Chargers

Looking for a new charger after mine packed it in just before the UK Champs. Used Jamies chargers on the day of the event, Ripmax Propeak 2500's I think? and they seemed simple enough for even me to be able to work. Would they be my best bet for a good, reliable charger or would you suggest anything else?

Cheers guys,

Sorry I should also say, It is 9.2v NiMH's I am looking to charge

i use the pro peak constellation and it is awesome! i recommend it. i use it for all my batteries including ants, feather, beetleweights and drill batteries. it can charge a wide variety of battery types at 0.1-7 amps, it'll charge your lead acid batteries nicely aswell. it has a cycle function aswell, i'm currently cycling a 24v nicad :)

going to try trickle charging my c5 battery as it currently lasts for 3 miles at best when i get the correct adapter.

Cheers Jonny, looks like a great charger.

Is this the one you are talking about?

http://www.rcmodelcentre.co.uk/Constell ... _6100.html

Seems to be on sale and an awful lot cheaper than I can find it anywhere else, £45 roughly after postage etc.
For the purposes of live events though, would I be better with using this or using 2 of the ones I mentioned before that I could get for a similar price?

yep that's the one i use, you'll need either a 12 volt battery or an ac adapter to use it though. i'd recommend the constellation over 2 of the other ones; with the constellation you can charge a wider variety of battery voltages. say you have 2, 3ah 9.2v nimhs charging at 3ah each using one of the pro peak 2,500's the constellation still would be faster as you could charge them at a higher amperage- ie charging at 6ah would halve the time taken to charge each pack. you could even make an adapter to wire the 2 battery packs in series and charge them as if they were a 19.2v pack further decreasing the charge time.

Ahh ok, nice one. The charger I have that is doing silly things has a AC adapter that outputs 12V 5A, would that work if using a charger at 6-7A?

i'm not sure if you would be able to charge anything over 5 a but it would work, i'm using using a 5 amp supply but i haven't tried to charge anything above 6 amps yet

I have a pro peak constallation charger for sale if you want its nearly new with box and everything only want £35 for it. im at the o2 and burgess hill.

Wont be at either of those events unfortunately, would be looking at a 16 hour round trip :shock: . Would it cost a lot to post it do you think? Also, did you have a suitable AC supply for it too?

The whole concept of the power supply being a separate purchase is quite bizarre to me!

I always thought that too, as if there is any other way a charger can work :lol:

I have got a 20 amp pro peak supply but i need it for the next month,
i am at edinburgh in june aswell, not sure on p+p cost for charger suppose about £5 maybe.

you can pick up power supplies dirt cheap off ebay. Recently found an 8amp one for around 15 quid brand new.

The one Gary is talking about I have just bought, it's 8 amps and was £19 with postage. Thats about as good as your gunner get, your buying the proper equipment for a rock bottom price :)

Tony:

If you want the charger, send the money to Terry and I'll pick it up and send it along with the XXL if you want

Sorry i've been holding back on replying to you here, I just plugged in my Dx6 lip into the charger and it seems to be charging it :? . I'm going to test the NiMH's on it tomorrow and see if they work, maybe it was just playing up for no reason the other day there.

Bizarrely, the charger now seems to be working, sorry for keeping you waiting on a response Terry, i'll just leave it for now but if it takes another funny turn before Edinburgh and you still have that charger I will let you know.

Just making sure i've got this correct too, if I was to wire the charger to be able to charge 2 identical batteries in series (I think i'm correct in saying it should be done in series) each one being 9.6v 3300mAh, I should programme the charger to charge it as if it is charging one 19.2v 3300mAh battery. Thats right isn't it? Just making sure before I start a fire :lol: .

yup you are correct, series charging, as long as the charger can handle the voltage, is fine with identical cells

Cheers Gary, I don't know if it goes up to 19.2v, but i'll check that tomorrow.