🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct30.193947.16978@sco.COM> abhinava@sco.COM (Abhinav Aggarwal) writes:
>I have a rechargeable Ni-Cad battery. I would like to drain it
>to about 1-2 V (from 10V ) before I recharge it.
>
>I plan to use a 500K ohm resistor to discharge a battery.
>Is this ok in terms of current and loads ?
>
>Any other simple, cheap, and effective solutions ?

The self-discharge rate is probably higher than this. Anyway, you shouldn't
discharge a Ni-Cad battery below 1 volt per cell or you risk causing a cell
reversal in the weakest cell and ruining the battery. If you must discharge
a Ni-Cad battery that low, discharge each cell individually at it's 10 hour
rate. Don't discharge it as a pack. If it's a sealed pack, don't try to
discharge below 1 volt per cell. A nominal 12 volt pack has 10 cells, so
it shouldn't ever be discharged below 10 volts. If you want to equalize
the cells, overcharge it at a 100 hour rate for about 10 hours. Unless
you've already reversed a cell, that should restore the battery to full
capacity.

Gary