Please recommend a good battery charger/cycler

What is the best battery charger/cycler? I would like to be able to charge most if not all of the following: NiCd, NiMH, Li-Ion, Li-Po and sealed lead acid batteries.

My target budget is $150 but I can spend more if necessary.

I have a friend with a 6-7 years old Litco Alpha4. He loves it and says it used to be the best charger on the market. Is it still the case? They sell for $259 now and that is OK if it still is better than anything else.

Reply to
Denis Leveille
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Great plane Triton works well.

Mike

Reply to
pda4you

Don't know if the Litco's were the best. Never owned one and didn't feel the need to overpay for a piece of hardware that was that hard to get.

I use a Great Planes Triton charger/cycler. It will handle all the batteries you listed. I haven't had any trouble with it.

Reply to
Vance

Take a look at the Hobbico Accu-Cycle Elite. It charges darn near anything. It peak charges, cycles, trickle charges and comes with ability to work off

Reply to
Jeff Martin

count me in on 3rd vote for triton.

"Vance" the need to overpay for a piece of hardware that was that hard to get.

Reply to
gary

The Litco is only good for Ni-Cd and in a limited way Ni-MH. For maintaining those it can't really be beat. But if you want a good all round unit, the recommendations for the Triton should be considered.

-- Red S. Red's R/C Battery Clinic

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Reply to
Red Scholefield

"gary" wrote in news:kkbge.5564$eU.5380@fed1read07:

Reply to
Mark Miller

Denis- The Litco Alpha 4 is a very good charger. It doesn't do LiPo or Li-Ion. It is best for radio batteries and slow-charging batteries used for electric propulsion. The current limitations may not be up to your needs if you are into electric power, i.e., you won't be fast charging multiple C-cell NiCd/NiMH batteries simultaneously with the Litco. Obtaining one is a PITA. You call the company on the phone during a short time slot they have pronounced, and if you get in, you may be lucky enough to place an order. Don't ask for anything other than where to send money, as they reportedly walk on water and have little patience for mortals. If you don't need to charge batteries four at a time (from one charger) and need to fast charge bigger (2400-3000 mah range) packs, the Triton charger from Tower is very good, as is the SuperNova from FMA, essentially the same as units sold under the Simprop and Dymond labels. All are around $100. Last I looked, the Triton does Lithium batteries but the others mentioned do not.

Abel

Reply to
Abel Pranger

My goody's a Robbe ULTIMATE Li or Simprop intellipeak Same technologie as the triton TM

Reply to
Dingo

Can you get this charger in the US?

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While it's a bit ugly, it's great value and charges NiCd, NiMH, LiIon, LiPo and SLA. I have the previous model that does 3 LiPos, whereas this one will do up to 5. It doesn't use presets, which I always find a bit confusing when I use other people's chargers, rather it has a very quick and simple to use interface, even though I'm constantly charging different batteries of different capacities.

I'm sure it must be marketed in the US, perhaps under a different name? If not you're missing out on a real bargain.

Reply to
Poxy

What is SLA?

Reply to
Jim Slaughter

Sealed lead-acid.

Reply to
John Miller

From all the comments you have made so far, it looks like the Triton is a very good unit. What do you guys use to feed it with 12 Volts power.

Reply to
Denis Leveille

A car battery, I also use a converted pc power supply to provide 12v for it. Red has a link to instructions on how to convert one on his web site.

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Reply to
Vance

"Denis Leveille" wrote in news:x7zge.45267$ snipped-for-privacy@weber.videotron.net:

I went to Fry's (for those of you who don't have Fry's, it's Geektopia. Sort of like if Best Buy and CompUSA had a child) and got a 12V DC power supply. I wound up getting one that would put out fairly high current for $47, I think. If I was a smarter shopper, I could have done it cheaper.

At the field, of course, I use a regular hobby battery.

Reply to
Mark Miller

I made a 12V supply out of a computer power supply from Goodwill.

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Reply to
MK

In news:x7zge.45267$ snipped-for-privacy@weber.videotron.net, Denis Leveille pecked:

At the field I use the battery in my truck. At home, I have a regulated 12 volt DC power supply.

Reply to
Dave Thompson

Reply to
Paul Ryan

If you want a high quality charger that will last for years, look at th

"Schulze" chargers

-- Steve Guin

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Guinn's Profile:

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Reply to
Steve Guinn

I have a Sculze charger and I'm happy with it, but programming it very non-intuitive. Whoever designed the interface hasn't heard the term "User Friendly". On the other hand, It'll charge up to an 11S LiPo pack at 5.5A and thats hard to come by.

I also own a Polk Tracker II radio. I'm obviously a glutton for punishment.....

PCPhill

Reply to
PCPhill

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