Battery, quick charger & cycler

On 8/26/2003 3:06 PM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge:

It does both the motor and receiver.

Sirus Pro is a very good charger. Before buying anything though, I would suggest looking at the Triton. It provides the flexibility to do NiCD, NiMH AND Lithium Ion also. This MAY be a good choice as it also has a recycler built in.

It depends on how many cells the Sirus can handle. It SHOULD be ok.

On a "fast" charge (depending on how "flat" the pack is) it can take up to 20 minutes. I would not recommend fast charging. Fast charging causes a heat build up in the pack which MAY lead to a shorter pack life. I would recommend getting some extra packs and slow charging them. It allows you to fly without waiting for the pack to recharge and will maximize the life of the pack.

A good source for info on electrics is the E-Zone

are specifically aimed toward electric flight.

| On 8/26/2003 3:06 PM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these | great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge: | | > I've got another question here: | > | > After reading up on rcfaq.com and searching hobbyhorse.com, I've | > come up with a potential park flyer plane (GWS). It can take an 8 cell | > 300mAh battery pack.

The 300 mAh packs I've had in my park fliers have been NiMH ...

| Sirus Pro is a very good charger. Before buying anything though, I | would suggest looking at the Triton. It provides the flexibility to do | NiCD, NiMH AND Lithium Ion also. This MAY be a good choice as it also | has a recycler built in.

The Triton will do *everything*. You may not need it now, but if you stay into electrics you'll be glad you got it instead of something more limiting.

| > 4. Any idea on how long it would take to fast charge the above | > mentioned pack? | > | On a "fast" charge (depending on how "flat" the pack is) it can take up | to 20 minutes.

Eek! I've not found many cells to take a 3C charge rate well -- only the SCR Sub-C cells used in cars.

If the 300 mAh pack is NiMH, a 3C charge rate (900 mA) will cook it.

| I would not recommend fast charging. Fast charging causes a heat | build up in the pack which MAY lead to a shorter pack life.

A fan will help, but it's not just the heat that ruins the packs.

Charging anything at 3C is not a good plan, unless it's a Sub-C pack it seems.

| I would recommend getting some extra packs and slow charging them. | It allows you to fly without waiting for the pack to recharge and | will maximize the life of the pack.

Do not charge NiMH cells at over 1C, ever. 0.5 C is better. (The Sub-C cells meant for cars can often handle somewhat faster charge rates, but not the smaller cells we use in park fliers.)

For NiCd cells, just about all work well at 1C, and most can handle up to 2C. But slower is better, the battery will last longer.

(However, if you go slower than 0.5 C or so, peak charging may not work properly. So no real need to charge slower than that, except for the very first charge.)

snipped-for-privacy@frenzy.com (Doug McLaren) wrote in news:lyo3b.2590$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.austin.rr.com:

Are you guys are referring to the Great Planes Triton ($130 at Tower)?

| >| Sirus Pro is a very good charger. Before buying anything though, I | >| would suggest looking at the Triton. It provides the flexibility to | >| do NiCD, NiMH AND Lithium Ion also. This MAY be a good choice as it | >| also has a recycler built in. | > | > The Triton will do *everything*. You may not need it now, but if you | > stay into electrics you'll be glad you got it instead of something | > more limiting. | | Are you guys are referring to the Great Planes Triton ($130 at Tower)?

Yes. It's an excellent charger, I love mine.

Nice article on this in Model Aviation that came last week. He didn't mention the Sirius charger and tester, though, and that's a significant omission because these are good and useful units.

1. Most likely both if you use a BEC motor control.

1. No ideas.

2. No ideas.

1. Depends on the batteries you get. Some nicads can handle up to about C3 fast charges. Most nickel hydrides I know of are limited to 1.5C. C= capacity of the cells in mAh. So, your 300mAh pack could be charged at

900mA for about 20 minutes. Much more than that and you risk damaging the cells.

Whatever charger you get, make sure it is designed for the batteries you use. Nicad chargers do not work properly with nickel batteries. Some chargers can do both.