Re: [NTLK] Charging, better slow or fast?

From: Kim Howe (khowe_at_iinet.net.au)
Date: Thu Jul 24 2003 - 22:14:05 PDT


On Wednesday, July 23, 2003, at 11:50 PM, Christian Burk wrote:

> I have just picked up a NiMH charger and 4 1800 mAh AAs for an MP130 I
> picked up on e-Bay. I noticed that the charger is a slow one, it takes
> over 14 hours to charge the set. Now, that may or may not be a problem,
> but I'm wondering whether I might be better off with a fast charger?
> What is better for the battery? Does anyone know?

The short answer is neither. Overcharging is the enemy of NiMHs.
Conversely to what you first think, fast chargers are usually better at
not overcharging, because they have some circuitry to stop when the
battery is charged. A 14 hour charge of a battery that wasn't
completely flat might result in 4 or 5 hours of overcharging.

Kim Howe

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