can I use this charger?

[emosun]

my radioshack AC fast charger for my 9.6v nicad batteries doesn't work anymore it seems

reading the bottom of the charger , it claims to output 16.5v

do you think I could use my schumacher car battery charger to charge these batteries instead? If i set the schumacher to the 2 amp trickle charge setting perhaps? I actually have no idea what the output voltage of the schumacher is but surely it's not more that 16.5 is it?

[W-L]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

my radioshack AC fast charger for my 9.6v nicad batteries doesn't work anymore it seems

reading the bottom of the charger , it claims to output 16.5v

do you think I could use my schumacher car battery charger to charge these batteries instead? If i set the schumacher to the 2 amp trickle charge setting perhaps? I actually have no idea what the output voltage of the schumacher is but surely it's not more that 16.5 is it?

You want a charger that has the same voltage and current of the original, depending on the design of the nicad charger some just trickle charge until it reaches a certain cut off voltage. 

[emosun]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

You want a charger that has the same voltage and current of the original, depending on the design of the nicad charger some just trickle charge until it reaches a certain cut off voltage. 

from what I can see the radioshack was 1.5 amp while the schumacher can go as low as 2 amp. that's not too different is it?

 

[W-L]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

from what I can see the radioshack was 1.5 amp while the schumacher can go as low as 2 amp. that's not too different is it?

That is a little higher so it might make the battery pack hotter than usual also make sure the voltage is the same that is important, ideally 1.5amp or less would be ideal. 

[emosun]

1 minute ago, W-L said:

That is a little higher so it might make the battery pack hotter than usual also make sure the voltage is the same that is important, ideally 1.5amp or less would be ideal. 

I looked up the spec sheet for the schumacher just now and it seems it only outputs 12v

so technically even with the amperage it should charge slower and more "gently" than the radio shack one right?

[W-L]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

I looked up the spec sheet for the schumacher just now and it seems it only outputs 12v

so technically even with the amperage it should charge slower and more "gently" than the radio shack one right?

Not exactly, the wattage would be about similar but you need to correct voltage for nicad batteries if it's a simple charge circuit monitors the voltage until it hits a cut off. The charge you have that is 12V and 2 amps won't work. 

[emosun]

would it work if I simply unplug the battery after a certian time amount?

The radioshack would automatically cut off after the battery was done , but I have seen nicad chargers that were simply a dc wall adapter that said to unplug the battery after 4 hours or when it felt hot

[W-L]

Just now, emosun said:

would it work if I simply unplug the battery after a certian time amount?

The radioshack would automatically cut off after the battery was done , but I have seen nicad chargers that were simply a dc wall adapter that said to unplug the battery after 4 hours or when it felt hot

It's not the correct voltage so it won't charge properly as those are basic chargers rely on the input voltage and current to be constant, also if you batteries are 9.6V the charger's output voltage of  16.5V is exceedingly high, double check to make sure that is correct. 

 

If it's a nominal 9.6 V you'll have 8 nicad cells in series at 1.2V each. 

[emosun]

15 minutes ago, W-L said:

also if you batteries are 9.6V the charger's output voltage of  16.5V is exceedingly high, double check to make sure that is correct. 

yes the radio shack AC fast charger's output was 16.5v . I think nicd batteries are sorta made to be massively depleated and charged. becuase when I used the batteries in rc cars they would always get really hot when you used them , and when you charge them. 

but yeah it's 16.5v which i suppose explains why they called it a fast charger.

[kb5zue]

7 minutes ago, W-L said:

It's not the correct voltage so it won't charge properly as those are basic chargers rely on the input voltage and current to be constant, also if you batteries are 9.6V the charger's output voltage of  16.5V is exceedingly high, double check to make sure that is correct. 

 

If it's a nominal 9.6 V you'll have 8 nicad cells in series at 1.2V each. 

From what I read at the Schumacher website, your charger should take care of the problem as long as you don't over charge.  The bulk of Schumacher trickle chargers are rated at 2 amps, 6 or 12 volts DC.  Make sure the charger is set at the minimum 2 amps while setting the vdc to 12.  If as is believed the Schumacher chargers employ a feed back circuit that will limit the voltage after the charge is complete.  But, don't forget, the charger is either 6vdc or 12vdc.  Of course using the 6vdc setting will not fully charge your setup while at the same time using the 12vdc will result in an overcharge because the preventative overcharge circuit does not kick in until the requisite 12vdc is reached.

 

As stated above, it will work but it will create a really warm set of batteries so you need to keep an eye on the generated heat buildup.  If the rated voltage of your setup is 8 cells at 1.2vdc each, then your total will be a nominal voltage of 9.6vdc.  For that charger, it should not take more than, say, 2-2.5 hours to complete.

 

[kb5zue]

The heat in the batteries during charging and use is not generated by the voltage, but by the amperage.

[W-L]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

yes the radio shack AC fast charger's output was 16.5v . I think nicd batteries are sorta made to be massively depleated and charged. becuase when I used the batteries in rc card they would always get really hot when you used them , and when you charge them. 

but yeah it's 16.5v which i suppose explains why they called it a fast charger.

Hmm you might be able to then get away with the lower voltage charger it might not fully charge it since it's lower depending on how they designed that charger and battery pack but keep an eye on it since your pushing more current through the batteries will get hot, so I wouldn't leave it unattended throughout the charge.

Edited August 28, 2017 by W-L

[emosun]

35 minutes ago, kb5zue said:

From what I read at the Schumacher website, your charger should take care of the problem as long as you don't over charge.  The bulk of Schumacher trickle chargers are rated at 2 amps, 6 or 12 volts DC.  Make sure the charger is set at the minimum 2 amps while setting the vdc to 12.  If as is believed the Schumacher chargers employ a feed back circuit that will limit the voltage after the charge is complete.  But, don't forget, the charger is either 6vdc or 12vdc.  Of course using the 6vdc setting will not fully charge your setup while at the same time using the 12vdc will result in an overcharge because the preventative overcharge circuit does not kick in until the requisite 12vdc is reached.

 

As stated above, it will work but it will create a really warm set of batteries so you need to keep an eye on the generated heat buildup.  If the rated voltage of your setup is 8 cells at 1.2vdc each, then your total will be a nominal voltage of 9.6vdc.  For that charger, it should not take more than, say, 2-2.5 hours to complete.

ok this is along the lines of what I was thinking

I'll give the batteries a try and see what they do.