Maha C9000 Break-In Mode

Here's an item for discussion: I just received my upgraded C9000 and a couple of new sets of Powerex AAA (1000MAH) batteries.

What's the optimal method to break them in?

(Thomas Dist. recommended cycling three times and discharging before using the break-in mode. What are your thoughts on charge and discharge rates for cycling? 1C - 1C; 1C - .5C?; .5C - .5C)

Opinions? It seems like the C9000 is generating a lot of these!
:touche:

Your cells are new.

Here are my recommendation:

1) Break-in (use Mah rated value of your cells: 1000 mah in your case)
2) Do a cycle with charge rate (500 ma) and discharge rate (200 ma) for 3 cycles.

After that your cells should be OK and in good shape !

Hello TheWalkman,

You have several options...

You can put your cells in the charger and, using the default charge rate, charge them up and use them.

If you want to get a jump on conditioning them, you can do a 500 mA discharge, then follow it with a 1000 mA charge, then use them.

You will find that as you use them, there may be some improvement over the first few cycles.

Now, if you want to do a full conditioning before using them, you have two options.

You can run 5 or 10 cycles using 1000 mA as a charge rate, and 500 mA as a discharge rate. You should notice an improvement in capacity over the first few cycles, and then it should stabilize.

Your second option is to do a 500 mA discharge on them, followed by a Break-In cycle.

Tom

SilverFox.. of those last two alternative you just gave.. which one would you recommend..?? I too got a brand new C9000 of the new model.. and are going to order some PowerEx and Eneloop AAA and AA batteries..

Hello Di.corp,

Welcome to CPF.

I do a discharge, followed by the Break-In mode.

This gives me a baseline capacity to judge future cell condition to.

Tom

thanks for the warm welcoming.. =)

thanks for the tips.. that is good to know.. want to have the best start I can get with my new cells.. here in Sweden the cheapest Eneloop AA is around $9.5 and for that money you only get 2 cells..

With the break-in mode I see that the default setting is 2,500 mAH. Does this have to be properly set? I'm using the somewhat mysterious ROV 4.0 NiMH that does not have any mention of its capacity on the package and wondering what mAH I have to set it at.

I have some AAA ROV 4.0s and they come close to 800Mah. I would expect the AAs to be near 2000Mah. So that should be a pretty good guess.

Boss Hogg said:

With the break-in mode I see that the default setting is 2,500 mAH. Does this have to be properly set? I'm using the somewhat mysterious ROV 4.0 NiMH that does not have any mention of its capacity on the package and wondering what mAH I have to set it at.

Click to expand...

You can do a Refresh/Analyze cycle first to know the capacity. With the break-in mode, you choose the capacity so the charger sets the current for a timed 16h charge (C/10). You have to know the rated capacity or the cell will be either overcharged or undercharged.

What about batteries with a XX50 (like 2450) capacity ? since the C-9000 uses 100 Mah increments. I had been setting it to 2400 to play it safe, but is it better to set it to 2500 ?

Boss Hogg said:

With the break-in mode I see that the default setting is 2,500 mAH. Does this have to be properly set? I'm using the somewhat mysterious ROV 4.0 NiMH that does not have any mention of its capacity on the package and wondering what mAH I have to set it at.

Click to expand...

it is default only because they had to start somewhere. you need to know the capisity of your batteries and use that number. Eneloops for example are 2000. it commonly says on the battery. If you don't know then post in this thread what you have someone may know.

Hello Sparkss,

The decision to round up or round down depends on how close the labeled capacity matches the actual capacity. Most of the time it seems that the label is optimistic, which would indicate rounding down.

The charge rate is low enough that either way you go the cell will not be damaged. If you want to run a test on this, do a break in rounding down, then do another rounding up and see what difference there is.

Tom

SilverFox said:

The charge rate is low enough that either way you go the cell will not be damaged. If you want to run a test on this, do a break in rounding down, then do another rounding up and see what difference there is.

Tom

Click to expand...

That's interesting. I think I'll experiment on 4 of my new eneloop tones and break them in at 2000mah instead of 1900mah. Maybe I'll just keep going higher maybe up to 2500mah and see what happens.

I'll start at 2000mah first and see what happens. :duck:

fishinfool said:

That's interesting. I think I'll experiment on 4 of my new eneloop tones and break them in at 2000mah instead of 1900mah. Maybe I'll just keep going higher maybe up to 2500mah and see what happens.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't, personally. A break-in cycle does cause wear on the cells, and the higher the current you use the more wear.

It's like exercise. Exercise is good for you, but the harder and more often you exercise the more risk of injury and wear and tear on your joints. For the normal person you should exercise in moderation and don't go crazy about it.

cckw said:

it is default only because they had to start somewhere. you need to know the capisity of your batteries and use that number. Eneloops for example are 2000. it commonly says on the battery. If you don't know then post in this thread what you have someone may know.

Click to expand...

Rayovac 4.0 NiMH.

Mr Happy said:

I wouldn't, personally. A break-in cycle does cause wear on the cells, and the higher the current you use the more wear.

It's like exercise. Exercise is good for you, but the harder and more often you exercise the more risk of injury and wear and tear on your joints. For the normal person you should exercise in moderation and don't go crazy about it.

Click to expand...

I won't do it with any of my new cells but I'll probably try it out on some older ones just to see what happens. I have a few 7-8 yr. old Team Orion 1800 mah nimh batteries from my rc nitro days that I can experiment with. I'm thinking about breaking them in at 2000mah. Just thinking about it though. :thinking:

Hello Fishinfool,

A key item with testing like this is to monitor the cell temperature. If the temperature increases, the exercise is getting harder.

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Fishinfool,

A key item with testing like this is to monitor the cell temperature. If the temperature increases, the exercise is getting harder.

Tom

Click to expand...

Thanks Tom. One thing I've learned from CPF is that heat is bad for batteries so when I started investing in batteries and chargers I made sure to buy an extra electric fan just for my battery station. I also bought an infrared thermometer just to check on the batteries as they are being charged.

I know it sounds like I've gone overboard with all this extra stuff but I value everything I buy and would want them to last as long as possible. Now that made me sound cheap but that's ok because I am cheap.

Boss Hogg said:

Rayovac 4.0 NiMH.

Click to expand...

rayovac 4.0 is a 2000 mah rated battery

I'm doing an initial break-in cycle on new eneloop 1900mAh aa cells. About 30 hours has elapsed. I programmed the Maha C9000 with the correct capacity for each cell. I am watching them charge and now each one is above 2400mAh. Is this normal?