Chargers

[Critterhunter]

Look up the Accucel 6 from Hobby King or Hobby City. A computerized charger for $20 that will do more things then $100 chargers.

 

[erikk]

Look up the Accucel 6 from Hobby King or Hobby City. A computerized charger for $20 that will do more things then $100 chargers.

Yup and it also helps if you are an electrical engineer to set it up and calibrate it properly for each type of battery you are going to charge..... & more $$$ if you screw up and fry an excal pod.....I like the KISS theory myself

 

[Rick(ND)]

I bought one of these chargers as i like to try different things to see for myself how they work so I can recommend or not a item to work as it should and first thing I seen is you don't get a power supply with it as it is extra. After i got one I tried to use it as I didn't get any instruction sheet with it, so had to figure it out and seen this charger can put out more Milli amps and even amps than many batteries can take, so you better know how to use it or you will fry the batteries like I did. These chargers maybe great if you know how to use them and what the charge current should be, these are made for RC cars which have batteries that are made for high amps.
I feel this is the problem with many that have their packs go bad so soon as they are charging at a higher rate than their batteries can take and soon find out their packs go bad and they blame the company that makes the batteries instead of the charger not being the proper one for the batteries and ruin the battery.
When talking $100 battery pack I sure don't want to ruin one of them by improper charging, did ruin some AA batteries and had 2- 9 volt batteries blow up using some of these chargers, so I have learned from my Experience.

Rick

 

[erikk]

I bought one of these chargers as i like to try different things to see for myself how they work so I can recommend or not a item to work as it should and first thing I seen is you don't get a power supply with it as it is extra. After i got one I tried to use it as I didn't get any instruction sheet with it, so had to figure it out and seen this charger can put out more Milli amps and even amps than many batteries can take, so you better know how to use it or you will fry the batteries like I did. These chargers maybe great if you know how to use them and what the charge current should be, these are made for RC cars which have batteries that are made for high amps.
I feel this is the problem with many that have their packs go bad so soon as they are charging at a higher rate than their batteries can take and soon find out their packs go bad and they blame the company that makes the batteries instead of the charger not being the proper one for the batteries and ruin the battery.
When talking $100 battery pack I sure don't want to ruin one of them by improper charging, did ruin some AA batteries and had 2- 9 volt batteries blow up using some of these chargers, so I have learned from my Experience.

Rick

 

[Suncoast Kid]

I've used the Pro Peek 13.9 V power supply along with a GWS MC 2002 charger for charging the battery on my Excal ll, I think for about a year now, ever since erikk first posted the set up. It has worked so well that I never looked back. Thanks again erikk for sharing the info.

 

[erikk]

I've used the Pro Peek 13.9 V power supply along with a GWS MC 2002 charger for charging the battery on my Excal ll, I think for about a year now, ever since erikk first posted the set up. It has worked so well that I never looked back. Thanks again erikk for sharing the info.

You are very welcome

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, you need to understand M/V thresholds and proper amp charging rates for chargers like the Accucel 6. None of this is hard to understand if you do a little reading. The instructions for that charger are on Hobby King (or City's) website. Once understood this charger will charge just about any battery type on the market today.

It's true that some people are using chargers which you can't change the amp rate on and are fast chargers, charging the pack in less than an hour. This will shorten the life of the pack. It's OK to do here and there but not every time. A good way to tell if you are charging a pack too fast is to feel it. If it's luke warm that's OK but if it's getting hot you are hurting it.

 

[erikk]

Yes, you need to understand M/V thresholds and proper amp charging rates for chargers like the Accucel 6. None of this is hard to understand if you do a little reading. The instructions for that charger are on Hobby King (or City's) website. Once understood this charger will charge just about any battery type on the market today.

It's true that some people are using chargers which you can't change the amp rate on and are fast chargers, charging the pack in less than an hour. This will shorten the life of the pack. It's OK to do here and there but not every time. A good way to tell if you are charging a pack too fast is to feel it. If it's luke warm that's OK but if it's getting hot you are hurting it.

I have been charging my 3 excal batteries (and others) for going on 3 years and getting a full charge in 30 minures or less. Batteries do not get more than luke warm if that. I tried to understand the Accucel instructions but I am kind of a plug and play kind of guy & they were a bit toooo involved for me-I really only like to read the instructions when all else fails As I said...... KISS is for me

 

[ivanll]

I'm with erikk................kiss

ANSMANN energy........................... ACS 110 Traveller................... Battery pack charger.

ivanll

 

[Suncoast Kid]

Quote
Suncoast Kid
I've used the Pro Peek 13.9 V power supply along with a GWS MC 2002 charger for charging the battery on my Excal ll, I think for about a year now, ever since erikk first posted the set up. It has worked so well that I never looked back. Thanks again erikk for sharing the info.

Run this, and then put it on the ML charger for around 6 hours & it willl take it up to over 14VDC, and it doesn't get any better than this. Unless it's a new battery pack. the detector will perform great.

 

[paul23]

I have been trying to find out the best method of charging the excalibur Nicad batteries but i am getting confused as different sites relating to Nicads seem to offer different advice.

Am i right with the following;

The Excalibur battery is a 600mA pack.

If that is right then i believe that charging this at 60mA would take 10hrs to charge but due to other influences it takes around 14-16hrs to be full.

How fast could i charge this battery, by increasing the charge power, without damaging the battery. How do i work this safety limit out?

If anyone has a good site to read, where the information is reliably i would be grateful.

Thanks,
Paul...

 

[Critterhunter]

You could charge it at 600ma or even higher for about an hour on a dead pack but that's being hard on the cells. I prefer a charging rate that will take 2 to 3 hours to charge a dead pack. That's one of the advantages of having an advanced charger on which you can set the amp rate. If I'm in no rush and will be going out the next day I'll charge at a rate of about 10 hours or so. If I'm heading out in a few hours I'll charge at that rate. On rare occasions if I'm going out in an hour or so I'll charge that fast. Once in a while won't hurt so long as you don't make it a habit. Pushing it to an hour or less WILL shorten the life and lower the capacity of the cells.

Another thing people are missing is that a slower charge rate will give the pack a more complete charge and longer run times. Think of it as pouring water into a bucket fast causing trapped bubbles. In a sense that's what happens when you charge at very high rates. Also, certain cells might reach their peak sooner then others and cause the charger to terminate early. The m/v threshold drop is less pronounced when charging at slower rates...meaning you are less likely to have a false peak.

 

[erikk]

I have been trying to find out the best method of charging the excalibur Nicad batteries but i am getting confused as different sites relating to Nicads seem to offer different advice.

Am i right with the following;

The Excalibur battery is a 600mA pack.

If that is right then i believe that charging this at 60mA would take 10hrs to charge but due to other influences it takes around 14-16hrs to be full.

How fast could i charge this battery, by increasing the charge power, without damaging the battery. How do i work this safety limit out?

If anyone has a good site to read, where the information is reliably i would be grateful.

Thanks,
Paul...

PAY ATTENTION KISS read the posts

 

[paul23]

How fast could i charge this battery, by increasing the charge power, without damaging the battery. How do i work this safety limit out?

If anyone has a good site to read, where the information is reliably i would be grateful.

Thanks,
Paul...

PAY ATTENTION KISS read the posts

I have read through the posts and don't see the answer to the above on working out the safty limit or any trusted sites i can read.
Paul..

 

[erikk]

How fast could i charge this battery, by increasing the charge power, without damaging the battery. How do i work this safety limit out?

If anyone has a good site to read, where the information is reliably i would be grateful.

Thanks,
Paul...

PAY ATTENTION KISS read the posts

I have read through the posts and don't see the answer to the above on working out the safty limit or any trusted sites i can read.
Paul..

* Model: GWS-MC2002
* Input Voltage Range: DC 9.0 ~ 15.0 V
* Charging Current: 0.25 ~ 6.00A Continuous
* Battery Types: 50 mAh ~ 3000 mAh Ni-Cd or Ni-MH
* Cells: 4 ~ 12 Cells
* Cut-off: Microprocessor Controlled Automatic Delta-Peak Cut-off
* Protection: Output Reverse Polarity and Short Protection
* Maximum Charge Time: 90 Minutes with Safety Cut-off
* Readout: Large Scale Current Meter
* Cooling: Sturdy Aluminum Case with Heavy Duty Heat Sink

 

[Tin Fin]

I think this is what you are looking for Paul:

battery charging time = capacity of the battery / charging current power output of the charger

hr = mAh / mA

hr = hours
mAh = milliAmpHours
mA = milliAmps

Formula for manual calculation for battery recharging processes

AAA

 

[paul23]

Tim Fin,
Thats it... thanks for that.
Paul...