I recently return to the hobby after a 20yr break and have gone straight to using Lipos in my touring car. I really like the ease of use and maintenance.
However, I have just acquired a Tamiya Mini which came with 4 1500 nicads. I also have a 2200 nicad which was bought as a back up to my lipo but have never needed. They're all sealed stick packs.
My problem is I'm not sure how to charge them! My lipo charger also charges Nicads and Nimhs, so no problem there, but I don't know the settings to use. Back in the 80s, we had simple chargers made up of a steel plate with ceramic resistors on the back, with wires leading the stick pack and car battery. After a race we'd connect a car headlight bulb till flat then charge for 15mins for the next race. Easy!
So my questions are:
what amps can I feed my 1500 and 2200 stick and for how long?
what is this peak rating thing?
my charger takes an age to discharge, so is it safe to use the car headlightmethod (about 10mins to discharge iirc)?
Many thanks,
Barry
30-08-2009
charging nicads
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