Some more Battery information

FAQ's

• As a general rule don't go above 5A for a NiCad pack and above 4.5 with a NiMh pack.  The newer 3300 GP NiMh's can be charged with a 6-7amp rate, you will loose some run time but gain a higher voltage.

• Don't discharge your NiCd pack below .85 V per cell as you could reverse the polarity of a weak cell.

• Only discharge your NiMh packs until the discharger lights go out.  Do not leave them on a discharger overnight or after the lights go out.  The latest theory is to discharge them to zero (.02V) and new 'absolute zero' trays are out that do this. 

• Do a slow charge now and then.  The time should be = (Nominal Capacity/10) * 1.4  The reason to do this is if there's a weak cell in the pack, the slow charge will help bring it up to the level of the other cells, making the pack behave like a "matched" unit instead of a bunch of weak and strong cells. If your charger is doing a lot of false peaks with a certain pack, this might cure it. 

• Never charge your packs to a level where they heat too much. NiMh can suffer a lot with heat during a charge and be gone forever.  Use a good quality delta peak charger.

• Storing packs... Store the NiCd flat or with charge, after some time they are all flat. They discharge when resting, so charge them slowly every 2 or 3 months. The NiMh's, Some manufacturers say they should not be stored discharged. BUT some manufactures say that they should be stored discharged. I store them charged and let them rest for the winter but its your call.