Can I use this charger with this battery?

[RangerXII]

Hey guys, Im playing on Sunday, and was looking for some assistance with a battery question. I just bought a G&P 8.4v 3300mah battery, and foolishly forgot to look into an appropriate charger. The only thing I have is the Panasonic charger I received with my TM M14 and have been using to charge my old nicd battery. Relevant markings on the charger read;
CLASS 2 POWER SUPPLY, OUTPUT: 9V=500mA
If I can use it with this battery, how long should I charge it for? 4 hours? or 3300mah divided by 500mA= 6.6 hours? Any help is greatly appreciated, take care.

[Death March]

You mentioned your old battery was a Ni-Cad,but is your newer battery the same or is it a Ni-Mh? It makes a big difference! You can't use that Ni-Cad charger for Ni-Mh unless it states other wise on the charger it's self.If you need a charger to do multiple different types of batterys look into the Piranha from Duratracs,it does both types of cell's and is pretty cheep for what it can do! You can usally pick one up at an Hobbie store thats into R/C cars!Hope that helps,Cheers!

[LUTNIT]

The reason you cant use a NiCd charger for NiMh is because of the huge difference in delta peak voltage sensitivity required. A simple wall charger like that could be used for both just as well (actually, just as poorly, since its a crap charger) and that simple calculation is correct. Theres no delta peak detection for charge cut off so theres no problem. Usually its best to charge your batteries at around 1C though, so for the 3300mAh pack thats 3.3A, I'd probably charge at 3A or 3.5A if I can into troubles (like it not taking a full charge.)

*Edit* NiCd batteries are a lot more durable and can take a lot more punishment and poor treatment and still come out working. Charging a NiMh battery at such a low amperage hurts it and overcharging a NiMh has a higher chance of damaging the battery than overcharging a NiCd. Answer to your question: get a better charger.

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by LUTNIT

The reason you cant use a NiCd charger for NiMh is because of the huge difference in delta peak voltage sensitivity required. A simple wall charger like that could be used for both just as well (actually, just as poorly, since its a crap charger) and that simple calculation is correct. Theres no delta peak detection for charge cut off so theres no problem. Usually its best to charge your batteries at around 1C though, so for the 3300mAh pack thats 3.3A, I'd probably charge at 3A or 3.5A if I can into troubles (like it not taking a full charge.)

*Edit* NiCd batteries are a lot more durable and can take a lot more punishment and poor treatment and still come out working. Charging a NiMh battery at such a low amperage hurts it and overcharging a NiMh has a higher chance of damaging the battery than overcharging a NiCd. Answer to your question: get a better charger.

Some of the best (and surprisingly correct!) information I've seen to date. Good job!

[RangerXII]

Thanks guys! I bought a variable charger at the source.