Battery Chargers

[Aaron]

What is everyoen using for battery chargers?

I currently use one of those big chunky Arlec Bricks but it’s NiCd only, I’ve like something similar (mains and 12v options) that does NiMH and NiCd and 4-8 cell packs.

It’s gotta be a bit of an all-round unit as I’ve got older NiCd packs and witht he 1/18th stuff and some new Mini-Z tweaks I’m playing with not to mention the upcoming ‘mog’ project the voltage ranges are important.

So info, thoughts and prices woudl eb nice 🙂

And no I’m not made from money so cheaper is better!

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[dgs73]

using an old Novac Ionic myself and discharging what needs it with a Deans black box and discharger , but upgrading to a LRP Pulsar 2 shortly… maybe a month. Z batts get charged with2 Energizer NICD/NIMH charger… slow (15 hours!!), but does the job

[merc-blue]

charging a competition electronics pitbull x3 (and a CDC v6b every now and then) discharging using a CS cap check and eagle racing equaliser

[kevsta]

I use a superbrain 969 pro – which I haven’t had any trouble with.

It comes bundled with a 5 amp power supply which can be used with Aussie 240V mains by using a standard pc power cable and also comes with cables and alligator clips to hook up direct to 12V dc car battery.

It has two channels to charge two batt packs at the same time, however you can only do this with a car battery or seperate power supply that is capable of supplying 9 amps.

This charger can only charge at max 4.5 amps per channel which is ok but if you like to hit your back packs with more, than I’d be going for a Duratrax intellipeak ice which I think tower is selling them for $120 USD atm so seems like good value.

[mini-g]

hey arron, either the cdc 6.0 or pulsar2 will do all you need. you will also need a good power supply! just dont go too cheep as you will have to pay again when you need to do more.

all up you should be looking at $400-$500 for the good stuff.

check at whatever tracks (1/10th) are near you and see what is been used.

get the right stuff and you will not need another for a long time.

also the team much more id very good and does li-po as well.

BIG DAVE

[Aaron]

I think you guys are over estimating my needs somewhat 😉 I have no asperations to race – and only need a versatile type unit 🙂

Then again if the only things that are available are the $$$ efforts then I’d better start saving 🙂

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[betty.k]

i started out with a cheapy one that did nicad/nimh, max 4a and had a knob to adjust current with a vu meter. i do NOT recommend them!! i learnt the hard way that cheaper is not better.

i’m now using a swallow charger. it was bought locally for $100. this should be your minimum spend!

it charges 1 – 10 nicad and nimh, 1 – 3 lipo/lion, and 2 – 12v lead.

charge current is .1 – 3a and max discharge is .5a.

it’s aimed at the park flyer but isfine for bits, miniz and 1:10 stuff. there is a new version out that does 5a.

i use a laptop power supply i got at jaycar for $60. it’s rated to 4a and is filtered/regulated(important). it’s just enough for this charger, anything bigger and you need a big pricey power supply.

it sounds like a lot but the biggest factor in the condition and life of your batteries is the charger. don’t cheap out!!

[merc-blue]

the swallow fomr modelflight.. pretty cheap and a reasonable charger i would recomend as a basic charger maybe a cheap LRP or a eagle cdc (not 6vb)

[micro_Amps]

Yep, I have to agree, the swallow is excellent, without all the needless bells and whistles or the expense that goes with that.

The advanced model charges at up to 5A and is cheaper than the first model.

http://www.globalrcmodels.com/rc_model_chargers/swallow_battery_charger.htm

uA

[demonajy]

I just recently got the swallow advance, it;s versatile and reasonably future proof.

You can build a 12v Dc power supply from an old pc if you have one lying around rcbatteryclinic has a guide on how to build one.

I also wired in an old pc fan to cool the batteries and to blow away those tasty solder fumes when soldering.

[betty.k]

the swallow is also compact, about the size of 2 decks of cards, side by side.

and mine’s blue anodized alloy (fully sick racing maaaaaate!).

and it beeps (sorry, no ‘ping’)

[merc-blue]

i would suggest NOT using a PC PSU.. ive seen a few blow up and also teh voltage they supply isnt optimuim mkaes ure charger warm casue its gotta constantly bump it and also cooling batterys with a fan isnt THAT good for ur batterys.. batterys are meant to get warm and the external temp is useually higher than internalso there never really THAT hott..

[demonajy]

Hmmm, thanks for the heads up merc-blue, just curious to know how the power supply would blow up? it seems to be supplying a constant 12v’s and the swallow doesnt even get warm.

[Aaron]

So far I’m looking at:

Supernova Competition at about $259 AUD

It seems to do everythign I want and has a sexy LCD screen and is programmable etc. Price is pretty good, but it’s 12v only…

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[merc-blue]

well depends on ur charge rate a computer PSU supplys 11.8ish and drops right down to 11.0 or less under decent loads (they say 400watts but dont mean it they use a different testing procces) when a charger says 12 volts it means 13.8 if chargin AAs and stuff or flight pack not a big problem but when ur doing car packs and 1:10 packs with 3-7A they start to struggle and then go boom (well just fry sometimes some flame)

[mocky]

yeah its troo, my mrc 969 superbrain psu is rated at 13.5v. and comp power supplies sound good, but not sure if <12v is enough to charge 1/10 packs. sorry to go off topic but u noe of any good and cheap 10A rated psu ?

[Aaron]

Jaycar do ‘frame’ chassis supplies up to an over 10A. They output 13.8V or even just 12V … They’re not mega cheap but robust and easy to get.

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[mini-g]

whats the price on them Aaron?????

[jamiekulhanek]

Perhaps you guys should check out the Duratrax intellipeak ICE.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHDJ1&P=ML

[Aaron]

Quote:

mini-g wrote:

whats the price on them Aaron?????

RRP is $109 for a 150w (2VDC out, approx 10-12A) from 240AC (Stock code MP3110)

If you have a Tradecard they drop in price to just under $100, or about $87 each if you buy 2.

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Site Owner Guy.

[Aaron]

There’s also a 15V output version……

--
Site Owner Guy.

[Aaron]

http://shop.ausmicro.net/product_info.php?products_id=257

Decided to bite the bullet and thanks to being able to saurce them at a decent price they’re in the shop for AUD235… I doubt your LHS can beat this 🙂

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[Morbid Monaro]

i’ve

[Morbid Monaro]

i’ll try that again, i’ve got the swallow & its great for a first charger,very cheap & more than enough functions, i’ve also got the platinum EX, the next model up from the swallow, this charger has a lot more adjustments, like mV, temp cutoff(comes with sensor), charge & discharge current, also it does upto 10 lithium ion-poly cells & 26 Ni-Cd &NiMH, at about $200 its not too espensive. the one mini-g has is kickass, there’s also the duratrack ICE breaker which can do just about everything including run a com lathe & run your motor in

cheers

[dgs73]

Quote:

jamiekulhanek wrote:

Perhaps you guys should check out the Duratrax intellipeak ICE.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXHDJ1&P=ML

that’s what we’ve gotten dude… not a bad price either…

[kevsta]

Anyone noticethat the 10A discharge gets the heat sink extremely hot ?

[mini-g]

Quote:

kevsta wrote:

Anyone noticethat the 10A discharge gets the heat sink extremely hot ?

will use a separate disscharger!!!!!

[TallduDe]

i know this may sound like a novice questions but where is a good disscharger located and what are the benefits of discharging nimhs?

[Aaron]

For the Input side of the Duratrax ICE I’m going to ge me on of these from Jaycar (Cat Number: MP3078).

It’s a 20A 13.8V supply and is only going to cost $100 🙂 Nice 🙂

A..

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Site Owner Guy.

[dgs73]

I was looking at the Much More 12v power supply… an upside is it has 4 outputs so at the same time as charging you can also be running a comm lathe, cooling fan rig and tire warmers all at once!! 120 bucks I believe. The Jaycar one is also an option for me, but only if I cant get the Much More oneeasily. TD; wanna buy a Deans discharger w/ a Black Box v.2? Thinking I might not need it anymore…

[kevsta]

Quote:

mini-g wrote:

Quote:

kevsta wrote:

Anyone noticethat the 10A discharge gets the heat sink extremely hot ?

will use a separate disscharger!!!!!

Looks like I might have to invest in one. Next pay day. I’llgo looking.

[Aaron]

The Much Much more one…. Got a web reference for it? I picked up the Jaycar one today. 20A will be more than enough considering the ICE will run the Dyno jig I’m building at a voltage and current of my choosing 🙂 It’ll even charge batteries 🙂

I have a theory….To be described in another thread….

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Site Owner Guy.

[mini-g]

Quote:

TallduDe wrote:

i know this may sound like a novice questions but where is a good disscharger located and what are the benefits of discharging nimhs?

When NIMH came out it was thought the best thing to do was to keep some charge in them between races so they dont go reverse polarity or something like that. But now things have changed and the theory is to fully disscharge (even better use the zero-volt tray on GP’s for a few days once a month). something about the cell structure changing if there is charge left in them. i dont fully understand battery internals so exscuse if not interperted right.

[TallduDe]

hmmmmmmm

i discharge my packs then charge them up these days i seem to get that little bit more performance out of them.

one day ill go to deans, but i havent got the skills to solder to save my life! lol

[mini-g]

BIG DAVE’S profesional soildering service, just ask for a quote…….

[peteWah]

Just have a go is all i can say, You will learn soon enuff…

Knifea gose in guts come out 😀 i have a how to you can read…
Its a practice thing, The more you do the less worried you are at stuffing things up and i still burn myself from time to time :smiley2:

[kevsta]

Give it to Big Dave to do man – doesn’t he only charge a beer per battery or was that per solder connection ?

[peteWah]

That’s per cell 1 would think… 1 x cell = a battery.

6 x cell = a battery pack = a 6 pack of BEER…. :DLOL:D

You can only guess but i think the best thing to do is for you to do it yourself…
Its not a micro solder job…. its a battery Pack…:smiley2:

[dgs73]

put it this way guys; even I can do em!!!

[Admin]

Personally I am using a Duratrax Pirhana Digital charger. It only goes up to 5A (up to 3 with the internal PS), but it will be suitable until I get a better charger. I do not have a PS yet, but I will be using a modded PC one to supply power to my charger.

After I get my X-Factory X-5 Buggy going, I will be getting an Intellipeak ICE.

[dgs73]

nice choice, Mazda… what power supply you looking at for the ICE?Aaron; thinking i might go with the one you got, could you PM/sms an item # to me? Pretty please??

[Aaron]

MP 3078 from jaycar

I’ve e-mailed over the specs etc 🙂

Short ones are… 13.8V DC at 20A 🙂

It’s black 🙂

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[dgs73]

thanks mate…

[Morbid Monaro]

very nice choice aaron, gotta say jaycar rocks. iwas looking at the very same one & for only $100, nice price, nice size, nice connections, just a very nice unit

[Aaron]

Yeah – I keep forgetting the Jaycar Tradecard when I quote prices though. If anyone in Sydney has one (or access to one) use it for these becuase you get stuff for the next ‘Price break’ above what you’re buying. So with these power supplies you get the 3+ price if you buy one, buy 3 and you get he 6+ price of $80

The only thing that annoys me about Jaycar is they don’t stock decent wire and often don’t stock seemingly common stuff…

A.

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Site Owner Guy.

[Admin]

dgs,

One modded from an ATX POwer Supply Unit.

Now the only thing is wheather or not to get a new charger, or buy the X-5?

[Author]

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