On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 15:51:32 -0600 (CST), Chris Brogden wrote: > > Do NiMH require different charger from NiCad? > > AFAIK, you can charge NiCads in a NiMH charger, but not the other way > around.
That's probably true if it's a "peak detecting" fast charger. These chargers detect that the battery is "full" by noticing a dropoff in the voltage. The peak voltage dropoff in a NiMH cell is smaller than that in a NiCd cell. So the (NiCd) charger might not notice the peak and keep on pushing current into the cell, eventually destroying it. OTOH, NiMH peak detecting chargers might prematurely terminate the charge of NiCd packs due to a "false peak" on voltage during the charge cycle. Peak detecting chargers with a temperature probe to end the charge cycle if the cell gets too hot should work OK for NiMH and NiCd. And trickle chargers should work with both. TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ
