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BUNGCHIDDI

Modern Day Chargers..?

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Folks - need more information...

Way back in 1988 when i got my HS2 it came with a 1200mAh NiCD battery and 2 chargers, 1 was a trickle charger that took about 15 hours and the othern was an in-car fast charger that took 15mins.

From what I can remember the fast charger didnt seem to make the batterty last long...compared to the trickle charger.....almost as if i got a trade off in run time from using the quick charge..?

As Im getting back into the hobby my question is this - do the modern day Delta peak chargers (that are quoted as charging 3000mAH sticks in 40mins) act like my old fast charger ie. they charger but not as well as a trickle charger...OR ....has technology moved on and a 40 min charge really can be as good as a trickle charge for hours..?

PS - anyone know whey the fast charge didnt last as long..? was this a NiCD thing or not......Im sure theres a technical explanation

The more i read about it i can see some chargers taking anywhere from 40 mins to 2 hours for BIG BIG stcks (4500mAH etc)...?....but do you get the trade off in run time or is this just the way it is now 20 years on.

PS PS - based on all this whats a good in house charger for 1900 - 4500MAH NiMH sticks....one that wont break the bank and can charge at a decent rate, im currently using my old 1988 trickle charger and its taking forever to get my 1900mAh stick charged....like a day...!

Feedback appreciated.

Paul.

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There are lots of threads on this, do a search.

But basically modern chargers are better for your packs, there will last longer and you'll get me runtime and punch from them.

I charge all my batteries that are 3000mah to 4500mah at 5 amps when I use then regularly and that takes 40mins-1hours to charge.

If I haven't used a pack for weeks even months, I'll charge a at maybe 3 amps and use it and then back to 5 amps.

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New chargers a alot better than old ones. Now with a decent charger, a fast charge will amout to the same run time as a slow charge.

This is the charger you want to get. http://www.modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=...mp;ItemID=28791

I have one and its great.

I always charge my battery's so they are done in 1 hour. So for a 4500mAh pack charge it at 4.5 amps. The charger above lets you control how much current you put in. :)

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PS - anyone know whey the fast charge didnt last as long..? was this a NiCD thing or not......Im sure theres a technical explanation
That's because the old charger was a timer charger, it put 15 minutes of charge at around 3A in no matter what battery was used, so it only ever put in 750mah. If you put a modern 4600mah battery on it you would get exactly the same run time as a 1200mah pack. It was to stop you overcharging the battery and damaging it. The trickle charger can't damage a battery so it can be left on to top it up fully, although a 4600mah pack would take 3-4 days to charge.

You can still buy cheap chargers that work on a timer such as the Ansmann AC30, although they can run for up to an hour before switching off. It's a worthwhile investment getting a decent peak charger that charges at a decent rate, you'll get more power from your batteries with more duration. For the best care of your batteries they should be charged at no more than 1C, that's 1xCapacity, so a 3300mah pack should be charged at 3.3A, this means it takes an hour to charge a completely flat pack.

The Ansmann xBase Deluxe is the best value by far, the same internals are used in chargers from Graupner, LRP and Orion, all of which cost 20-40 more. There are better chargers available, the Bantam E-Station BC6 is very popular amongst racers for example, but the extra features won't make any difference for bashing/club racing.

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Sorry for the repeat post - but this info was great cheers guys...

That clears alot of confusion up - this is what happens when you leave the hobby for 20 years, things move on...............my brain hasnt.

Thanks....think for 40 thats a good buy.

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Sorry for the repeat post - but this info was great cheers guys...

Its been a steep learning curve for me too.

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The x-base deluxe is a bargain at it's new (reduced) price of around 40, but I bought one and ended up selling it again.

Main reason was that it charges Li-Pos, but won't balance them. If you ever want to move over to Li-Po (and in my experience you'll never go back!! Especially with the 3200 Yeah Racing packs available pretty cheaply) then you're not future proofing yourself.

Also I don't believe it cycles Ni-Cd or Ni-Mh batteries - which is a pain when you want to restore some life into older cells that have been left for a while. It's a surprisingly useful option I never thought I'd need.

If you're seriously getting back into the hobby, I would buy a mains/12v Bantam BC6 for around 100 like I did. You'll never need another charger ever again! (OK, unless you want to charge >5000mah Li-pos at 1C, as it only has a max charge rate of 5 amps.)

Cheers,

Tim.

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You'll never need another charger ever again! (OK, unless you want to charge >5000mah Li-pos at 1C, as it only has a max charge rate of 5 amps.)

Thats why (1 year ago things have changed a bit) I chose the LRP Pulsar 3 admittedly you need an external lipo balancer but it will charge at 10amps if needed.

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The fastest charging Lipo's I have found are sold by Team Orion. The Team Orion Lipo's (made by Kokam) can be charged up to -3C- without a large impact on its life span. I'm not sure if anyone else has made a cell that can be charged safely at that high a rate? Kokam patented a process to make their cells which they cover on their website (called SLPB). The same process also makes the cells immune to explosion/fire and also severely eliminates the requirement to balance them.

Most other Lipo batteries use cells made in China that follow the standard cell making process. They are still good, but usually cannot be charged above 1C and still inhibit the same fire/explosion risks if they are overcharged or punctured. They also have a higher requirement to be balanced.

If you wondered why the Team Orion batteries cost a little more, this is why. I imagine that other manufacturers might start using Kokam cells in the future. If they do, their batteries should be equal to Team Orion.

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