sqweaka Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Question... can you no longer buy nicad battery packs for rx's/tx's now? i feel like buck rogers awakening after a long sleep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wills 2 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 phased out and replaced with nimh batteries on toxicity grounds, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wagg Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Ni-Cad packs are available from Ebay but are frowned upon for environmental reasons. I only buy NiMh now and have quite a few packs. I just treat the NiMh's like Ni-cads and no problems so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 More's the pity... Although they are still made in the Far East, EU rules don't allow them to be sold - and we're still following the bulk of legislation passed by them. Edit: John got there first! Edited By Martin Harris on 22/07/2020 10:42:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqweaka Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 wondered why my searches showed no items found! so you need to buy a different charger for your transmitter for the new nimh packs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 I've used NiMh for many years, with the same original Futaba Tx/Rx charger. Charging regime is the same as for NiCd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Yes just pretend they are nicad you really won’t notice much difference and continue to use the slow chargers that came with the radio. However be careful of the exorbitant capacity claims on some now you cannot get a quart in a pint pot. Just pretend that they are the old 500/600 that you had before and you will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Just bear in mind that a new pack of Eneloops will have between 3 and 4 times the capacity of your old NiCads. If you run them flat, they will take a lot longer to fully charge on your old charger. As long as you are aware of this, then fine, carry on as normal. But also Eneloops can be "fast charged" in an hour or so, but for that you need a modern "peak detect" charger. I would recommend a peak detect charger anyway, as it prevents overcharging - one of the main causes of the dreaded "black wire corrosion"! -- Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqweaka Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Posted by Peter Christy on 22/07/2020 12:23:57: Just bear in mind that a new pack of Eneloops will have between 3 and 4 times the capacity of your old NiCads. If you run them flat, they will take a lot longer to fully charge on your old charger. As long as you are aware of this, then fine, carry on as normal. But also Eneloops can be "fast charged" in an hour or so, but for that you need a modern "peak detect" charger. I would recommend a peak detect charger anyway, as it prevents overcharging - one of the main causes of the dreaded "black wire corrosion"! -- Pete ah... ive just found in the loft an old ripmax ac/dc peak detect nicad/nimh charger i forgot i couldn't sell when i got rid of all my old gear ... result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Miles 2 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 As said, NiMh cells can be treated in pretty much the same way as NiCd although if the charger has a dedicated NiMh charge facility, best to use that, of course. They are more environmentally friendly and also do not suffer from the NiCd “memory effect” (reducing capacity over time due to “top-up charging). ”Eneloop” are definitely the best choice for their low self-discharge qualities making for fuss free long term storage at full charge. If you can do an annual recycle, so much the better. Edited By Keith Miles 2 on 22/07/2020 13:14:26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Clark 2 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 If using an old fast charger make sure it can be set to 'Nimh'. as the peak is much smaller than Nicad so if not set the charger may not detect the peak and keep charging until an Nimh battery gets very hot and blows up or melts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqweaka Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 22/07/2020 18:26:43: If using an old fast charger make sure it can be set to 'Nimh'. as the peak is much smaller than Nicad so if not set the charger may not detect the peak and keep charging until an Nimh battery gets very hot and blows up or melts The charger has a switch for Nicad or Nimh, so should be good Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Posted by sqweaka on 22/07/2020 10:24:19: Question... can you no longer buy nicad battery packs for rx's/tx's now? i feel like buck rogers awakening after a long sleep Flying not changed though, out in the fresh air, flying your pride and joy with all the banter from the crew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Posted by Peter Christy on 22/07/2020 12:23:57: I would recommend a peak detect charger anyway, as it prevents overcharging - one of the main causes of the dreaded "black wire corrosion"! Don't underestimate the effects of black wire corrosion. Practicing what I preach, I still use a number of old but good quality NiCads, which I test regularly. I fished one out of an electric glider (which uses a non-BEC ESC) to cycle check it and the charger rejected it repeatedly although it showed a resting voltage of over 4 volts after 9 months or so of storage (I should really have discharged it to 1V per cell but hadn't bargained for COVID-19!) I have no idea how old it is - I inherited it in another model many years ago and it's kept its capacity well as measured during my regular tests. Anyway, before consigning the old faithful to the tidy tip battery collection point, I thought I'd just check it over and the black wire corrosion had to be seen to be believed! The negative conductors were more black powder than copper wire strands and no doubt the high resistance was the cause of the charger saying no as soon as any meaningful current attempted to flow. I'm wondering whether storage in the loft during the high temperatures experienced during the lockdown may have accelerated the corrosion process - normally it would have been out of the loft as soon as the thermals started popping. I boshed on a new power lead and it's currently taking a seemingly normal charge. Next step will be to check the switch harness - luckily I'd removed the receiver several months ago to put in another model I was building. I'll give it a couple of cycles and see if it still performs properly - I suspect it will. An old rechargeable torch, inherited from work, still holds a decent charge on its @ 35 year old NiCad pack. I took a look in my bag of "dead" NiCads waiting for proper disposal and the first one I checked was showing definite signs of advanced black wire corrosion - it's been in my outside garage for some time, which may have caused this but it does make me wonder how many serviceable NiCads have been discarded over the years for want of a bit of maintenance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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