Batteries and chargers

[Eco]

What's the best way to match up a battery with an appropriate charger?
Obviously, you have to have the matching charger type, NiMH for NiMH, Li ion for Li ion, etc.
But the charger has an output rate, how does that match up to a battery's numbers?

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Usually a charger will have the battery voltage types listed on the box/and or listing on a website. Like for NiMH, it may list 2.4, 4.8, 7.2, 9.6 in the description. Make sure it's a "smart charger" and then there isn't anything else you need to worry about.

[DragonStar]

For LiON, the speed of the charge has an effect on battery longevity. You basically want to recharge the battery as slowly as possible without having to wait a unreasonably long time for the charge. so try to match the mAH as closely as possible for the best balance of wait time vs charge speed.

[Novastar]

For the record... most batteries will be adversely affected by "quick charging"--which equates to feeding the things faster than "normal" (which differs from cell type to cell type and for cell capacity in some cases).

Additionally, do not get confused with a charger's voltage setting being a way to determine the CURRENT being fed into the cell. Most chargers will be CCCV (constant current, constant voltage).

The charging current rates vary, usually from "normal charger" to "fast charger... but if you can--avoid "fast chargers".

Also--it's true that the "mAh" rating on the cells has some bearing on whether or not they are "ok" to charge with a certain charger.

Basically, when in doubt: READ THE SPECS ON EVERYTHING CAREFULLY!