Charger ID help please!!

[SqueakyBum]

Hi folks, got a problem here I can't solve.....help appreciated!

Long story short,
I could really use this 9.6v 8 cell 400mAh NiMh battery I found lying around......problem is, can't figure out if I have a charger for it or not.

The only charger I can find with a Tamiya plug other than my conventional Ansmann 7.2v only charger doesn't say what voltage battery it's for.

The random charger I found is rated as follows:
Output:11.5V 250mA 2.87VA

Does this sound correct for a 9.6V 8 cell 400 mAh NiMh?

[Charlie-III]

The amp output of the charger needs to be larger than the charge rate of the pack, the charger you listed sounds OK for that.
I'm assuming this charger is a "wallwart"?? You should use a REAL RC pack charger. Most chargers today that do LiPO can also do NiCD/NiMH.
For your pack listed, charge it as a NiMH @ .4A charge rate.

Wallwarts are basically crap to really charge RC packs......well, any battery to be exact.

I use my Venom Pro Charger for lots of batteries besides my rig packs.

[SqueakyBum]

Cheers charlie, the wallwart charged the battery fine

I agree a proper charger is worth buying so I have one ordered, it's an Etronix powerpal (not the compact one- big brother one) does LiPo 2/3, LiFe 2/3, NiMh 6 and various V. lead acid batteries, comes with jst/xh balance board etc.

Having a crisis on batteries though, LiFe or LiPo? hmmmmmm

I want capacity for my trailfinder and voltage for my RC bike.

Bit concerned that LiPos are dangerous (I have kids)

Thinking of buying both just to get a better look at what they both give in terms of performance and runtime, though I know the LiFe batteries are capable of many more cycles than the LiPos.

Dang batteries, miss my old nitro MT.

[Charlie-III]

An issue with wallwart chargers is they don't do a good job of charging batteries. While the pack may be "charged", it is not good.
A decent charger will look for the "Delta V", or, "change in voltage of a pack indicating it's full based on chemistry & cell count". This only really applies to NiCD/NiMH.
LiPO really wants to be balanced charged most of the time.
About the only thing worse than a wallwart charger is a charger with a timer. If you set a long time on a fully charged pack, it WILL cook the pack. My son killed a couple packs before I showed him how to use a decent charger.

As to LiFE vs. LiPO, LiFE may have more "cycles" but it's discharge curve is between NiCD/NiMH & LiPO. It drops off faster than LiPO, but remains flatter longer than NiCD/NiMH.

I've never run one, I've only looked at discharge specs.

Runtime is basically voltage & capacity (mah), chemistry has little to do with it until near the end of the run.

I have kids and own a house as well. Charging ANY battery has a potential for issues, some common sense and care makes the risk small.

As to missing nitro:

1-A jug of nitro fuel has a lot more potential "oh poop" issues than batteries
2-Nitro is a lot louder than electric
3-Nitro is a lot messier to clean up
4-Nitro leaves a smell on pretty much everything
5-Nitro is easier to drink than batteries are to eat. (consideration with kids & stupid people).

[SqueakyBum]

You sort of said everything I was thinking from experience and what I've read....LOL

I stopped running nitro simply because it was too loud and got too much attention (wanted to enjoy bashing in peace).
We have a cupboard we lock all dangerous fluids in so that was never an issue, however, charging batteries is different, it is very difficult to find a safe place to charge them in our house.

I have run NiMh for years with no problems (other than them being rubbish).

I guess my thing is this; LiPo can suffer from thermal runaway and catch fire, LiFe doesn't have that issue.

I've never felt the need to charge a battery in a bag in case it burns my house down....

Am I willing to take that risk?
I know it's a risk with any battery...hmmmm

The only reason I am considering LiPo is because I ordered the new charger.
We never owned a delta peak capable charger before for charging NiMhs, were always too expensive and we never had anything more than toy RCs, now I'm an adult they're cheap enough and the cars we are running are hobby grade cars so worth it.

What sort of routine do you have to go through to maintain the stability of your LiPo batteries? Do they need special considerations, other than being balance charged?

[Charlie-III]

I work in the battery industry (large UPS systems, lead acid batteries.....), I know all about thermal runaway. You will likely NEVER have that in RC packs.
Overcharging, maybe.
Damaged batteries, maybe.
Thermal runaway....99.9999999999% NEVER.
ANY kind of battery can thermal runaway, my charger (most often used is a Venom Pro Charger with a thermal probe) will shut down if the pack gets too warm. My ICE (still use it for NiMH) also has a temp sensor.

I personally never had an issue with a NiCD, NiMH or LiPO pack, this goes from the late 70's until now.
My son has had 2 LiPO issues, not sure what happened.
I have had delta V chargers for ~20 years, always worth it. My son's first charger was a timer type. He nuked a couple of packs because of it (putting a nearly full pack and setting the time.....the charger overcharged).

We both use LiPO sacks, I also charge on my basement floor which is concrete. I keep burnable stuff away "just in case", but I still charge indoors.

As to keeping LiPO's happy:
1-Use a LVC to pervent overdischarge (I set a bit above minimum, just in case a single cell drops more than others).
2-I almost always balance charge.
3-I try to NEVER damage/abuse LiPO packs since most we use have no case, thus are easier to damage.

Hope this helps.