RC Car - Do I Need A Fancy Charger?

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Do I Need A Fancy Charger?

Comments: Dear Pro,

I recently purchased 5 used 1700 mah matched packs from a friend because I could not afford new ones. (I bought them because I wanted to race, currently I race my truck in my back yard.) He recommended that I buy a "peak" charger and a "conditioner" for them, so I wouldn't ruin them. I don't have either of these. I have been using a dial timing charger and was charging my 1400 battery packs for 15 minutes. I also discharged my batteries with the charger ( until the meter needle gets close to "0"). Can I use my charger for charging the 1700 mah batteries? And if so, how long should I charge them? Do I need a conditioner for these batteries or is the way I discharge my batteries OK? My truck is a Losi XXT CR, bushings, Duster 2 ESC, Trinity X Star motor.

Thanks for your help. Your web page is awesome.

Response: There is nothing wrong with using a timer charger to charge your 1700 mah batteries. You can get the same high quality charge from a timer charger as a peak charger, it just takes more of your time to get it.

Basically, you should charge your battery from room temperature on the timer charger until your battery gets slightly warm. This will probably take between 15 and 30 minutes depending on the output of your charger. Once you have established the amount of time required to charge a 1700 mah battery with your timer charger, you can charge for this time period in the future so take note of how many times you rewind the charger timer and how much time you actually use. DO NOT over charge your battery (by charging it past the point when it is slightly warm), you will not increase the performance. You will be buying a new battery.

You don't need a conditioner either (by the way, your friend was not lying to you, these things will help battery performance but they are not necessary). A conditioner just cycles the batteries for you (this means that it will fully charge the battery and then fully discharge it). This process helps to eliminate the memory. Anyways, just make sure that you are always getting a full charge by following the process above and make sure you fully discharge your battery by either driving it in the car until it is completely dead or continuing with the method you mentioned in your message.

Let's take off a few tenths per lap,

"PRO"
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