Break-in for 7000 Mah NiCads

[max52]

I have 6 new 7000 NiCads. I have not had good results with my Maha 808M with Nicads. I also have a Triton.(also undercharges), and a Maha 777Plus. Would welcome any recommendations on Break-in. Thanks

My 808M consistently under-charged until I read a post on CPF discusiing using a UPS in conjunction with the Maha. As soon as I started using a wall socket the 808M started performing great.

 

[phenwick]

Doing a conditioning cycle on soft charge is going to be about your best bet on the 808M. It will take days to complete. I guess these are D cells.
I have no experience with the 777.

 

[jerry i h]

Wait: something here is not right. I bought D NiCd's from *atteryjunction, they are chinese made and 5 AH labeled as "Tenergy". I just stuck 'em new into the cheap-o Vanson V1199B for 24 hours. I used them, with great success, to power my EL WOF (4 x P7) which sucked up 7 amps.
1) why "condition" NiCd's?
2) where did you get 7 AH NiCd's? Are they D cells, or what?
3) try a charger that is specifically designed for NiCd's, and not an 'all-purpose' charger that is really a NiMH charger?

 

[metlarules]

If you look on the batteryjunction.com website under nicad d cells there is a nicad d 7ah cell for $5 a piece. I have 8 of them and they are good performers and a great value. I charge mine on a Titanium bch2u charger and the combo works fine.

 

[max52]

I tried the 5000 Mah D Nicads, but they did not perform well. After several cycles these max out ay 1.34-1.36V. I use the 808M on "soft" and "condition". As I noted the 808m is not known for great Nicad performance. On other CPF posts it was noted tha using the 2 Amp charge on the 5000 Nicads caused some cells to leak. These are Chinese cells, so quality is suspect. I would like to get the best performance, and life out of these 7000s. I plan to to use them in a 6 Mag with the Tarralux 300 Triple cree that does not get used a lot. I may use the 808 on soft condition even though this approach did not obtain great results on the 5000 cells.

I use the accumanger LSDs on some of my Mags(both c, and D) with good results. As a fanatic I have so many lights i try to save some money on cheaper cells occasionally.

 

[metlarules]

When mine come off the charger they are 1.38 to 1.4v but they drop off a little when they cool down. I charge them at 700mah and have never had any trouble. I like them for their lsd properties and high current capabilities.Also,I'm a cheapskate and at $5 apeice you just can't beat them.

 

[jerry i h]

...These are Chinese cells, so quality is suspect...

Hmmm...beg to differ. I was so impressed with the *atterystation $5 5AH NiCd's, I am in the process of replacing ALL of the alky and NiMH D's. BTW, why are you using the 808, which is a NiMH charger, for NiCd's?

 

[Sub_Umbra]

I bought a bunch of yellow 7AH NiCD Ds from Amondo a few years before MattK bought them out. I usually charge and condition them with the full 2A setting on the Maha 808M -- it's fast and the cells stay cool. No leaks. I don't have any scientific stats to report but I've had these cells ~3 years and I'm very pleased with the performance I've gotten from them and the Maha 808M. These have been great cells at $5 each and I wouldn't hesitate to buy more of the same. I'd just advise to charge 'em and use 'em.

I wouldn't charactorize the 808 as a NiMH only charger. It has a full conditioning cycle (quirky, but a conditioning cycle none the less). NiMH cells only require conditioning very infrequently, with some charger manufacturers claiming that they never need it at all. I charge AA, C and D NiCDs with mine all the time. I charge them all at the 2A rate with the exception of 1AH NiCD AAs.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Max52,

The "issue" with the 808 and NiCd cells is that NiCd cells finish charging at a slightly higher voltage. The 808 often triggers a high voltage termination and you end up with a flashing Done on the display. This results in slightly under charge cells, and makes running a Condition cycle difficult.

The Condition cycle on the 808 involves charging, then discharging then charging back up. If the first charge terminates on high voltage (flashing Done), the condition cycle aborts.

The work around for this is to put a fully charge NiMh cell in the first slot. When that cell starts into the discharge phase, you then add your NiCd cells in. This will run the discharge and follow that with a charge.

Your Triton should charge properly, but you can't use the automatic charge function. Have you tried charging at 5 amps with about a 10 mV/cell termination -dV?

Tom

 

[max52]

Thanks Silverfox
Every cycle I have run on Nicads on the 808 have terminated with the overvoltage display. I'll try thr NiMinh in first slot method. My Triton is set for 10mv termination. For some reason, the digital display reads the correct numbers but after the cycle when I put a meter on the cells I notice they are less charged the digital display indicated. I have read ln other posts the same observation from some Triton owners. Is this a Triton characteristic, or am I doing something wrong? I notice this on NiCads, and lions. NiMinhs are usually OK.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

...Every cycle I have run on Nicads on the 808 have terminated with the overvoltage display...

That's interesting. More of my NiCDs finish with the error message on the 808 than I would like but it's still under 20%. I have noticed that some of my sets almost always finish in error while the rest do not.

Quirky. In my situation it's a minor annoyance as even the error prone cells seem to perform like the others do.