High battery discharge rate - does it do damage?

[zmoz]

I know that if you have a NiMh battery of, say, 2000mah, and you discharge it at about 2 amps, you aren't going to get 2000mah out of it. Is that the only problem with discharging at a high rate? Will it hurt the battery if I was to use maybe 2C?

 

[Short Circuit]

Most NIMH cells can handle up to 4-5C with out damage. NICD and handle up to 20C

Some special cells may not follow the general rule though.

 

[Klaus]

Most NiMhs are specified at max 2C discharge but the voltage drop will be severe above 1C - there are some rare special NiMhs cells without this limitation though. NiCds do have a higher discharge capability. LiIons as well are limted to max 2C.

Klaus

 

[Doug S]

[ QUOTE ]
zmoz said:
I know that if you have a NiMh battery of, say, 2000mah, and you discharge it at about 2 amps, you aren't going to get 2000mah out of it. Is that the only problem with discharging at a high rate? Will it hurt the battery if I was to use maybe 2C?

[/ QUOTE ]
I cannot cite a reference for you but I believe that total cycle life is diminished somewhat at higher discharge rates. The degree of this decrease in cycle life is dependent upon cell design. Some cells are optimized for high rate use.