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Originally Posted by DougHogg
1) In the third match of the finals in the S. California Regional, we couldn't lift our arm for the last 20 seconds because we our battery voltage dropped too low. 
We learned that if a battery isn't allowed to complete it's charging cycle, it can show a high voltage because of a "surface charge" but still not be fully charged. In fact, if you disconnect a battery from a charger (or unplug the charger) part way through the charging cycle and then put the battery back on charge, often the charger will get fooled by the surface charge and refuse to continue charging the battery. That battery will then be only partially charged, although showing a voltage over 13 until the surface charge dissipates over night or until a load is put on the battery for a few minutes. |
We overcome this by finishing charging our batteries on a really old charger that doesn't have a safety shutoff, It is still a 6 amp charger so it is legal for FIRST use, but gives the batteries a much fuller charge, we get a lot more power out of them after giving all our "fully charged" batteries an hour on this charger.
At least in Canada, stores won't sell these chargers anymore, but you should be able to find one stashed away in someones garage somewhere. You can't fool these old chargers so you'll always have full batteries.