Hand crank torch - NiMH charging

[sambo]

Hi there,

So I am interested in the charging of NiMH batteries, some websites say that they should not be charged over 0.1C, some say 0.5C some say not over 1C.

I bought this wind up torch with a 80mah 3.6v batteries pack and noticed the current flow is around 200 mA, this is 2.5C.

So my question is, is it ok to go over 1C and if so, how far can this stretch?

Cheers

 

[dknguyen]

The current flow when you wind it is 2.5C?

The faster you charge it, the smarter the charger has to be. Also the faster you charge it, the less charges you will get out of the battery.

 

[sambo]

"Also the faster you charge it, the less charges you will get out of the battery."

Oh really, how does that work?
Surely Qin = Qout

 

[rjenkinsgb]

If the charge current is too high, the cell can heat up and it can also produce excess gas, causing venting.

Both shorten the overall life of the cell.

 

[gophert]

"Also the faster you charge it, the less charges you will get out of the battery."

Oh really, how does that work?
Surely Qin = Qout

He means, the fewer number of charges you will get over the lifetime of the battery. Charging faster than recommended is hard on batteries and decreases their lifetime.
.
.

 

[dknguyen]

Yeah. Fewer

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Your mistake is imagining it's well designed, it's just cheaply thrown together with no design considerations, and not expected to have much of a lifetime anyway - but to be fair it NEEDS to charge it as rapidly as possible, who wants to stand there winding a torch for 24 hours?. The shortened life of the battery isn't a consideration in this application.