How do you discharge your AEG's batts?

DYORD · November 7th, 2007, 17:41

My TLP discharge function has retired.. though i can still charge my batt, I'm having a hard time to discharge it...

I know some here use car lamps to discharge it, but I'm very conscious about battery reversal.

Any safe way to discharge my batts? I'm thinking of "plug and forget" thingy.. That won't do any harm on my batt.

Thanks

Jayhad · November 7th, 2007, 17:43

yes a TM battery discharger
http://www.007airsoft.com/products/htm/consumables.htm
almost the end of the page

Kimbo · November 7th, 2007, 17:45

just buy a ptw and leave the battery plugged in, it will discharge it over a week or though.

The upside is that you can use the battery discharger for skirmishing, but the downside is it's a $2000 battery discharger.

CDN_Stalker · November 7th, 2007, 18:01

If it's a NiMH, you discharge it by using it in your gun and plug it into your charger when you need it topped up. Don't bother discharging NiMH, could damage it.

ThunderCactus · November 7th, 2007, 19:08

ya I never discharge my NiMH and they still hold 100% charge

Naglfar · November 7th, 2007, 19:30

What they mean is that NiMH batteries operate better and last longer if you charge them whenever you're done using them, don't try to discharge a NiMH battery.

NiCd on the other hand, the should be discharged before being recharged, best way is hook up a car lamp to it. Electrically, it is impossible to get a 'battery reversal' going on, as current can flow either way through a bulb just fine, if you don't believe me, then hook up a high-current rated diode to the correct terminal of the bulb and plug that in.

gvanzeggelaar · November 7th, 2007, 20:58

To discharge my NiCd i just wired it up to a series of electrical motors i had sitting around. Pretty much anything will work. Even a few small flashlight bulbs will do the trick. Someone please correct me if this is bad for the battery

namloot · November 7th, 2007, 22:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by pivot

The upside is that you can use the battery discharger for skirmishing, but the downside is it's a $2000 battery discharger.

LOL

jakster · November 7th, 2007, 22:54

I built one out of a PC fan, all it took was some spare wire and tape. plug it in and let it sit there. Great on a hot summers night, it'll cool down the whole house :-)

mcguyver · November 7th, 2007, 23:21

For NiCads, you should not discharge them to anything less than 1.0 volts/cell. So, if you have a 9.6v battery, it will have 8 cells and this means you should not discharge it to less than 8 volts. Discharging through a bulb, motor or other resistive loads can drain your battery all the way to zero volts if left unattended. This can and will kill it dead, and render it unrecoverable.

If you invest in a quality charger with discharge function, this would be best. Like anything, makeshift crap can work, or it can be disasterous. Decide if the risk is worth it for you, but manage your risk with paying attention to your battery and use a multimetter in parallel with the battery to ensure you don't cycle it too deep.

DYORD · November 8th, 2007, 11:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naglfar

What they mean is that NiMH batteries operate better and last longer if you charge them whenever you're done using them, don't try to discharge a NiMH battery.

NiCd on the other hand, the should be discharged before being recharged, best way is hook up a car lamp to it. Electrically, it is impossible to get a 'battery reversal' going on, as current can flow either way through a bulb just fine, if you don't believe me, then hook up a high-current rated diode to the correct terminal of the bulb and plug that in.

this looks promising.. so what diode should I choose? Has anyone here have done this?

Naglfar · November 8th, 2007, 11:51

Well, the thing is, I was trying to make a point that you DON'T need diodes, as you aren't going to need to protect against the lightbulb charging your battery.

If you don't know what kind of diode to use then you don't know enough about basic electronics to realize that you don't need a diode. Just get a resistive load and like mcguyver said, 1V of load per cell.

Summary: You don't need special protection in discharging!
Just lightbulb that sucker and you're good to go.

LUTNIT · November 8th, 2007, 12:43

I have two NiMh batteries and one NiCd sitting on my shelf as dead as a door nail because people used TM/G&P/lightbulb dischargers on em ONCE. Thats all it took, dead short em to 0 volts once and their toast. Sometimes you can recover, sometimes you can't, what mcgyver said is true, never discharge to less than 1.0V/cell for NiCd and 0.9V/cell for NiMh.

NiCd don't need to be discharged after every use, really, honestly, its true. They should be discharged after every five or so top ups but again not to less than 1.0V/cell, quality chargers can do this very accurately.

NiMh should be discharged roughly once a season for people who play on a regular basis (at least once or twice a month) I usually do this at the start of a new season. As said, do not discharge to less than 0.9V/cell.

Trying to monitor cell voltage with some junk discharger like a bulb, TM, G&P, etc. discharger that is a straight resistor isn't too accurate and if you forget about it it can toast your battery. Invest in a good charger, my Duratrax ICE cost me ~$250 with the power supply but between batteries I've recovered with it and lengthening the life of my batteries because of how good it is I have more than paid for it.

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November 7th, 2007, 17:41	#1
DYORD Trader rating Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Philippines	How do you discharge your AEG's batts? My TLP discharge function has retired.. though i can still charge my batt, I'm having a hard time to discharge it... I know some here use car lamps to discharge it, but I'm very conscious about battery reversal. Any safe way to discharge my batts? I'm thinking of "plug and forget" thingy.. That won't do any harm on my batt. Thanks __________________ MORE FPS :banghead:

November 7th, 2007, 18:01	#4
CDN_Stalker Official ASC Bladesmith Trader rating Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ont.	If it's a NiMH, you discharge it by using it in your gun and plug it into your charger when you need it topped up. Don't bother discharging NiMH, could damage it. __________________ STKR Knives http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/STK...17036668380871

November 7th, 2007, 23:21	#10
mcguyver Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Northern Alberta	For NiCads, you should not discharge them to anything less than 1.0 volts/cell. So, if you have a 9.6v battery, it will have 8 cells and this means you should not discharge it to less than 8 volts. Discharging through a bulb, motor or other resistive loads can drain your battery all the way to zero volts if left unattended. This can and will kill it dead, and render it unrecoverable. If you invest in a quality charger with discharge function, this would be best. Like anything, makeshift crap can work, or it can be disasterous. Decide if the risk is worth it for you, but manage your risk with paying attention to your battery and use a multimetter in parallel with the battery to ensure you don't cycle it too deep. __________________ Age verifier Northern Alberta Democracy is two wolves and a sheep discussing what's for dinner. Freedom is the wolves limping away while the sheep reloads. Never confuse freedom with democracy.

November 7th, 2007, 17:45	#3
Kimbo formerly pivot Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Calgary	just buy a ptw and leave the battery plugged in, it will discharge it over a week or though. The upside is that you can use the battery discharger for skirmishing, but the downside is it's a $2000 battery discharger.

November 7th, 2007, 19:08	#5
ThunderCactus Not Eye Safe, Pretty Boy Maximus on the field take his picture! Trader rating Join Date: Feb 2007	ya I never discharge my NiMH and they still hold 100% charge

November 7th, 2007, 19:30	#6
Naglfar Trader rating Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ottawa	What they mean is that NiMH batteries operate better and last longer if you charge them whenever you're done using them, don't try to discharge a NiMH battery. NiCd on the other hand, the should be discharged before being recharged, best way is hook up a car lamp to it. Electrically, it is impossible to get a 'battery reversal' going on, as current can flow either way through a bulb just fine, if you don't believe me, then hook up a high-current rated diode to the correct terminal of the bulb and plug that in.

November 7th, 2007, 20:58	#7
gvanzeggelaar Trader rating Join Date: Oct 2007	To discharge my NiCd i just wired it up to a series of electrical motors i had sitting around. Pretty much anything will work. Even a few small flashlight bulbs will do the trick. Someone please correct me if this is bad for the battery

November 7th, 2007, 22:54	#9
jakster Trader rating Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Montreal area	I built one out of a PC fan, all it took was some spare wire and tape. plug it in and let it sit there. Great on a hot summers night, it'll cool down the whole house :-)

November 8th, 2007, 11:51	#12
Naglfar Trader rating Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ottawa	Well, the thing is, I was trying to make a point that you DON'T need diodes, as you aren't going to need to protect against the lightbulb charging your battery. If you don't know what kind of diode to use then you don't know enough about basic electronics to realize that you don't need a diode. Just get a resistive load and like mcguyver said, 1V of load per cell. Summary: You don't need special protection in discharging! Just lightbulb that sucker and you're good to go.

November 8th, 2007, 12:43	#13
LUTNIT Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ottawa	I have two NiMh batteries and one NiCd sitting on my shelf as dead as a door nail because people used TM/G&P/lightbulb dischargers on em ONCE. Thats all it took, dead short em to 0 volts once and their toast. Sometimes you can recover, sometimes you can't, what mcgyver said is true, never discharge to less than 1.0V/cell for NiCd and 0.9V/cell for NiMh. NiCd don't need to be discharged after every use, really, honestly, its true. They should be discharged after every five or so top ups but again not to less than 1.0V/cell, quality chargers can do this very accurately. NiMh should be discharged roughly once a season for people who play on a regular basis (at least once or twice a month) I usually do this at the start of a new season. As said, do not discharge to less than 0.9V/cell. Trying to monitor cell voltage with some junk discharger like a bulb, TM, G&P, etc. discharger that is a straight resistor isn't too accurate and if you forget about it it can toast your battery. Invest in a good charger, my Duratrax ICE cost me ~$250 with the power supply but between batteries I've recovered with it and lengthening the life of my batteries because of how good it is I have more than paid for it.

How do you discharge your AEG's batts?

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