Pirana Charger ?'s and times?

[Unimoger]

OK, I just got one of the digital pirana chargers for my battery packs. It has a ton of settings and a lcd screen readout. My ? is this, what is everyone running for charges? What I mean is , there are like 50 different settings and the instructions are very vague. I have 6 cell 3300 nimh packs and I also have the 6 cell 1100 nimh packs, how long and how many amps are you guys charging? Are you doing full discharge before the nextv re-charge? Sorry, I just don't want to fry my new packs and chargers and want to get the most run time I can.

[SVEN]

Since you are wanting runtime you will want to charge at a lower amp setting. A general rule of thumb for amp setting is to double the # of mah. Like a 2000 mah pack would be set at 4 amps, A 1000 mah pack would be set at 2 amps, etc. If you want more punch, then you would go a little higher (.5-1 amp) and if you want more runtime go a little lower.
I think the highest amp setting for the digital pirana is 5 amps, so you won't be able to hurt that 3300 pack, just don't overdo it with the 1100 pack.

[Unimoger]

Originally Posted by SVEN

Since you are wanting runtime you will want to charge at a lower amp setting. A general rule of thumb for amp setting is to double the # of mah. Like a 2000 mah pack would be set at 4 amps, A 1000 mah pack would be set at 2 amps, etc. If you want more punch, then you would go a little higher (.5-1 amp) and if you want more runtime go a little lower.
I think the highest amp setting for the digital pirana is 5 amps, so you won't be able to hurt that 3300 pack, just don't overdo it with the 1100 pack.

awesome, just what I was looking for, thank you.

[bRIBEGuy]

I personally charge all my 3300mah packs at 3 amps. Provides good runtimes, and keeps the packs uber-safe.

Charge rate will also be dependent on the size of the cell, and the quality.

Smaller cells like 2/3A shouldn't be pushed to hard. I find 1 Amp is plenty for charging GP1100 cells.

As for discharging, yes it's always a good idea to discharge a pack before recharging it. Helps out with both the batteries capacity and with its lifespan.

[mazdaparts]

I have the digital pirahna charger you speak of. I love it. Never had a false peak. Just remember you have to have it on DC power to get 5 amps out of it. On AC power it will only charge at 3 amps. For runtime I would charge your 3300 at the auto setting. It varies the charge amperage to kind a revitalize your cells. Of course if you want it to charge faster increase the amps. When I was racing I would charge my 3300's at 5 amps and it would get done in 45 minutes.