IC-3 batteries?

chrome · Post by **chrome** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:04 pm

Does the IC-3 battery charger only charge IC-3's in 15 minutes? The charger's package says it charges other batteries overnight, but is that really accurate? Will other chargers charge the IC-3 batts in 15 minutes? What's the difference in them.

What I'm looking for is the quickest way to charge my NiMH AAA's.

Later,
Chrome...

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:35 pm

The quickest way to charge your nimh cells would be to get a fast charging hobby charger. The IC3 charger only charges IC3 batts in 15mins. Other brands take forever. But the IC3 charger can charge all nimh that are applicable.

Maxx

chrome · Post by **chrome** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:45 pm

Man, why did I not think of using my hobby charger to do it. What kind of setup would I use to go about doing that?

Later,
Chrome...

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:13 pm

You should be able to buy a battery caridge from the shack to put your batts in and then just add a conector to the end to plug into your charger.

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:17 pm

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=family

Get this this will allow you to charge four AAA batterys just add a deans/tamiya plug or whatever you use to the end.

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Wed May 17, 2006 11:13 pm

Along with the 4xAAA Battery Holder Scorpion linked...I'd suggest getting a single AAA holder and a cheapy volt meter (if you don't already have one).

The 4xAAA battery holder is only going to put the batteries in Series, you DON'T want to be charging (or discharging) a set of batts that are at varying levels of charge states. So use the volt meter and the single charger to get all the batts as close as possible in voltage, then keep them togther (like marking them with a sharpie marker) as a matched set.

If you want to go with the "fastest" then indeed the I-C3 Batts and charger is the way to go:
http://www.radioshack.com/search/index. ... rigkw=i-c3

If you want a SWEET ass charger though, the LaCrosse BC-900 is it. It can charge 4 AA/AAA batts INDEPENDENTLY and has an LCD readout for each of the 4 charging bays. It's badass and I've got 2 of em:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 8&v=glance

chrome · Post by **chrome** » Thu May 18, 2006 6:37 am

I wondered about charging them in a series. What if I were charging them in parallel?

Later,
Chrome...

cj · Post by cj » Thu May 18, 2006 6:50 am

That charger is nice there Namuna whats the charge time?

I just use the Energizer 15 Minute charger for all my cells be it my practice IC-3's or the 950Mah or 1000Mah Race batteries. Charges them all in 15 minutes.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... No=1159858

HACHI-RYOKU · Post by **HACHI-RYOKU** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:56 am

I'll give a second vote for the energizer 15 minute charger and batteries.

Although, the 15 minute thing is not the greatest. It doesn't give the batteries a full charge. I usually take the 15 minute IC-3 batts and charge them on the slow charger. The IC-3 batts and the energizer batts are superior quality IMO. They are able to handle more current draw. I can't really say I've seen more speed per say. I want to put this to a dyno test to be sure before I put out crappy info, but I can say the batts stay cooler. That I know is true. I used a heat gun at work to test that. The energizer and IC-3 batts after a 10 minute run were cooler. I did this test with 8 sets of batteries over a three day period. Each set got 3 runs each. I ran the car around the same way in the same area. I wrote it all down. I don't remember the exacts, but the energizers came out on top with the IC-3's right behind within a degree or two.

I also tried some energizer lithiums (non-rechargeables). Now those did give a small degree of prformance boost. Of-course those are 1.5volts each/6volts total where the NIMH's are 1.2volts each/4.8volts total. The energizer lithiums are also similar to the NIMH's in that they can put out loads of current where the alkalines have a set current rate. The only draw-back to the energizer lithiums is that they are expensive and they're not rechargeable.

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Thu May 18, 2006 7:46 pm

Specifications for the Energizer 15minute charger...

* Charging Current: AA (1-4 Cells) 7.5 Amps
* Charging Current: AAA (1-4 Cells) 2.85 Amps
* Trickle Charge: AA 100mA
* Trickle Charge: AAA 60mA
* Dimensions (mm): 131.0 x 40.0 x 78.0

Sweet merciful CRAP! 7.5amps???!!! That's like using a firehose to fill a shot glass! I could see maybe when you're matching IC3 batts with an IC3 charger because they work in conjunction with each other...But that's just insane amounts of juice to be using on regular batts. Wow.

The LaCrosse charger only has a max charge rate of 1.8amps, so it would be a bit longer than that crazy-ass 15min Energizer charger. But the allure of the LaCrosse if the extreme amount of info you get (digital LED display showing voltage and mah and such).

Chrome,
Either way, if you're going to use your Peak Charger I highly recommend charging each batt first, then keep the set togther as you use them and then recharge them as a set (in series). It's your best bet for keeping them consistent and thereby ensuring even/best charge

chrome · Post by **chrome** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:05 pm

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm going to figure something out. When you think of sub-c nimh batteries, they are charged in series. Why would charging 4 AAA be any different?

Anyway, Namuna, that charger is the shit. How long does it take to charge your normal NiMH batts?

Later,
Chrome...

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:47 pm

chrome wrote:I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm going to figure something out. When you think of sub-c nimh batteries, they are charged in series. Why would charging 4 AAA be any different?

Anyway, Namuna, that charger is the shit. How long does it take to charge your normal NiMH batts?

Later,
Chrome...

He didn't say you can't charge in series, he said that you should only charge "matched" batteries in series. Have another look at his post...

Namuna wrote:....The 4xAAA battery holder is only going to put the batteries in Series, you DON'T want to be charging (or discharging) a set of batts that are at varying levels of charge states. So use the volt meter and the single charger to get all the batts as close as possible in voltage, then keep them togther (like marking them with a sharpie marker) as a matched set.....

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:48 pm

Its not diferent thats not what hes saying, what he is saying is the first charge charge them one by one untill 4 of them are close to the same voltages after that mark them to keep them seperate from others. After they are marked and kept together (use all 4 at one time) you can use them in series and charge them together since they have close to same voltages. By doing this you make sure that all the batterys are close to same voltage when chargeing so you dont have for example 1 cell way under charged 2 at normal peak and the other way over charged.

Scorpion · Post by **Scorpion** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:49 pm

You beat me.

lol

Namuna · Post by **Namuna** » Thu May 18, 2006 10:47 pm

Max and Scorp have my meaning right.

Here's the math on how long it takes to charge batteries, with the LaCrosse...

If you're doing 4 batts at a time, then the max charge rate (using this charger) is 1amp. So if you've got a set of AA batteries rated at 2000mah...That means it would take 2 hours to charge them.

If you're looking for the absolute fastest solution, you should go with the IC3 charger and batts. That Energizer 15min charger looks sweet, but that firehose charge rate of 7.5amps is just too damned insane for me to believe ANY batteries are going to achieve a truly full status. Whereas the IC3 is using whatever circuitry to not only charge in 15minutes but to be fully charged in 15.

But if you're looking for maximum control and info, then the LaCrosse is just plain awesome. The thing is like having 4 peak chargers in one unit because each battery is charge independently and you can actually sit and watch the thing if you wanted to (you can monitor the current voltage as it's charging, or you watch how much mah is currently being pushed to the batt or there's even a couple other options you could watch too).

Good luck whichever way you go mang.