how come my 1500 piranha pack test at 8.30 volts? on the stick pack it says its 7.2 volts.

B.T.W: im using a $180.00 didgital tester, with new batts.

Central, The way they do the ratings is to rate them at the average voltage over a usable range of voltage or use. For example as you said, your pack charges up to 8.3v, but when you run it it starts to really die at somewhere around 6 volts. So if you average the two you get the voltage rating. This isn't exactly how they do it, but it's the same idea. Alkalines are somewhere around 1.6+v new but they rate them at 1.5v.
By the time they get to 1.3v or so they are usually gone. Nicads don't have the voltage that alkalines have, but they give incredible amperage. Hope this makes sense. Joe

You probably just tested it right after a full charge with a peak charger. After a few seconds of running it, check it again and it should be closer to ~7.5 volts. 8.3 divided by 6 is 1.38 volts for each cell. Considering that each cell is rated at 1.2 volts, a 1.38volt charge per cell is pretty good.

Right, that's just the way rechargable batteries are(& alkalines too, for that matter), they always read more voltage than their rating when fully charged, & less than rated when fully discharged.....

Under normal load, you'll have about 7.2 volts.

- jon

8.3 volts is just right for a full charge. my packs go up to about 9.5 volts when they peak then fall down to about 8 volts or even less when theyre at rest.