Just when i thought i understood batteries :(

[Fordulike]

I came across something to do with charging LiFePO4 batteries that made me scratch my head with confusion.
It states that the battery can be charged using bleeding balancing or capacity balancing
What does each one do and which is better for the battery?

 

[onmebike]

My understanding or explanation of this may not be 100% accurate but I'll give it a go.
Bleed balancing is a process where the battery pack is charged through either individual cell connections or overall output connection while each cell is individually monitored. Cells reaching optimum charge state earlier in the process have excess charge bled away to avoid overcharge, while slower charging cells catch up.
Capacity charging is a where the capacity of the cells and charge rate are pre-programmed into the charger. The charger will then determine charging from the information given. A maximum charge time can also be programmed into charger as a safety cutoff. Each cell is monitored and charging will cut off before any cell becomes overcharged.
Both these methods appear to be used in R/C Li-poly chargers.