Handlobraesing said:
Unfortunately, that charger won't fully charge a 2.5Ah battery. You need around 120-125% the rated capacity to get a full charge at C/5 rate. That charger should fully charge a 2.0 to 2.2Ah batteries just fine.
By that do you mean that the output as measured in mA needs to be higher, or that it can get by on a lower mA output if it charges for a longer time?
I found a
Product Datasheet from Energizer that says the output when charging AA NiMH's is 420 mA when "quick charging" then it drops to 35mA when trickle charging. I know the charger is supposed to "fully" charge the battteries during quick charge, then switch to trickle charge when the indicator light go off. I am guessing from the data available that there is no smart circuitry, it just charges for 5 hours at the higher rate then switches down to trickle (though I am not sure if this is accurate, because sometimes if I put two pair of batteries on to charge at the same time, one pair's indicator light goes off significantly before the other pair's).
My bottom line is simply whether I can fully charge my 2500 mAh NiMH's on this charger without harming them (assuming they are fully discharged and assuming I do not put them through two full 5-hour cycles) by putting them on the charger, letting them get as much as a charge as possible in the 5 hours (presumably getting 2100 mAh by charging at 420mA X 5 hours), then letting them trickle for another 12 or so at the 35 mA rate to get the last 400 mAh of the 2500 mAh capacity?
I guess the other concern is that they seem to have significant capacity left after the camera gives me the "change batteries" message, so I could risk overcharging them if I put them through the 5-hour timed cycle when they have 400mAh or more still in them?
Thanks!