour to charge and have plenty of ass to get my motors goin

Ponch u will see the woes of gell cells sooner or later we all do

Sorry for off topic (somewhat) but what are the woes of gell cells besides the weight issue?

Gell cells might last longer, but man they suck luggin a