Charging battery with a power supply

[vavet]

I have a cheap RC helicopter with a rechargeable battery. I lost the charger. Not sure how “smart” it was. The print on the side of the battery indicates it is 3.6V.
what happens if I attach a wall wart power supply to use as a charger? Power will flow, but what Is the.battery voltage when fully charged?
what happens if I don’t unplug it when it is fully charged? Fire risk? Battery damage risk? How much wiggle room do I have on unplugging it in time?

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

Your question is unanswerable without knowing the chemistry of the battery. Some types of batteries will explode, some will burn and and will die. Not all types , lipo, nicad, lithium ion, etc. are the same or react the same way.
Never a good idea to overcharge a battery - depending on the type of the battery, it can be outright dangerous.

 

[BillK]

It is probably a LiPo battery and needs to have the proper charger. Go to Horizon Hobby's site and you should be able to find something that will work. LiPo batteries can definitely be a fire hazard if not charged properly. I charge mine in a special container and never leave the room when they are charging.

 

[vavet]

Your question is unanswerable without knowing the chemistry of the battery. Some types of batteries will explode, some will burn and and will die. Not all types , lipo, nicad, lithium ion, etc. are the same or react the same way.
Never a good idea to overcharge a battery - depending on the type of the battery, it can be outright dangerous.

definitely a fair assessment and I should've known better than to post without the proper info.
Unfortunately, there is very little info printed on the battery.

 

[BillK]

definitely a fair assessment and I should've known better than to post without the proper info.
Unfortunately, there is very little info printed on the battery.

Post a picture of the battery showing the connector

 

[BillK]

3.7 volts is almost certainly a LiPo battery. Are there any Hobby Shops near you ? Maybe an RC club that somebody might have a spare charger. A single cell LiPo charger should be fairly inexpensive.

This site has some good forums on batteries. Way down on the page:

Helifreak.com - Fun, Learning, Friendship and Mutual Respect

HeliFreak.com is the place to learn about Radio Controlled Helicopters and to socialize with others who are also learning and flying R/C Helis. Our Motto is Fun, Learning, Friendship and Mutual Respect. Come join in on the fun and enjoy the free exchange of knowledge and experience.

www.helifreak.com

 

[BillK]

There is a Hobby Town store in Richmond. Their web site shows RC Planes so they should have a charger.

 

[DenisG]

It's a Li-Ion battery that is 18mm in diameter and 50mm long (ICF18500). More common Li-Ion batteries - 18650 are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long (cylindrical case size). Here's an Amazon link to some with a charger:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XXB7BL3/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[BillK]

It's a Li-Ion battery that is 18mm in diameter and 50mm long (ICF18500). More common Li-Ion batteries - 18650 are 18mm in diameter and 65mm long (cylindrical case size). Here's an Amazon link to some with a charger:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XXB7BL3/?tag=atomicindus08-20

His looks like it has a wire lead and connector on it but its kind of hard to tell by the picture for sure.

 

[vavet]

His looks like it has a wire lead and connector on it but its kind of hard to tell by the picture for sure.

yes, it has a 2 pin connector on it. I see several on amazon that look like they'd interchange, but hard to know because there are no details on the connector. I was really just hoping to use a wall wart that I have and set a timer. If I know the final voltage I'm shooting for, I can charge it for 5 minutes, check it, and then charge for another 5 minutes until I get there.

The strange this is that the units I see on amazon like this:

Amazon.com: NQD 18500-900maH-3.7V Rechargeable Rechargeable Battery : Health & Household

Amazon.com: NQD 18500-900maH-3.7V Rechargeable Rechargeable Battery : Health & Household

www.amazon.com

It doesn't appear that it's a smart charger in any way. It 's a USB plug, so that would either go into a USB wall wart or a PC. Either way - it's not going to shut off at a certain voltage.
Many of the units on amazon are 2 batteries in series so it's 7.4V.

 

[Forgottonia]

If you have the right voltage, the I guess it would depend on whether your wall wart power supply has current limiting circuitry. I would guess that it does. Might want to keep a fire extinguisher handy just in case it doesn't.

 

[walta]

The smart move is to use only the factory provided charger. Any other solution is risky at best and possibly dangerous.

Please be very careful when you try charging this type of battery it has no internal safety circuits. In fact this is the type of battery you read about in the headlines like. Ecig explodes removes man’s face. Cell phone overheat in mans pocket third degree burns. Hover board starts fire home a total loss.

The charger DenisG linked to looks to be tailor made to charge your battery with the required safety circuits.

A battery more or less has the same energy density as the same size container of gasoline and needs to be treated with the same level of respect.

Walta