RCPaul712

I know the rule of thumb for charging batteries is 0.001 x the number of milliamp hours. So, with a 1600 mAhr battery, you can charge it at 1.6 amps. However, this makes charging the batteries a long process.

My question is, what is the highest rate I can get away with when charging a battery? I would like to know all battery types (NiCad, NimH, Lipo, etc)

Thanks,

mushroomed

iTrader: (8)

I've charged 1700 mah nicads, 3000 mah nimhs and 4500 mah lipos at 10 amps with no worries.

Because of the way lipos charge, charging at higher current doesn't actually save that much time. I currently charge my 4500 lipo at 6 amps and don't notice a performance difference compared to the 10A charge.

I've heard of people charging at 20/30/40 amps for stock racing but it needs an expensive charger and seems excessive to me.

By the way, this is not really overcharging, just charging at a higher rate. Overcharging would be charging beyond the recommended voltage. More dangerous, against most rules and not a good idea.

rustyus

iTrader: (1)

If your battery manufacturer has a recommended charge rate greater than 1C, great. Use that rate. I currently have 3 chargers to help do the job on "heavy" RCing days, and will normally charge at a 1C rate. If I know I'm going to be running lot of packs the next day, I will charge some ahead of time.