tazzzz

Im totally confused on this battery cycling thing. I have NICADS and NIMH, what is the difference and is one better than the other? Also can you recommend a cycler-charger for these batteries? All my stuff is JR ,if it makes any difference, Why do you discharge a battery anyway if you are just going to charge it back up again?(??????????) Ive also heard that on some batteries, that its not necessary to cycle. OH YEAH, can you use a wall charger for both NICADS and NIMH? Its a JR charger and it says its for NICADS--but Ive been told you can use it for both. YUP! Im totally confused. can you tell?


Thanks a million--JIM[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

jetmech05

You cycle Nicads to help prevent memory..full scale deep cycles Nicads as well...memory is caused by discharging a battery to a certain point and charging again over and over..in other words you charge you fly three flights go home charge etc etc,, the problem with memory is when you want to fly a bit longer or fly that 4th flight that battery pack gets to the point where the memory is and will rapidly discharge to zero....
you cycle the battery pack to prevent memory
when you discharge your Nicads discharge to 1.1 volt a cell....typically 8.8 volts on your transmitter and 4.4 volts on your airplane.
I use an expanded scale volt meter to discharge my aircraft batteries....expanded scale volt meter puts a load on the batteries and allow them to discharge...any voltmeter that puts a load on will do..Futaba transmitters are diode protected so you can't do this with Futaba transmitter charge jack..instead I'll turn it on and set it next to me while watch TV and monitor
There are cyclers available that you can set the discharge and charge rate as well.
Which ever way you go your going to need a set of leads.A well stocked hobby shop should carry them> I know Tower does, they also carry the cycler and expanded scale volt meter...
I'm not sure about NIMH. I don't think memory is an issue with Nickle Metal Hydrite.
hope this helps you

jetmech05

On a side note Nicad stands for Nickle cadium and Nimh stands for Nickle metal hydrite its the chemicals/metals used to produce the electricity..just like a typical flashlight battery is carbon zinc
the biggest difference besides the insides is the way a battery discharges, or charges, or its capacity stated in MAH (miliamp hour).
A 600 mah battery will deliver 1 miliamp for 600 hours or 600 miliamps for 1 hour
Good luck have fun

Flyboy Dave

My Feedback: (21)

....you might find some help here as well....

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_84/tt.htm

I do the same as george, I cycle my stuff manually....but there are chargers that can do
the job for you. All my stuff is nicad.

FBD.

stang

My Feedback: (1)

Jetmech:

Its nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries.

jaka

Hi!
...And you don't have to cycle anything! That is a thing of the past with Nicad cells.
Just charge (simple JR, Futaba, Hitech 50-150Mah wall charger) before you fly, 12-20 hours...
I have used this concept for 32 years and it's still what I use.

Rodney

There is seldom a need for cycling as Jaka says, memory is not a problem. However, if you fast charge either NiMh or NiCad they can become unbalanced. Usually a slow charge (charge at 0.1C for 16 hours) will bring them back into balance. It is wise to cycle once every 6 months or so just to check the status of the cells; if they fall below 80% after a slow charge and discharge at 0.3C or less, they are probably over the hill as far as use for an airborne system. Batteries do wear out and slowly degrade with time so that is the one single reason for possibly cycling your batteries.

Laird SS

As Rodney and Jaka have stated, it isn't necessary to worry about memory in modern-day NiCad and NiMH batteries. That went away years ago with the advent of the newer processes, eg, double sintering, used to create these batteries.

jetmech05

stang...never said I could spell...

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Check out www.rcbatteryclinic.com for lots of good information on NiCd and NiMH. Also check out www.radicalrc.com for more information and good prices.

jetmech05

just read some of the articles from JPMacG which states memory still exsist...When I first started working aircraft with nicads, I was warned about memory and heat, something we never worried about with lead acid. today nicad batteries are still deep cycled, for all the reasons given..including memory...
just because you haven't cycled your batteries and never have gotten memory doesn't mean memory doesn't exsist....
ever hear of thermal runaway? I've seen that..

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

The debate about cycling will always be a hot button topic. I do it for one reason that has not been mentioned. I have found bad battery packs by cycling them that would not have been found until the plane was in the air if I did not cycle. A cycler will find a bad pack. I like finding bad packs on my bench and not in the wreckage. Good Luck, Dave