I just noticed this newer Part2 thread, so I am re-posting because I am curious to see any feedback on my thoughts on the unit so far (I just got it a few days ago..)
I recently received my C9000 (0G0B01 revision) from ThomasDist and absolutely love it!!
I thought I would share my idea for a "best of both worlds" charging technique... I start with discharged cells (~2yr old 2000 mah AA for my first test), charge them @ 1C (2 A) with a cooling fan, let them sit for ~30 minutes for topoff charge, cool for a few minutes, then charge them again at 0.2C (400 ma). The reason I like this method is that it can be fairly quick, but also gets them very full. I tested this first charge test by letting them cool a few minutes and then discharging them at 400 ma and 3 of the cells discharged ~97% rated capacity! The last one just isnt done yet and I needed to use the charger for my next set, so I took it out, but it looked like it was tracking towards the same good result.
I have always seen the drawback to fast (1C) charging was that the cells would just not get full, even if the peak detection work perfectly. So, that is why I like the 1C, followed by 0.2C approach. If I recall correctly, the 1C charges input ~1900 mah and the 0.2C charges put in another 350 mah...
My background is in RC cars for several years. My general thoughts on nimh charging are that peak detection charging is definitely a precision business and having trustworthy equipment is a must, like this unit. I think slow (0.1C) non-peak detectection will generally lead to longer runtime and overall life, but, it is no where near as fun or as precise as peak detection... The higher the charge rate in peak detection, the higher the voltage will be under load, and the charging process will be faster, but properly detecting the peak is more important. When charging my 2000 mah cells in this unit at both 1C and 0.2C, I feel like it was doing a great job detecting the peak, and not significantly overcharging...
I now, have 4 of my new 2850 mah Ansmann cells in for a break in cycle at 270 ma and I plan to pull them out after ~16 hrs. I discharged them 1A and then again at 0.4A to get them totally empty.
I am very passionate about my batteries...now, I just need to create some plastic dowel adapters, so I can charge my 4200mah subC monster truck cells, too bad it has 14 cells and I could really use (3) more C9000s...
Take care guys and thanks for the great thread on this machine!