chefboyrd

Gang,
I am using a pirahna digital peak charger to charge my two Venom 3300 niMh packs for my starter box. I have my charger set for a3300/niMh charging at 4 amps which is recommended. I feel like the box is going dead early. Can anyone tell me what the charger should read in volts and or amps to let me know the pack is at full charge? These packs are brand new by the way.
thanks
John

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Volts or amps cannot tell you it's full. The capacity reading around 3300 or the voltage dropping would indicate full.

chefboyrd

what should the voltage dropping read for a 7.2 v battery?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

the voltage drop should be .03 volts

nayslayer

not sure what voltage dropping is, but if you were to discharge your two batteries fully, then charge them at 4amps and set mah to 3300, the capasity would be 3300, and the voltage on pack right after charge would be around 8.xx or so, will drop from the time it stops charging. I have the same exact charger, and i'd set the mah value to 3400 or so. Packs usually have a higher capacity then what they are rated, and you won't damage your pack due to peak detection. i'd set peak to about 4mv.

chefboyrd

The charger pretty much does everything by itself and trickles when fully charged. Not sure I have much to do. How to you caculate the voltage drop?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

The voltage drop is 5 mv per cell ( I multiplied 5 x 6 cells = 30 mv or .030 )

The charger setting is a per cell setting and should be 3-10 mv and it'll multiply it by the number of cells automatically and then stop when the voltage has dropped that amount. It is very simple to set the capacity and mv and current for each memory location. The trickle setting is global to all memory locations, and it doesn't matter where it's set.

chefboyrd

Granted I am trying to start a brand new engine, a Draked Platinum .12 so it is super tight which I know is draining my packs quickly as I try to start the engine. My starter box has 12v car battery adapters. How long would a 12 volt car battery last...a long time I suppose?
-john

giddyuperic

Get rid off the sticks and go with a 12 volt starter box battery and charge it at 2amps. this battery can turn over my 28 engines when they are stone cold no problem at all. $19.99 at the parts house. Eric

chefboyrd

what kind of charger do you need to recharge a battery like that?

Rotorranch

A 12 volt automotive charger is what I use. A 2 amp charger will charge it in about 3 hours.

Rotor

chefboyrd

My starter box comes with alligator clips to connect to my car battery. All I need is a little "power" to turn this motor over. Once broken in..I am sure my stick packs will work well like they do for my other truck.