Can I use an 18 volt power drill nicad , as the power source for my
towers hobbies power panel , or will it blow the critter?
Can I use this critter (18 volt nicad) for the tritron power charger?
Looks like a standard power drill bottom attachment , and its only 5$
at surpluz deelz
many thanks
Well, a 7a, 12v gell cell is about $18 at Tower. Some of those drill nicads
run $30-$40. The 12v gell cell will last longer between charges for that
application, too.
And yes, 18v into a 12v device is not a good thing.
$5??? I'd be suspicious of it. Come on people, let's not buy an expensive
charger like the Triton, or a $25 power panel, and risk them because we're too
cheap to buy the proper battery to power them.
Geez...it's like people I've heard of using soda bottles as air tanks for
retracts. We strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Ever heard of "penny-wise
and pound-foolish"?
Sounds like the people flying $2000 planes and bitching about paying the AMA
$58 a year.
<flame suit on> Go ahead, you know I'm right.
Dr.1 Driver
"There's a Hun in the sun!"
Along these lines, I was tring to revive a .19 enya V this morning. The
chicken stick wasn't getting it, when I noticed my cordless drill was 12V.
I dug out the old electric starter and clipped it to the cordless battery
and of course it turned over just fine.
Of course the motor still isn't cooperating but that is another story,
inconsistent current readings on the plug is probably a clue.
Ciao.
Looking at the Tower panel, you might get away with it - the glow plug
driver should be OK (just turn the knob down before you connect a plug for
the first time) the starter and fuel pump will certainly work, but their
lives may be shortened by the excessive current caused by the higher
voltage. The only thing that might cause problems is the glow charger - it
could supply too high a voltage for the glow starter and risk over-charging
the battery, or the internal regulation may dissapate excessive heat and
result in component failure.
The bottom line is, unless you understand how the panel has been designed,
or know someone who does, you are risking blowing up something.
Again, you may get away with it, or the Triton charger may report that the
input voltage is too high and refuse to operate, or a component may fail.
I'd say the likelyhood goes in that order.
Apart from the risk of frying your gear, I'd be more concerned with the
effective capacity of the drill battery - the cheap ones are unlikely to use
particularly high-capacity cells, and therefore you might find it doesn't
last terribly long between charges. 12v gel cells are pretty damn cheap
these days, and provided you do charge it regularly, it's pretty hard to go
wrong with one.
Add to the others the fact that the drill batteries are likely not any more
than 3000mAh and you will be lucky to charge a few receiver packs before
they give up. A 12v 8Ah gell cell is much better suited for short term use.
--
Paul McIntosh
http://www.rc-bearings.com
You can certainly use the cells therein for purposes other than drills, but
nicads like to be completely discharged frequently. It is probably worth a
few extra dollars to locate a similiarly sized replacement lead acid
battery. American Science and Surplus has a 2.3 AH lead acid battery for
$5.95: http://www.sciplus.com/ , but since the recommended battery from
tower is 7 amps you would need 3 of the 2.3's to have the same capacity.
And since it is 18 dollars (3 times the cost of the 2.3 amp battery) it
would just be silly to put three of these in instead of one of the recommend
one for the same amount of money.
Lucky you!
Unfortunately, north of the 49th Parallel, the sources of inexpensive
lead acid batteries is limited to Canadian Tire and specialty battery
houses. The battery that I used in my flightbox when I started cost
me $15Cdn, the last replacement cost me $30 a couple years ago. I'm
now looking at a replacement and I'm looking at $40 and up for the
same battery.
Meanwhile, the Black-and-Decker outlet store is selling 12V drills for
$30....
Well, maybe you'd be happier with multiple battery packs for your airplane
and a chicken stick, or a generator (gas/pedal/wind?), or an extension cord
for your cars cigarette lighter or ???
what do I look like, @#$%^ customer service?!? ;)
for
recommend
Ever thought of mounting the starter cone into the drill chuck?
It could be worth the experiment if the cordless drill has a "reverse"
capability.
Speed of drill might be a problem if throttle is open much more than "idle".
Malcolm
The cheapest place I know of to get sealed 12v bats is alarm supply places.
Last batch of 12v 7A I bought were about 8$ for the chinese or 12$ for the
Yuasa brand. I also use them to replace UPS batteries. Well I just pulled
the current ADI catalog down and chinese are 11.50$ and Yuasa are 14.50
about any size from .5A up to 85A is available for more money. They won't
sell to the public but you may be able to ask a local alarm company to buy
one and not have to pay shipping. Heck back before I found where to buy them
I happened to come out of arbies about the time a fellow was getting in his
truck I told him what I wanted and WHY and he wouldn't take any money for it
He said something to the effect that they were expended when they hit the
truck and just changed them as needed. Last Hurricane they were changing
them with fresh batteries while the power was out to keep the alarms up, I
don't know what they were doing with the good but dead ones...Just a
thought.
LOL
Thanks Steve. With all the folks ranting about non modeling things, you
have hit a high note by reminding me that I grew up on the wrong side of the
tracks and ALWAYS look for a cheaper solution FIRST. You found a good one!
<<The cheapest place I know of to get sealed 12v bats is alarm supply places.
<< Well I just pulled the current ADI catalog down and chinese are 11.50$ and
Yuasa are 14.50 about any size from .5A up to 85A is available for more
money.>>
You can go to Academy Sports and get a 12v, 7ah gell cell for $14. They use
them to power deer feeders...
Steve
Your 18 volt pack has probably 15 cells in it. Couldn't you open it and
unsolder 5 cells.
I used to power my power panel with 10 old 1.2 volt sub C cells from my RC
cars.
guess what I just realized that I have a 12volt sealed ell 1.500000
million watt spot light. this small battery can be used for powering
the hobby stuff and I don't have t buy a charger or the battery I've
got them .
whew anything to save a few bucks in this hobby and beat the aketing
people makes the fun a lot more enjoyable
have fun !!!!
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