14sg battery charging

[aaronp97]

Hi, how do I know when my battery is done charging on my 14sg? Does the light on the charger itself shut off? And what voltage do u all plug the transmitters in at? Never used a nimh before and don't want to charge it too soon and ruin it. It's the stock nimh pack. Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HilliHeli]

Low-voltage should be set-to 5.6v with stock pack.

I always charged mine for the recommended 15 hours once it was down to 5.6v and never had any problems.

[KSHeli]

If I ned my Tx soon I'll use my charging setup to charge it otherwise I charge over night (roughly 13-15 hr) with the stock charger. I haven't let mine get to the 5.6V usually recharge at around 6V depending upon how much flying I'll be doing the following day.

[aaronp97]

Originally Posted by KSHeli

If I ned my Tx soon I'll use my charging setup to charge it otherwise I charge over night (roughly 13-15 hr) with the stock charger. I haven't let mine get to the 5.6V usually recharge at around 6V depending upon how much flying I'll be doing the following day.

Ok thank u. I'm
At 6.2. I'll b flying all
Week since I'm on vaca
I'll charge once it's
At 6


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HilliHeli]

KSHeli is correct, you should definitely consider charging around the 6.0v level.

The 5.6v setting is recommended for the low-voltage alarm when using the stock-pack (in the manual).

[aaronp97]

I charged for 16 hours and light never went out. Started at 7.4v and after 2 flights of about 3 minutes each it went to 7.2. Was it all the way done?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KSHeli]

Pl

Originally Posted by HilliHeli

KSHeli is correct, you should definitely consider charging around the 6.0v level.

The 5.6v setting is recommended for the low-voltage alarm when using the stock-pack (in the manual).

Yep, just the sound I love to hear when I go out to fly right after school and I power the Tx up for the first flight. That's why I adopted the 6V rule for myself and its worked well for me. If I'm going somewhere else to fly I always charge up.
Enjoy the 14sg I know I'm really enjoying mine.

[HilliHeli]

Originally Posted by aaronp97

I charged for 16 hours and light never went out. Started at 7.4v and after 2 flights of about 3 minutes each it went to 7.2. Was it all the way done?

aaronp97,
I don't remember any lights going out once I had done a full-charge cycle (15 hrs.) but my voltage did drop similar-to what you have described with yours.
This can be common with NiMH type packs and it is possible for the voltage to stay around the 7.4v range after a few cycles (discharging (with use) and charging).

KSHeli,
I know what you mean (low-voltage alarm sounding), kind-of a drag when you know that the wal-wart charger (stock) will need at least a few hours of charging to get you to a safe voltage for Flying.

I did run my stock NiMH pack all the way down to the 5.6v alarm when I initially set-up my (3) Helis.
Two of these use vbar which takes a little-more time than my remaining Flybar'd T-Rex 250.
After doing a full-charge cycle the pack was quite-strong and voltage stayed in the mid-to-lower 6v range with no-problems.

I have since switched-to the Hyperion 2S LiFEPO4 2080mAh pack, it showed about the same amount-of voltage drop after it's first full-charge but is quite-a-bit stronger than the NiMH pack.
This helps with vibration and standard alarms and works very-well with the new voice-alarm(s).

[aaronp97]

I flew 8 times today and radio dropped again to 6.8 v. Hopefully it stays there and I didn't ruin by overcharging


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Andy from Sandy]

Originally Posted by aaronp97

I flew 8 times today and radio dropped again to 6.8 v. Hopefully it stays there and I didn't ruin by overcharging

The supplied Ni-Mh pack is 5 cells, so the nominal voltage is 6 volts. Staying at 6.8 volts for 8 flights seems good to me.

Check the current output of the charger you used. If it is around 150mA then it is designed for a 15 hour charge time. It is also low enough that if you left the battery on charge for a few hours longer it will not damage the battery.

I have found that the battery hot off the charger is around 7 volts and that drops quite quickly to 6.5 volts and then stays there for a long time, dropping by just a couple of tenths of a volt over several hours of use.

[dchekas]

Pretty common behavior with the NiMh pack included with the radio. The voltage will sag pretty quick fresh off the charge. Typically, it hovers between 6.5-6.7V for awhile, and then slowly sag down to 6V.

I typically charge mine when it reaches 6.0V.