Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Charging 2x NiMH 9v batteries in series

Builder_Of_Bots

Dec 24, 2016
11
Joined
Dec 24, 2016
Messages
11
Hi, I need 18v for a project I am working on. I have 2 NiMH batteries that will be wired in a series. So how do I charge them? My B6AC pro charger doesn't have 18v 2 cell setting. Can I modify a 9v wall battery charger to safely charge to 2 cell 18v battery? If not is there any other way to charge them? Thanks for any help.
 

Alec_t

Jul 7, 2015
3,587
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,587
Can't you charge them separately?
Whether or not a 9V charger could be modified would depend on the charger construction.
 

Builder_Of_Bots

Dec 24, 2016
11
Joined
Dec 24, 2016
Messages
11
Can't you charge them separately?
Whether or not a 9V charger could be modified would depend on the charger construction.
I was planning on putting them deep in my project. Isn't there someway to charge them both at the same time as a 2 cell battery?
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
It is theoretically no more difficult to charge two batteries in series than just one.

NiMH chargers were all the rage in electronics magazines a decade or so ago. Modifying one to work at a higher voltage should be possible.

On the other hand it might be easier to just use 2 cheap chargers (presuming they charge correctly using the delta-V method) or provide two charging sockets and charge them one at a time.

Edit: I probably need to add that there are practical problems but they concern the batteries themselves. When charging multiple cells in series a weaker cell will often be both over charged and over discharged during a single cycle. Your 9V NiMH is already a battery, so you're stuck with this problem. If you make sure your 2 batteries are the same type and have the same initial state of charge (and cannot be discharged independently of each other) then you've done as much as I'd practically possible.

Oh, that brings up a question. Are the batteries in series to provide a single supply voltage, or do they supply a double ended (+/-9V) power supply? In the latter case there exists the potential for the batteries to be discharged unevenly which would be a big no-no for series charging.
 
Last edited:
Top