Someone double check this quickly please

[BrianG]

Yup, that's how Lithium charging works. The first stage when the current is constant, but the voltage steadily goes up is the "constant current" mode. The voltage will increase until the pack reaches 4.2v per cell (you are charging a 3s pack right?). Then, the charger switches to constant voltage mode where the voltage is constant and the current steadily decreases until it gets close to 0 amps.

In comparison, NiCD/NiMH uses a constant current mode for the full charge, but uses the fact that the voltage will hit a peak and then start dropping on its own to determine when to stop.

[GeeReg]

Thanks, I'd read about it but wasn't sure. It just seems strange that it takes over an hour to charge a half-dead pack. I'd just assumed that since you charge at 1C, it would always take an hour for a full charge from dead.