Should you condition NiMHs prior to use?

[Lux Luthor]

Should you condition NiMHs prior to use? Well that was my only question.

 

[Streak]

Like with NiCd I have found that new ones could do with a full 12 hour slow charge befor use (this depends on your charger)to get them started. They do not tend to suffer the memeory effect spoken often about NiCd's so do not need to be fully discharged as frequently.

 

[Brock]

I wouldn't do anything odd, just use them as you would normally and recharge them. For the first 3 or 4 times they should get better and better. I am becoming a firm believer in a good charger. The cheaper ones don't really charge batteries full. I like the MH-204 or something similar. I found my old charger never charged them full while the 204 does.

 

[LEDagent]

Hey Brock...you know the C204F charger you speak of? Can I switch the paired batteries after they have been detected as "charged"?

What i mean is....as soon as they turn green, switch one battery from each of the pairs so that you can "top them off." Or am i risking the chance of ruining and overcharging my batteries.

I figured that if i did this, i would make sure that all cells are charged to their fullest; because the 204F charges in pairs rather than individual cells.

If you don't understand...i'll try my best to clarify.

 

[WarrenI]

Brock has made a good point! The following is what I posted on another thread: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I just purchased a Quest Q2 charger and this was one the best purchases I have ever made. I took the advice from someone on one of these forums and they did not see any problem with using an older overnight NiCad charger to top off NiMHs. Well yes, this does work. But now, with my new Q2 charger, I can see that it never fully charged the high capacity NiMH cells.
To test this, I left the NiMH AA cells in the old NiCad charger for about 3 days. I then placed it in the Q2, and guess what, it needed another hour or two of charge time. I load tested them in the digital camera and it runs a whole lot longer (at least 50% longer).

This proved to me that you need a newer high tech NiCad/NiMH charger for these new high capacity batteries. Try the Quest Q2 as it makes a whole lot of difference. The old chargers do not cut it, no matter how long you keep them charging!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Lux Luthor]

Brock, WarrenI:

Same here. I have an old Maha slow charger. When I put them in my new Rayovac Smart Charger, they continue to charge for quite a while. These smart chargers really do seem to make a difference.

 

[Brock]

LEDagent, I know what you are talking about. I used to do that all the time but found it did make the batteries die sooner. I found I got about 200 cycles out of them doing that. I would do it in my older 12 hour charger since it was a timed charge, and I was never sure when they were done, but I bet I over charged them regularly.

With the 204 I would just let it do it's thing, it seems to work quite nicely. If you do try it, try doing it to the same set all the time and see if they have a longer runtime or if they die sooner then a normally treated pair.