Battery Questions???

[evaderstracr]

How should i use my ni-mh batteries?

Should I discharge them after every use then charge them?
How long will 3000 mah batteries take to charge at 3 amps?

:eek:

[gizmoguy303]

If you have a discharger, it is better to discharge them after every run to 5.4 volts (0.9 volts per cell). If you don't have a discharger, run the car until you feel a loss of power, then stop.

3000 mAh (3000 milliamp-hours) = 3 Ah (3 amp-hours). It's similar to the metric system that you learned in the 5th grade.

So, if you are charging at 3 amps, and your battery has the capacity of 3 amp-hours, it will take....one hour to charge. However, most batteries take in more than their labeled capacity because of resistance, so it probably take a little longer than one hour. Plan on one hour to an hour and a half for charge time. ;)

[evaderstracr]

what happens if i don't discharge them??? :confused:
Is running your car down untill it stops the same as discharging it all the way??? :confused:

:D

[gizmoguy303]

Don't run your car all the way down until it stops. That's discharging the pack too far. Just run it until you feel the loss of power. If you don't discharge them, they will build a slight memory over time (yes, even NiMH). However, since you aren't racing and aren't trying to squeeze all the power you can out of your batteries, you can get away with not discharging them after every run. Just run your car and have fun, man. :cool:

[TRF Drive Hard]

I though NiMH dont have memory?

[gizmoguy303]

Well, technically they do. Your batteries (GP3300's, anyway) will produce more power if they are discharged after every run, compared to if they were just left partially discharged and then recharged. From my experience, anyway. In his case, it doesn't really matter.