Airsoft Canada
http://triggerairsoft.com/shop/

Go Back   Airsoft Canada > General > General
Home Forums Register Gallery FAQ Calendar
Retailers Community News/Info International Retailers IRC Today's Posts

Battery Question

:

General

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:23   #1
vinpenny
 
vinpenny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Battery Question

Sorry if this is a stupid question but...

Imagine that you just want to go outside to target shoot in your back yard but you dont need to use all the electricity in the battery and you dont have a discharger.

Are you able to just charge the battery just a bit and use it until all the electricity is gone, or is it bad for the battery?
vinpenny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:47   #2
LUTNIT
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ottawa
NiMh (nickel metal hydride) - recharging is fine at any point, deep discharging after each use actually damages the battery

NiCd (nickel cadmium) - you should completely discharge before charging each time

Somewhere on the battery should be the mAh rating even if it doesn't say if its NiMh or NiCd. If its a large-type battery (usually goes in the stock of the gun) and its 2400mAh or less its NiCd. If its a mini battery (often goes just above or just below the barrel) then I believe its NiCd if its 600mAh and anything higher is NiMh.

I believe this information and more is in the FAQ. Also if your in Canada (can't tell because its not in your profile and we do get people from all over the world on here) then you shouldn't be shooting in your backyard if you don't live in the middle of no where. If there is even a small chance of someone seeing you they can call the cops and you can get in a pile of crap. Its always best to play it safe.

Last edited by LUTNIT; February 11th, 2007 at 23:51..
LUTNIT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:53   #3
Imperial Guard
 
Imperial Guard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Fort McMurray
Instead of buying a discharger, you can wire one up using a computer fan or old hobby motor. A good couple of hours will do the trick. If you need to know more, feel free to pm me.
__________________
"Assumption is the mother of all fuck-up's."
Imperial Guard is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:54   #4
thephenom
 
thephenom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Toronto
But I thought you don't need to/shouldn't discharge NiMH.
thephenom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:56   #5
LUTNIT
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ottawa
Well vinpenny didn't say if its a NiCd or NiMh and most cheaper packs are NiCd so I guess Imperial Guard is just speaking up before the guy buys some expensive discharger before he realizes its easy to make one.

On that note its actually better to discharge batteries at the highest amperage possible, up to 30A if you can. Discharging slowly isn't terribly bad but will reduce the overall life of your battery.
LUTNIT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 11th, 2007, 23:59   #6
vinpenny
 
vinpenny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
oh, i live in edmonton, alberta. but i think i just said my question badly

lets say my battery is Ni-MH and the capacity is 1200 mah, but i dont need to charge it fully, can i just charge it to 300 or something like that? will it wreck the battery in anyway?

lutnit: so you are saying if i leave my battery and theres still about 100mah of energy left, i can wait till tomorrow then charge it again?

Last edited by vinpenny; February 12th, 2007 at 00:07..
vinpenny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 00:09   #7
LUTNIT
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ottawa
You can charge a NiMh battery any time no matter how much charge is left. Just make sure you have a charger that detects delta peak (voltage fluctuation when the battery is full, the "smart chargers" sold by several airsoft retailers have this function as well as any charger other than really basic wall chargers that are just straight AC adapters) and it'll stop when the battery is full with no damage.
LUTNIT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 00:14   #8
vinpenny
 
vinpenny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
oh, well the wall charger says 300 mah, so im guessing i can take off the battery after 4 hours if the battery cap is 1200 mah with no dmg?
vinpenny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 00:21   #9
LUTNIT
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ottawa
300mAh would be battery capacity, it actually says 300mA I assume? If so then yes a 4 hour charge would be to completely charge the battery. If you only partly discharge it there isn't really any sure fire way to tell unless you discharge the battery which can hurt it in the long run since its a NiMh. Best bet I suppose would be to not charge it and keep using it till its empty then leave it for 4 hours on that charger. (Discharging repetitively through normal use is less damaging then discharging with a discharger. Using a battery period is damaging thats why they only last so many cycles, its normal until mankind reaches absolute perfection which is impossible.)
LUTNIT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 00:25   #10
vinpenny
 
vinpenny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Very true, thank you for all your help Lutnit
vinpenny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 01:00   #11
Gryphon
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: MB
Quote:
Originally Posted by LUTNIT View Post
On that note its actually better to discharge batteries at the highest amperage possible, up to 30A if you can. Discharging slowly isn't terribly bad but will reduce the overall life of your battery.
THIRTY amps? Good Christ, NO. Discharge at 1C.
Gryphon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 01:59   #12
LUTNIT
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ottawa
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gryphon View Post
THIRTY amps? Good Christ, NO. Discharge at 1C.
Whoops, yup, sorry, thinking of reconditioning NiCd packs once the memory effect cripples them. Discharging at 30A and charging at 1C, cycle that a few times and you can restore even decade old NiCd's crippled by the memory effect (crystallization of chemicals in the cells I believe.) Grabbed my dads old 12V cordless drill he was tossing and reconditioned the batteries this way and shes serving me well now.

Actually I usually discharge at 1.5-2C but that was when I actually used NiCd packs, now I'm all NiMh so it doesn't matter.
LUTNIT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old February 12th, 2007, 06:02   #13
Greylocks
 
Greylocks's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Gatineau, Quebec (Near Ottawa)
Another case where you can try to pull miracles with cheap ass chargers, or buy a good one that will repay itself in less than one year.

Please read this website some more, batteries are discussed in the Accessories section and elsewhere.
Greylocks is offline   Reply With Quote
ReplyTop


Go Back   Airsoft Canada > General > General

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Airsoft Canada
http://triggerairsoft.com/shop/

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:59.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.