Battery discharger

[maxxdude1234]

You don't have to discharge NiMH's fully before you charge them, but you'll get a 'better' charge if you do. It's the NiCAD's that get memory if you don't discharge them, and they begin to loose their capacity and power.

[BrianG]

I originally thought so too, but this link says otherwise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NiMH

The part that I found especially interesting is:

Quote excerpt from Wikipedia.com
A single cell driving a load generally cannot become reverse charged, simply discharging down to 0 volts. This does not cause irreparable damage, and in fact if performed periodically and followed by a full recharge will help to maintain the cell's capacity and performance.

From this, it appears the danger of cell reversal is only present if a number of batteries are connected in series. So, to be safe, discharge to about 0.8v when not discharging a single cell.

There are several very informative links at the bottom of the article. I love this site. :003: