Originally Posted by rcpanama
You could do that if they are NiMH, but even though they do not create memory as the NiCad, they do in some way, also if you don't recycle them (discharge & charge), they in time will decrease in capacity.
My experience is different.
I deal with a battery pro who only does batteries and nothing else. Sells 'em, packs 'em, even contracts a factory in China to make 'em. The guy tells me over and over, don't cycle the NiMH batteries. These batteries are made not to be cycled and do not have a memory effect. Cycling is not required. It doesn't damage cells but a quality cell is only good for 500 charge iterations before the cells starts to die. Cheaper cells won't last 500. The best advice on NiMH batteries is that they are very sensitive to heat so over charging them has the potential to shorten their life as well. I typically charge my Sanyo AAA 1000mAh packs at .8A to 1.0A. If I have the time, .6A
The other factor to keep in mind is that all battery chargers are not equal. Some are a lot better than others. I've seen 'dead' battery go to 'live' battery just by adjusting a charger's settings or using a different charger. Lower priced chargers tend to cut out during a false peak and have no way to get around this problem. Typically chargers measure the output voltage of a cell during charging and once the cell reaches the typical 1.2v, charging will stop. A false peak is when the cell puts out 1.2v but is not fully charged. Some chargers can be told to ignore the false peak and keep charging.
If you notice your batteries are consistenly undercharged, your charger may also be part of the problem.