Charging voltage: Use a charger that outputs a suitable voltage for a 4. 8V NiMH pack, which typically charges at around 6V. Overvoltage can cause the battery to overheat and swell.
The charger section of the battery pack has a DC/DC converter with a wide input range. This means that the pack can be charged from a wide variety of sources. The input voltage for charging can be as low as 5 volts and as high as 24 volts.
With an Explanded Scale Voltmeter (and typical load of 300 ma), a fully charged battery pack can show up to 5.5 volts, even with the 300ma load. The pack will lose it's top voltage quickly, and down to 5V, the pack is still plenty strong, with something like 90-95% charge remaining. Most of the discharge for a pack occurs at 4.7 to 5V.
See attached image for my battery pack and charger. If the charger is regulated at 4.8V then it will never fully-charge that pack. NiMH cells are around 1.35 - 1.4V fully charged so the charger would have to be capable of outputting at least 5.6V @ 250mA But if it does then it will take around 3.5 hours to charge a dead 700mAh pack.
How long does it take to charge AA 700mAh battery pack?
How long it will take to charge AA 700mAh 4.8V battery pack using a DC4.8V 250mA charger. One of my friend told me that it will take aprox 700/250=2.8 hours to charge. Is he correct? See attached image for my battery pack and charger. If the charger is regulated at 4.8V then it will never fully-charge that pack.
Can You charge at 1C?
You can charge at .1c if you want, but don't act as though the world is going to end if someone else charges at a higher current. There are hundreds of millions of NiCD and NiMH cells being fast charged around the world. Modern cells are designed with this in mind. Bombs away! Err...landing No, get a charger.
On a mostly discharged pack, you could get an acceptable reading for the whole pack for a minute or two, but when the weaker cell of the pack reaches full dischage, it will quickly lose its voltage, pulling a 4.4v pack down to 3.3v in a matter of seconds. This is why you should not fly a low voltage pack even down to it's practical limit.