Newbie with new NiMh batteries question

[spyder]

I'm a newbie that has aquired the disease. Bought the following:

Maha 401FS
Maha 204F
Powerex 2000 mah batteries

They've arrived and I need to know what I should do first. From reading the posts it appears I need to cycle them 4-5 times before they are at their best. Do I check them with a voltmeter out of the package first to check charge level? Do I just put them in the charger first? The Maha says it has a discharge circuit but should I minorly discharge them in a device before putting them back in the charge to really discharge? Obviously a little lost and want to get the best out of my purchase...

 

[Nerd]

Just charge em and use em as usual, they will reach their maximum capacity after 4-5 cycles of being used and charged.

 

[Blikbok]

I bought a 401 and 2000mAh cells too.

Best in this sense means capacity, not voltage. The cells should have been shipped nearly dead. Just set the charger to slow-charge, let them go for a while, and then start using them normally. Cells that last 300-500 full cycles will last a lot longer on partial cycles (especially with a smart charger like the 401 set on slow charge). No need to abuse the cells.
(Insert image of R. Lee Ermey hollering at NiMH's being cycled /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Just use them and top them off when they aren't fresh enough anymore.

 

[eluminator]

You are all correct, but I look at it this way. Often new batteries don't seem to have much capacity. So I put them through a couple of discharge/charge cycles. They tell me they can be charged up to 1000 times. Now I've got 998 left. At the rate I use them, I shouldn't need to replace them until I'm 500 years old. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I may upgrade some of my old 1500 mah cells before that, just for the heck of it.

 

[spyder]

Thanks for the info. I have put them on slow mode in the Maha and life is good. On the downside, tried them in my Mini Maglite (against the recommendations from another post) and promptly burnt a bulb. Oh well, my Opalec and BB400 should be here soon.

 

[Blikbok]

Eluminator:
First off, before I start an argument, I'm not against cycling new cells, and I don't coddle my cells, but I cycle in duty. Three to five cycles could be a week or a month of use for some of my applications.

What I am worried about is over-emphasis on cycling. I've seen some crazy R/C car people spend more time cycling cells than driving cars.

Cycle away, but for most applications, I just let the first cycles be in duty. (Especially when the new cells are 2000 mAh and the old ones were 700.)