Guys, are bulbs enough to discharge a battery pack? how do we know when the batteries are now discharged? Is it when the bulb/s are totally dead or off?

what if i drain the batteries with my truck hanging up until the tires stop spinning? is this method still good?

sorry for asking this, i just want my packs to last longer.

BTW, any circuit diagrams on how to build a discharger?

bulbs are a good cheap alternative, use 1157 automotive bulbs 1=2A discharge so use at least 10 bulbs. You can Get a cutoff for the bulbs so that it will not over-discharge, if you dont get a cutoff then you have to pay close attention to the bulbs and disconnect thm when they are about half of the full brightness

Hope this helps
emulberry

bulbs were only used in the days of nicd's and earlier generation Nimhs

these days we use equilizers with a 0.9v cutoff any lower and u ruin your IB/EP batteries.

what batteries do you use? If your running nicd's or cheap stick pack nimh's your probably ok.However, if your running matched packs for club racing, then you need to manage them well or they'll very quickly loose there punch and runtime.

I have this same question. So you don't need a charger for Nimh, just get an equalize tray to do the discharge?

Thanks

thats right, search for Trinity DPD, thats a Discharger and Equilizer in 1.

(I use the Muchmore CTX-D but is expensive)

also most chargers these days can do at least 10 amp discharge some can do 20 or 30.

ok guys, sorry for the late reply.

I am using NiMh. 1 from venom, 1 trinity and 2 team orion. all are 3000mah. are these the cheap packs?

@ emulberry, whats a cut-off? where can i buy that? in the hobby store or automotive shop. i am not familiar with that.


sad to say, my charger isnt equip with a discharger

Yes, those are cheap packs, if you are going to do club racing and some more, you will need better packs, but if you plan on just basing/personal use, then they are ok.

A cutoff is a electronic devite that is between the battery and the set of (10) #1157 autmotive bulbs for discharing, It stops the discharge once the packs gets to 5.4 volts... or .9 volt per cell. Keep the pack from dischargin anymore.

ahh

i dont race. i just bash at parks

thanks for the info there BSchorr.

Ok, how about discharging my batt pack using my RC?
I will hang my rc, run it, until it stop spinning. is this method still good?

Dont do that, packs need a high rate of discharge if you want to maintain them.. But if you just bashing, i woudl run it till it gets slow, let the battery kool before using it again, then charge it agian.. Dont think you really even need a discharger if your just bashing.

copy that!

i will buy a discharger maybe next month. i want to maintain the health of my packs

Thanks for the help guys! Merry Christmas!!!!

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