414m2

I have some integy gp 3300's and when i bought them they discharged at round 3600 or so...but now they only discharge at 3000mah! why is that??....

I bought them to race in the winter Nats and they are the only battery i have been using since then for my usual friday nights...

Is this a sign that i have been treating them badly or is this the normal life span of a battery?...

Do they need to be equalised again?

Sometimes when i charge them they get really hot and smell like burning...is that a big damage?

how should i treat my battery packs and how should i charge them?

please help


thanks

Dragonfire

iTrader: (1)

You always seem to be having troubles with your gear....

*) ni-mh lose capacity over time in relation to how you treat them so the loss of capacity is normal.

*) assuming you have a matched pack equlizing is a good practice providing you have a auto-cut equalizer that is tuned (all banks are matched to work the same). because you can't leave ni-mh on a equlizer for days and days like nicads, a normal equalizer will actually un-equalize (is this a real word?) your packs!

*) your packs should not smell bad. I suggest you make sure your charger is nimh compatible or is set up right.

*) recommend is that you charge at 5amps with a 5mv/cell peak and repeak with the same. discharge your cells down to 5.4 and store em like that. if you are not using them within a week, put 5mins of charging back into em before storing

contact

iTrader: (2)

not being critical but making an observation:

there seem to be as many ways to treat nimh batteries as there are racers!

each matcher has their own reccomended routine its close to impossible for the punter to pick the 'right way'

gp says their 3300's should not be charged higher than 3.3a as if anyone pays any attention to that!

Dragonfire

iTrader: (1)

I have heard that!!! good luck to those wanting voltage at this rate!!!!

414m2

yes, It is a matched pack.

i am thinking of buying an integy equaliser (the top of the line one) that you can set the voltage cut off.

how often should you equalise?
Roughly how much more mah capacity will it increase by by equalising it?

should i discharge the pack after every race?

I have a CDC charger and i will set it to 5 mv cutoff.. i do charge at 5 amps but the pack is always hot from after a race when i recharge it.

I am going to buy 2 more unmatched packs so that will be a big relief for them to not be used every race.

If there is any more "tips" that you might have from personal experience or that you have heard then please share it.

yeah my stuff always stuffs up!! so annoying!

itchynads

Equalising will probably show you the true capacity of your cells. In any case depending on the age of your cells and how often they get used 3000mAH may be a reasonable figure.

fastolfart

I would say that this is most of the problem here
You should allow around 3 hrs cooling time before you recharge the packs. This why they are getting so hot, with NiMhi, heat will destroy the batteries very quickly.

sleek the elite

I agree, you should leave the cells to cool for quite a while after discharge. Also, the CDC has some good features, but one thing that is interesting (with the version I have at least) is that it peaks your pack even when in NiMH mode. It seems to put alot more charge in than say a turbo, and get alot hotter, without much increase in punch. There is probably a way to disengage this but I have not quite figured that out yet. This by itself probably doesn't do much damage to the pack, but in combination with multiple recharges without much cool down, I'd say your pack is doing pretty well considering the workout it is getting.

Painy

iTrader: (2)

all my packs discharge at about 3050 - 3150 mah.

and the way your treating your packs , iam surprised they are putting out 3000..

equilising your packs wont make a difference if your recharging them when there warm. your just killing them.

414m2

Ok so Big rule #1. DONT CHARGE WHEN HOT
Damn....i thought it was something to do with heat...

is there any way to fix up what i have destroyed or is it too late?

ok how many packs should i have to race at C hill per night?...
Since i am buying 2 more plus the one i already have that makes 3, is that enough? do you think i should buy 3 more and have the one i have as the practice pack?

So if I should have 1 pack per race? and discharge them after the race and leave it over night? then in the morning charge 30% and leave for the next week?
WOuld this be a good plan?
or should i charge 30% at friday night?

Also...when i race in mod with an 11x3 the batteries get even more hot after a race then after a charge. I think it is because i race it just after it has finished charging...

man when u think about it i have been very harsh on my bats...ok time to Treat them right! start by buying more batts....

thats for ya help guyes

Painy

iTrader: (2)

get 3 more packs, that way you can have your crapppy pack as practise, and 3 race packs.

Painy

iTrader: (2)

33's go so poor on there second run during the day, even after cooling

414m2

Really? why is it poor on the second run?

the problem is that they cost $44 each pack so dats lotz of money.

unmatched ones are still good right?...Fahaad uses them for mod and they are good.

My current 3300s arn't crappy its just down on runtime to 3000mah so they are still good but yeah maybe voltage is down aswell.

i might as well get 3 more packs so they will last a long time and i will go better.

is there a chance with unmatched packs that there is one pack that is better?...can you self match them or is it pointless without proper equipment?

Painy

iTrader: (2)

414: what voltage do they put out now?? average volts??

Painy

iTrader: (2)

in all my experience... the packs just loose, Mah and volts on there second charge on the day.... not sure why.