VenturaDC

iTrader: (32)

after charging my ep3600's they get pretty freakin hot, someone told me that i should up the amperage so they get charged before having time to heat up, but i just wanted to know from more then one person what the right thing would be to do, Im using a duratrax intellipeak digital at 5amps right now, should i go to 6 or should i go lower then 5?

thanks for any help

DC

Sidewayzzzz

iTrader: (1)

Higher Amp will make it even hotter and kill the battery faster.
For NiMH should charge at 1C or max about 1.5C. Unless it's for race and you do not want to reuse the battery.
What you should do is the reduce the peak sensitivity. for new battery, set peak sensitivity around 3-4mAh per cell.
You can also set the temperature to around 50 deg C so that it will peak once it reach 50 deg C. You can place the probe at the hottest cell if you know which one is the hottest.

kschu

iTrader: (16)

i think u need to lower your amp when charging...4.5a

another alternative is blow ur battery with fan while charging...this will make d cell from overheating ...

Sidewayzzzz

iTrader: (1)

Actually blowing with fan is not recommended.
When you cool the battery, it will not peak naturally, peaking later than usual and may cause it to be overcharged, damaging battery in process.

razzor

Cooling the battery with a fan is a nono when charging but can be used after the charge or after use.
Charging up to 6amps is fine but drop the delta peak sensitivity to 3mv/0.3V and also lower temp cutoff to 46/47 deg/c.
This should keep you safe.

_pilot_

I've been using a powerful fan for years now and never had problems. I always use a 3mV peak setting and my batt's always peak when they should, even when they are at room temp.

Jeremy Otis

I would not use a fan while charging... If you are you are not getting top performance out of you cells.

bboy

5A is really the max you want for your battery. Also check to make sure there is no dead cell since they will lead to a false peak especially when you reduce to 3mv.

_pilot_

You're right, I don't get max performance, on average they probablly take 200-300 fewer mah. The reason I use a fan is cold cells don't explode, they don't get hot so there is no pressure build up in the cell. After seeing (and being near) many subC big bangs I tend to err on the side of caution.

razzor

i know that feeling, anticipating the next bang.
Dont put a fan on the cells and drop the delta cutoff to 3mv you should be good.
If by some remote chance a cell vents just remember to get it on the floor ASAP or covered with something and do it fast as soon as you hear the hiss.

morris

iTrader: (44)

i have a quick question....i was reading this thread and was curious about my chargers.i have 2 lrp quantam comp chargers...now when you all say to set the charger at say 3mv do you meen delta peak.i was looking thrue my chargers and they were both set-up at 15mv....but they only go down to 5mv.i have used these chargers for awhile now and i have never had any issues with charging.i dont think i have ever heard a pack vent.....but then again its pretty noisy at the races...

lmk for i am curious about my set-up.

thx,
matt

Sidewayzzzz

iTrader: (1)

most likely it is 15mv for the whole pack ie 6cells. not individual cell delta peak.

for 3mv per cell, the delta peak for whole pack will be 18mv

morris

iTrader: (44)

so do you think it will be fine to leave it at 15mv.or sohuld i raise it to 20mv?

razzor

I had the same question when i used a buddies Supernova charger and since its a very similar software to the ICE and Checkpoint i noticed that it didnt go lower than 5mv compared to the checkpoint that is set at 3mv.
Id suggest setting it to 5mv.
One other thing to note about teh delta peak is that the higher it is set it will make the packs heat up more and pack more capacity into the battery but for stock the lower setting will be better since the pack peaks with higher voltage.
This is what makes sense to me and i may be corrected .