How to calculate your AEG Airsoft battery pack's recharge time.

How to calculate your AEG Airsoft battery pack's recharge time.: So let us talk for a minute about rechargeable Airsoft battery packs for AEGs. These things are a crucial element to our guns, as they provide the electrical current to power the weapon. In the case of an upgraded AEG, you're going to need your battery to be in good condition and fully charged when you go out for an all-day Airsoft game and especially for the big 2-day Ops. The best way to take care of your batteries is to understand how to take care of them first. Perhaps the most common type of Airsoft battery pack is the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery pack. The other most common type is going to be the Lithium-Polymer, but that's a whole other animal that we'll get into another time.

For today's discussion, I'd like to educate you if but for just a moment about taking the care not to overcharge your NiMH and ruin the cells. The single most greatest thing you can do for your batteries, regardless of their type, is to INVEST in a high-quality battery charger, also known as a "smart charger." While you can get away with a lower quality charger for your NiMH batteries (and I'll explain how in a moment), a high-quality balancing charger for your Li-Pos is a must.

However, I realize that with everything required to effectively play Airsoft, costs can add up and let's face it. Times are tough and money don't grow on trees. So maybe you don't have the cash to spring for the fancy pants charger, but you do have that wall adapter charger thing that came with your AEG in the box. Well. That'll do in a pinch. BUT, you need to pay attention to what you're doing because unlike the smart chargers, the wall adapters will not think for themselves. They're just designed to pump current back into a battery, but have no shut-off. So you need to correctly calculate the charge time and then unplug your battery before you do any damage.

Here's the formula (yes, it's math-related and commonly found on Google) for how you calculate the charge time, in hours, of your Airsoft battery pack, assuming a 20% efficiency loss.

[(capacity of the battery (mAh) / charging current power output of the charger (mA)) * 12] / 10 = battery charging time


For example, using this 500mA charger, and assuming you're using a 9.6V 1600 mAh NiMH battery, you can figure the charging time as follows:

[(1600/500)*12]/10 = 3.84 hours of charging time.

Remember, PEMDAS? Yea, that's applicable here. If you don't know what PEMDAS is, please retake high school.

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