Stupid question......

[scurvythepirate]

First off I'd like to say, that this question is probably not the smartest you've heard.
I've been looking around, and found out that Ni-Mh batteries don't have memory (which to my understanding means that the battery is not affected charging when not fully dead).

I am going to a game tomorrow, and I my Intellect 9.6 1600mah Ni-Mh is 3/4 dead, which means it wont last in a game,


I have a couple of questions regarding my situation

<Should I charge it? Or just see how I do?
And is it really bad for the battery to charge it now? >


NOTE: I don't have a smart charger only the basic one.
And I don't have another battery (planning on getting one soon).

[HaloSix4]

If you have another battery, just take it for back up, get a Smart Charger, you Basic Chargers are shit and will fuck your battery up after a few charges.

[scurvythepirate]

Originally Posted by Halo64

If you have another battery, just take it for back up, get a Smart Charger, you Basic Chargers are shit and will fuck your battery up after a few charges.

Thanks for the reply, but the question was should I charge my 3/4 dead battery before a game tomorrow? And will that fuck it up?

[AznFireboi]

Without a smart charger, your batteries will easily overcharge and go kaput on you. If you got a smart charger, I think that some more pricey ones have a setting to top off batteries, so if that happened another time, you can charge it up before playing.
But just to be safe, I think it'd be best to keep a spare with you.

EDIT: It's definately not a good idea to top off a battery with a basic charger, as the battery will over charge and lose efficiency over time.

[kalnaren]

Originally Posted by scurvythepirate

Thanks for the reply, but the question was should I charge my 3/4 dead battery before a game tomorrow? And will that fuck it up?

Yea, charge it. Won't hurt it.

Actually, memory effect has been pretty much eliminated in modern Ni-Cad batteries as well. If you don't treat your batteries harsh and use a good charger, they'll be fine.

I'm currently charging up all my batteries, and none of them are dead.

[scurvythepirate]

Originally Posted by kalnaren

Yea, charge it. Won't hurt it.

Actually, memory effect has been pretty much eliminated in modern Ni-Cad batteries as well. If you don't treat your batteries harsh and use a good charger, they'll be fine.

I'm currently charging up all my batteries, and none of them are dead.

Thank you very much for the straight answer

[kalnaren]

What AznFireboi is correct though. If you're not using a good charger, you will eventually kill your batteries. Always use a good charger.

[scurvythepirate]

Originally Posted by kalnaren

What AznFireboi is correct though. If you're not using a good charger, you will eventually kill your batteries. Always use a good charger.

Thanks again for your help, and I will be getting one soon.

[xopher]

when you say smart charger, do you mean the ones with the red and green light? (i have one of those, the person at mach1 said it does not over charge bat once it turns green) or the hardcore quick chargers? i am having the same dilema right now. Going to a game with a 3/4 dead battery

[scurvythepirate]

Originally Posted by xopher

when you say smart charger, do you mean the ones with the red and green light? (i have one of those, the person at mach1 said it does not over charge bat once it turns green) or the hardcore quick chargers? i am having the same dilema right now. Going to a game with a 3/4 dead battery

Smart/quick charger, I call them the same thing. Quick chargers, or advanced ones have timers, or lights telling you to unplug it.

[xopher]

just to make sure before i possible kill my battery, it is safe to charge my 3/4 empty nimh with a green/red light charger

[AznFireboi]

As long as it has a voltage cutoff, it should be fine. Not sure if your charger cutsoff or just indicates when the battery is full. If it's a cheap battery anyways, you can do it and along with your next battery purchase, get a better charger if needed.

[kalnaren]

Don't use any charger that will charge a battery over at a rate over 1C (that is, a 1,000mah battery should never be charged faster than 1amp, 1500mah no faster than 1.5amp, etc). Many "rapid chargers" do exactly that. They'll also kill your batteries.

I use the NPT Smart Charger from BB Bastard. Works great for $35. Anything else for airsoft is pretty overkill.

[BGrail25]

Aside from all the talk of better chargers, I have a little trick I like to use when I charge most of my electronics. I get one of those electric timers, that will automatically turn off the power going to whatever is plugged in, set it for 4 hours, and let it charge. I usually forget to take them out when I'm not using the timer, so it's pretty useful to me.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by scurvythepirate

Thanks for the reply, but the question was should I charge my 3/4 dead battery before a game tomorrow? And will that fuck it up?

No, that's the entire point of NiMH not having memory. You can charge it whenever you want.