Cycling Ni-MH

[samuraipinguin]

I have been going round and round on Google for the last hour or so and can't get a clear answer. I have a 7 cell 5000 mAh @ 8.4V Ni-MH battery that I believe that needs to be cycled. I have HiTEC X1 multi charger. What charge and discharge rates do I need to use?

 

[SrC]

Having raced years back when Nicad and Nims were used ( lipo's did not exist), you are basically, training the pack to discharge at a high rate so you get the most punch and power for the longest duration. Nim packs have a memory like Nicads did.
I would charge that Nim pack at 5.0 amps. and discharge at close to that amp rate if possible. At least to get the absolute most out of it. At least 3 charge and discharge cycles back to back are required. Letting them cool down for 1 hour between cycles. If you cant discharge at a high rate, do your best with whatever the charger will discharge at. It is usually low. Most multichargers (2 line display types) have a cycle feature just for Nims and Nicads. Check your settings. Set it and it does both. Some even can be set to do multi cycling however many times you set it for. Usually 3. Rest period is also in that cycle.
Nims don't like to be stored at Full charge for long periods. Nims store best when just about the cells are approx. 1.1-1.2v.(aprox 7.4v-8.4/7pack)
Or they go flat amp wise and have little punch to them. Also. I don't recommend "trickle" charging them even though that feature may be there. This saturates the "sub C" cells and makes for a bad memory, that requires another 3 cycles or more to recover the pack for best performance.
BTW, an 8.4v Nimpack (7 cell) is considered dead at 8.4 volts and should charged from there. Have you considered Lipo's, as an alternative?
Hope that helps some.

 

[samuraipinguin]

Having raced years back when Nicad and Nims were used ( lipo's did not exist), you are basically, training the pack to discharge at a high rate so you get the most punch and power for the longest duration. Nim packs have a memory like Nicads did.
I would charge that Nim pack at 5.0 amps. and discharge at close to that amp rate if possible. At least to get the absolute most out of it. At least 3 charge and discharge cycles back to back are required. Letting them cool down for 1 hour between cycles. If you cant discharge at a high rate, do your best with whatever the charger will discharge at. It is usually low. Most multichargers (2 line display types) have a cycle feature just for Nims and Nicads. Check your settings. Set it and it does both. Some even can be set to do multi cycling however many times you set it for. Usually 3. Rest period is also in that cycle.
Nims don't like to be stored at Full charge for long periods. Nims store best when just about the cells are approx. 1.1-1.2v.(aprox 7.4v-8.4/7pack)
Or they go flat amp wise and have little punch to them. Also. I don't recommend "trickle" charging them even though that feature may be there. This saturates the "sub C" cells and makes for a bad memory, that requires another 3 cycles or more to recover the pack for best performance.
BTW, an 8.4v Nimpack (7 cell) is considered dead at 8.4 volts and should charged from there. Have you considered Lipo's, as an alternative?
Hope that helps some.

Thank you so much!