On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:00:22 +0100, Stefan wrote:

In article ,
says...

Also nicad's don't like to be float charged like a lead acid battery.

What does "float-charged" mean?

"Floating a battery" refers to keeping a constant voltage charge on
the battery that is just high enough to replace the natural losses in
the battery. This is typically done with lead acid batteries that are
to be maintained at peak charge but not used for long periods.

A fully charged 12 volt lead acid battery has a voltage of around 12.7
volts. It will slowly discharge itself with no load on it if left
alone.
If a constant 13.3 to 13.6 volts (depending on temperature) charge is
left on the battery it will replace the self discharge energy of the
battery. This voltage can be left on the battery indefinitely and will
not harm the battery. Any higher charge voltage, only by a few tenths
of a volt, for long periods will harm the battery.

When initially charging the battery the voltage needs to be at around
14.2 volts for finishing the charge. Some gassing of the battery needs
to take place in the final phase of charging, slight overcharging, in
order to properly top off the cells. Then switch to the float voltage
13.3 volts to maintain.

Regards
Gary