Nimh charging

[ColorMaker]

I purchased a charger that charges 20 (10amp cells) for 24 volts. It charges at 4 amps until the delta v is detected then drops to 100ma. There does not appear to be a timer cutoff at this point. Will the batteries be damaged if the charger is not disconnected and left on the charger at 100ma charge rate ?

Jerry

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Jerry,

Welcome to CPF.

While it is never a good idea to leave a battery pack on a charger for an extended period of time, you charger will only do minimal damage with extended charging at 100 mA.

Tom

 

[65535]

In my experience cells left with trickle charges for extended periods of time, don't seem to hold their charge very well after the fact.

 

[ColorMaker]

What would you call extened period ? Days, weeks , hours..

Thanks

Jerry

 

[VidPro]

In my experience cells left with trickle charges for extended periods of time, don't seem to hold their charge very well after the fact.

i am on the opposite side, i have never had a (very) slow trickle charge battery not work very well. BUT (isnt there always a but) over much time without a CYCLE, even being trickle charged the whole time , there is voltage depression on discharge , just like it was not cycled, which it wasnt :green:

use it or lose it.

so if i was to provide some "time" factor for leaving it on, it would be the same time factors as for it needing a cycle, and relative to the self discharge and need for a cycle of the battery type. and that isnt an evasive answer, even though its a non-answer.

note: overdischarging a SERIES set for "cycling" the cells in it, is worse than not cycling it at all, so much care would be required to "cycle" a series set.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Jerry,

Days...

Tom