SL20x battery charging

What voltage does a 1800mah 6v Ni-Cd SL20x battery charge at? Would it charge at 6.0v or 7.2? It is made up of 5 1.2v Ni-Cd cells in series. Would it take the nominal *5 for 6v charge or the Ni-Cd charge voltage, 1.45v * 5 for 7.25.

Hello Saladsack,

NiCd chemistry is charged differently than LiIon chemistry. With NiCd cells you select a charge current and let the voltage float. If things get out of hand your charger generally has a maximum voltage of around 1.5 - 2.0 volts depending upon the current you are charging at.

One way to charge those batteries is to set the current for 300 mA and set a timer to end the charge after 16 hours. If you are using a power supply you would set the voltage for something like 8 volts and the current at 300 mA and then set a timer to terminate the charge manually after the time has passed.

Tom

FWIW, the SL20X charging cradle itself has an open voltage of 12.7VDC as measured at the contacts points and the power supply/wallwart type adapter is rated for 800mA.

Hello Pc light,

Thanks for checking that out.

The difference is that the charger has circuits to limit the voltage to about 1.55 volts per cell, and it has a timer that shuts the charge off after 10 hours and then switch to trickle charge.

When using a power supply you don't have those safeguards so you need to manually set the limits and time the charge.

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Pc light,

Thanks for checking that out.

The difference is that the charger has circuits to limit the voltage to about 1.55 volts per cell, and it has a timer that shuts the charge off after 10 hours and then switch to trickle charge.

When using a power supply you don't have those safeguards so you need to manually set the limits and time the charge.

Tom

Click to expand...

What about this charger: http://www.batteryjunction.com/chun...3xcsrF6IYWcfge54ynCj8hGQTOkkhsasLkaAnyO8P8HAQ

Hi Tom,

I don't have any personal experience with that Smartcharger but the specs look like it should work. The OEM charger/cradle combo offers the convenience of drop and charge without having to remove batteries.

One could I suppose gut a cradle for use with a different smartcharger.

pc

Hello Saladsack,

That charger will work fine.

Tom

SilverFox said:

Hello Saladsack,

That charger will work fine.

Tom

Click to expand...

Thanks! I just ordered it today.