old charger question

[bfromcolo]

Yes I know I need decent charger, until I get one I have questions about the one I have.

I am charging a 8 2500mah series AA NiMH battery pack. The old RC car charger I am using does not have current ratings, it is rated 11.6vdc 1.90w.

1.9w / 11.6v = 164 ma

So do I time charges based on a 164 ma charge rate?
2500 / 164 = 15 hours or so

Thanks

The charger is a Nikko 1294 4 hour quick charger

 

[koala]

Hi bfromcolo,

Is your battery pack 9.6v?

Regarding Nikko 1294, I doubt it is a voltage termination charger. Does it turn off after 4 hours? Will it continue charging after 4 hours? Is there a cut-off timer?

Your calculation seems right. Charging at 164mA is actually 0.0656C that's in the region of slow and gentle charging. We use 0.1C x 16 hours for forming(break-in) new cells. So you can actually set your time to 18 hours or more.

While your at it, please have a look at a recent thread regarding slow charging and the effects.
A look at slow charging

 

[bfromcolo]

Is your battery pack 9.6v?

Regarding Nikko 1294, I doubt it is a voltage termination charger. Does it turn off after 4 hours? Will it continue charging after 4 hours? Is there a cut-off timer?

Yes nominally its a 9.6v pack, as I think was the pack that came with the toy to begin with.

I am sure this is just a dumb charger. It says its a class 2 charger what ever that means. I notice it is also labled Quick-Pik Model NCQ-AA08.

I have been following the thread on slow charging, thanks. I have 2 slow chargers at this point and am going to invest in a decent charger sooner or later.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Bfromcolo,

Welcome to CPF.

:devil: May I recommend sooner... :devil:

Tom