can i charge a NIMH at 1c?

it may be a stupid question but the charger that came with a nimh battery charges at 1.2 amps, but the pack is 2400mah.

its a flat 6 cell nimh, C cells.

15c discharge...

Yes

Originally Posted by iflircaircraft

Yes

wont shorten the life of it right?

Been charging mine for 3 years that way. The initial charge should be at .1C .
Tom

Simple answer is ask the manufacturer of the cells. I would never do it. If you want to try it keep an eye on the packs temperature, don't let it get hot to the touch.

There are high-output NiMH cells which tolerate 1C and higher charge rates, but they're typically sub-C, C, and D sized cells. The RC car and truck people use these but they aren't used in planes very often due to their weight.

Most AA and AAA NiMH cells are designed for low power output and they typically don't tolerate 1C charging very well. Some will argue that the damage is insignificant, but the insignificant damage is cumulative and will eventually become significant.

Pete

+1 What Pete said.
Consumer type cells are NOT the same as Hi-Output power cells and don't take as well to higher charge rates.
If it gets HOT......don't do it.

Originally Posted by flydiver

+1 What Pete said.
Consumer type cells are NOT the same as Hi-Output power cells and don't take as well to higher charge rates.
If it gets HOT......don't do it.

they are C cells

Are you going to believe what is said here? If 1/2 the people say yes and the other half say no what are you going to do? A guy with 18 posts says he's been doing it for three years... Three others with 4726, 7281, and 4324 posts say no or it's not that simple...

So what are you going to do?

Most AAA NiMh cell will tolerate a 1C rate, but it will shorten the life of the battery significantly if you do that every time... If you have the time you should trickle charge your packs, but an occasionaly 1C charging session won't do major harm to the battery. That said, I prefer convenience over getting every last ounce of life expectancy out of a battery and typically charge my NiMh (AA and AAA) receiver packs at a 2-3 hours rate, 1/3 - 1/2C.

Originally Posted by Evan D

A guy with 18 posts says he's been doing it for three years... Three others with 4726, 7281, and 4324 posts say no or it's not that simple...

Heh ...

Back when I had just eclipsed 3000 posts I used that argument when someone with only two posts disagreed with me. Turned out the guy was a Dryden Flight Research Center test pilot with several thousand of hours in high performance jets in his log book and he'd been an active model aviator since he was a kid. We eventually agreed that I was more correct than he was about the subject we were discussing, but I still cringe when I remember questioning his knowledge based on his join date and the number of his posts.

Then there was the time I tried to argue a LiPo charging issue with the head charging systems engineer for Motorola's cellular products division. That was in an Android forum and he only had five posts to my 452.

Bottom line is judging someone's knowledge by the number of posts they have under their avatar isn't a good idea. It's better to save it for when they post something stupid.

Pete

Originally Posted by colj00

they are C cells

I have a lot of consumer C-cells. They are about 2200mA and I tend to charge them around 1A. I would push them to 2A if I was in a hurry but that is seldom.

Bottom line is judging someone's knowledge by the number of posts they have under their avatar isn't a good idea.

Pete, the reverse is often true as well. A high post count or old join date is often taken by newcomers as a sign of experience/knowledge/expertise, but we can all think of examples where some of the most vocal posters also happen to be the ones who know the least... *COUGH*Chuck*COUGH*...

Hell, I'm closing on 10k right now and I don't know a shoot damn thing neither

As usual....the correct answer is "It depends". Some NiMH cells will handle 1C or even more. Some won't. And you can't tell purely by the size or capacity though the old rule that short fat ones are more likely to take high charging currents than long thin ones still works pretty well .

So try 'em at 1C and if they get really really warm...don't do it again. You probably won't have done too much harm .

Steve

Originally Posted by slipstick

As usual....the correct answer is "It depends". Some NiMH cells will handle 1C or even more. Some won't. And you can't tell purely by the size or capacity though the old rule that short fat ones are more likely to take high charging currents than long thin ones still works pretty well .

So try 'em at 1C and if they get really really warm...don't do it again. You probably won't have done too much harm .

Steve

i did try at 1C, its the same temperature as charging it at 1.2 amps. its a flat pack 6 cell nimh, C cells.