"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
William Sommerwerck wrote:

In general, any charger that will handle nicads will also charge
NiMH cells safely.

I'd call that rather a sweeping statement. ;-)

It is, but it's broadly true. Most nicad chargers charge at 0.1C, which is
perfectly safe for NiMH cells.

A rapid charger that pumps a lot of current is a different matter. Nicad and
NiMH cells have different end-of-charge criteria, and a nicad charger might
not shut off at the right time -- though, as I understand it, it's more
likely to be premature than late.

MAHA (Powerex) specifically states that low charge rates might not produce
full charge. I'm assuming this is chemistry/thermodynamics, because a low
charge rate will not trigger as large a delta-V at the end of the charge,
and the charger will keep charging (rather than undercharge).


Plenty of NiCad so called chargers can't handle NiCads properly either.
Some are just an unregulated DC supply with a simple series resistor.
Which may work after a fashion at lower charge rates but is risky at
higher ones.

I wouldn't disagree.