I've gotten so much help from Critterhunter, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all your help .....Critter helped me set up my Accucel Battery Charger today and walked me thru the entire process ....What a great little charger and what a great guy he is for helping me ......Setting up a Sovereign for Lipo's is really the slick setup and very light weight compaired to the stock setup .....Sending away to Hong Kong for Lipo's and charger works out MUCH cheaper than the stock setup too !!.....Thanks again Critter ...I really appreciate it .....Sincerely, Jim
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Thanks Critter
- Thread starter synthnut
- Start date
I Dig Ya Dig
New member
I agree he is a battery genius. I have yet to receive mine from Hong Kong but it is on order and shows it was shipped. I look forward to talking with him about it (Accucel).
Since were on the subject of thanking people. I cant remember who it was that posted you could make a straight shaft for the Excalibur by ordering a stock piece of aluminum from Aircraft Spruce. GREAT TIP, it worked perfect and you're right about the twist lock. There is no need for it if you get the right size tubing.
Really thank everyone that post on here and if i ever meet the person that host this site the first beer is on me.
Since were on the subject of thanking people. I cant remember who it was that posted you could make a straight shaft for the Excalibur by ordering a stock piece of aluminum from Aircraft Spruce. GREAT TIP, it worked perfect and you're right about the twist lock. There is no need for it if you get the right size tubing.
Really thank everyone that post on here and if i ever meet the person that host this site the first beer is on me.
Critterhunter helped me too on the Acucell6 (and other things re batteries) Even if you don't use lipos the charger is still excelent for nimh and nicad, you can even charge lead acid with it.
The true idea of forums shine here, people taking time out to helping others nad not even thinking of finantial/personal gain
The true idea of forums shine here, people taking time out to helping others nad not even thinking of finantial/personal gain
Crispy Critter
New member
I've yet to change out the batteries in my Sovereign. Nor have I been able to get myself one of those accucell chargers or big, beautiful, SEF coils but, I sure do enjoy reading your informative posts Critterhunter. Thanks! 
Now, get out there and put that 10X12 through it's paces and let us know what you think!
Now, get out there and put that 10X12 through it's paces and let us know what you think!
Critterhunter
New member
Wait a minute...Who says I'm not looking for financial gain here? You all owe me a few bucks as far as I'm concerned. 
Seriously, you're more than welcome. I just like helping people do things themselves and save money in the process when they can. You're right, you can buy this charger, 2 or 3 lipos, and still be cheaper (and much better in terms of weight and run time) than buying a single nimh or nicad pack alone for your machine. It's a win/win situation, and even if you don't want to go lipo the charger is still great for nimhs, nicads, and a few other battery types.
Most of the "gripe" or concern certain people have with this charger is because they've forked out well over $100 for something that doesn't even have as many features. Or, they've paid $40 or $50 for a dummy charger that is limited in functions as well as what types of batteries they can charge. Believe me, it's been extensively tested in the RC crowd by people who's career fields involve electronics and lab calibrated equipment. It past with flying colors, so don't let the low price throw you off.
A few other tidbits- The USB function for hitching it up to your computer does not have the USB hardware inside the charger. I guess they planned to offer that feature but decided otherwise. The temperature function I believe does work, but you have to buy a temp probe separately for it. That's useful because you can hook the probe up to a battery and if the pack goes past whatever temp you've set it at the charger will terminate. It's a handy safety feature in case something goes wrong.
Also, the fan only runs when the charger is charging or discharging. It may be a little noisy at first but usually quiets down quick, or just blow a little air into it. The only other complaint I've seen and experienced myself is the solder connections for the connectors is pretty suspect. If you ever have a "CONNECTION BREAK" error then you can bet one of the connectors has a short. If the charger doesn't seem to want to power up like mine did one time it's probably a short in the red or black input power connectors that plug into it. My red one had a short inside the plastic plug part, so I just melted the plastic back with a heated up knife and then re-soldered it.
Anybody considering this charger or going lipo can feel free to shoot me a PM with a phone number to walk you through the setup. It's pretty easy and isn't rocket science, but may be intimidating to somebody who hasn't used it before. Once most of these functions are set and saved you'll never change them again.
I'm currently recovering a 10 cell Sub C Nicad pack for a neighbor's cordless drill. It wouldn't charge or even light up his charger's light. The first thing I suspected was a short, as it's common for that to happen with the vibration caused by power tools. After taking the pack apart I couldn't find any problem, so I measured the voltage of the pack and found it to read zero volts- Dead as a door nail. I cycled the pack by blast charging it at like 3 amps (about 3 times the rate his charger normally does) to break down any resistance causing crystals. The pack took a charger, and after about the sixth or seventh cycle of draining dead with a car tail light bulb/recharging, the pack is now holding respectable capacity. One of two things was the problem. Either his charger won't recognize a completely dead pack with zero voltage (some won't), or the cells had built up such resistance caused by crystals that form that it couldn't force a charge into the cells. By blasting it at high amps (I'd even go higher if I could at maybe 6 or 7 amps), but I think due to the wattage issue of this charge a 10 cell pack wouldn't do 4 amps. Haven't done the math but it either did that or I overloaded the amp draw from my power supply because I think I got a lower voltage input error. Can't remember.
By the way, set the input power low voltage alarm to about 10.5V if you run the charger from a car battery. I had it at 10 volts when flying planes all day and ended up not being able to start my car. Now when the battery hits 10.5V it will warn me that the battery is getting low. Depending on your power supply, you may need to lower this setting even lower. If it can only manage say 10V output then the charger will obviously sound a LOW INPUT POWER ALARM, or it's called something similar to that.
Seriously, you're more than welcome. I just like helping people do things themselves and save money in the process when they can. You're right, you can buy this charger, 2 or 3 lipos, and still be cheaper (and much better in terms of weight and run time) than buying a single nimh or nicad pack alone for your machine. It's a win/win situation, and even if you don't want to go lipo the charger is still great for nimhs, nicads, and a few other battery types.Most of the "gripe" or concern certain people have with this charger is because they've forked out well over $100 for something that doesn't even have as many features. Or, they've paid $40 or $50 for a dummy charger that is limited in functions as well as what types of batteries they can charge. Believe me, it's been extensively tested in the RC crowd by people who's career fields involve electronics and lab calibrated equipment. It past with flying colors, so don't let the low price throw you off.
A few other tidbits- The USB function for hitching it up to your computer does not have the USB hardware inside the charger. I guess they planned to offer that feature but decided otherwise. The temperature function I believe does work, but you have to buy a temp probe separately for it. That's useful because you can hook the probe up to a battery and if the pack goes past whatever temp you've set it at the charger will terminate. It's a handy safety feature in case something goes wrong.
Also, the fan only runs when the charger is charging or discharging. It may be a little noisy at first but usually quiets down quick, or just blow a little air into it. The only other complaint I've seen and experienced myself is the solder connections for the connectors is pretty suspect. If you ever have a "CONNECTION BREAK" error then you can bet one of the connectors has a short. If the charger doesn't seem to want to power up like mine did one time it's probably a short in the red or black input power connectors that plug into it. My red one had a short inside the plastic plug part, so I just melted the plastic back with a heated up knife and then re-soldered it.
Anybody considering this charger or going lipo can feel free to shoot me a PM with a phone number to walk you through the setup. It's pretty easy and isn't rocket science, but may be intimidating to somebody who hasn't used it before. Once most of these functions are set and saved you'll never change them again.
I'm currently recovering a 10 cell Sub C Nicad pack for a neighbor's cordless drill. It wouldn't charge or even light up his charger's light. The first thing I suspected was a short, as it's common for that to happen with the vibration caused by power tools. After taking the pack apart I couldn't find any problem, so I measured the voltage of the pack and found it to read zero volts- Dead as a door nail. I cycled the pack by blast charging it at like 3 amps (about 3 times the rate his charger normally does) to break down any resistance causing crystals. The pack took a charger, and after about the sixth or seventh cycle of draining dead with a car tail light bulb/recharging, the pack is now holding respectable capacity. One of two things was the problem. Either his charger won't recognize a completely dead pack with zero voltage (some won't), or the cells had built up such resistance caused by crystals that form that it couldn't force a charge into the cells. By blasting it at high amps (I'd even go higher if I could at maybe 6 or 7 amps), but I think due to the wattage issue of this charge a 10 cell pack wouldn't do 4 amps. Haven't done the math but it either did that or I overloaded the amp draw from my power supply because I think I got a lower voltage input error. Can't remember.
By the way, set the input power low voltage alarm to about 10.5V if you run the charger from a car battery. I had it at 10 volts when flying planes all day and ended up not being able to start my car. Now when the battery hits 10.5V it will warn me that the battery is getting low. Depending on your power supply, you may need to lower this setting even lower. If it can only manage say 10V output then the charger will obviously sound a LOW INPUT POWER ALARM, or it's called something similar to that.