RC battery charger questions...
 

I've gotten my hands on a box full of those smart chargers for RC
cars etc...
They're the Dynamite brand Vision peak and the peak plus pulse
chargers for 5-7 cell nicad's(the plus also does nihm.)
I'm pretty sure the answer is no but can these chargers be used to
charge SLA's?
I have several 12v SLA's that I use in various apps and it'd be nice
if I could use these chargers to get longer life out of these SLA's.
The model #'s are DYN-4045 for the peak and DYN-4046 for the plus
model.
charge rates are 1 and 4 amps for the plus and 2 and 4 for the
standard peak.
I believe the volt range is from 5v to as much as 24.
These units test for cell # and condition and are twin pulse chargers.
If they can't be used for lead acid I can use 'em for what nicads I
have.

You're assumption was correct, you can't use these chargers for SLA
batteries. The charge characteristics, and more importantly, the
termination characteristics for SLA cells is much different that NiCd.

"none" wrote in message
...
I've gotten my hands on a box full of those smart chargers for RC
cars etc...
They're the Dynamite brand Vision peak and the peak plus pulse
chargers for 5-7 cell nicad's(the plus also does nihm.)
I'm pretty sure the answer is no but can these chargers be used to
charge SLA's?
I have several 12v SLA's that I use in various apps and it'd be nice
if I could use these chargers to get longer life out of these SLA's.
The model #'s are DYN-4045 for the peak and DYN-4046 for the plus
model.
charge rates are 1 and 4 amps for the plus and 2 and 4 for the
standard peak.
I believe the volt range is from 5v to as much as 24.
These units test for cell # and condition and are twin pulse chargers.
If they can't be used for lead acid I can use 'em for what nicads I
have.

No, SLA's have completely different requirements, the good news is that
they're much easier to feed properly, a 12v wall wart will usually do the
trick.

On 28 Jun 2005 08:19:59 -0700, "w2aew" wrote:

You're assumption was correct, you can't use these chargers for SLA
batteries. The charge characteristics, and more importantly, the
termination characteristics for SLA cells is much different that NiCd.

Thanks, I'll stick with nicad and nimh with these chargers.

In article O2qwe.5961$Iv6.659@trnddc03,
James Sweet wrote:
No, SLA's have completely different requirements, the good news is that
they're much easier to feed properly, a 12v wall wart will usually do the
trick.

But you have to make sure they can't overcharge, as they can't gas safely
like a wet type.

The convention is a 13.8v constant voltage charge.

--
*Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

No they will not do a 12 volt battery of any type. They are a 120VAC or
12VDC input charger for home or field use. They can be used with a 12 volt
SLA or car battery as a power source.

IIRC they can charge 8 cell Ni-Cad or NiMh batteries but no more. Some
models only go to 7 cell and do only Ni-Cad cells.

For detailed help call 1-877-0233 and talk to a service technician at
Horizon Hobby. He can tell you the specs for the models, may be able to
point you to a web page with the instruction booklet.

He probably will not have a schematic or will not release one. Last time I
looked these are PIC based chargers. They have a very good record for low
return / repair rate at our shop.

The top end models will also do Li-Po cells.

Hugh

"none" wrote in message
...
I've gotten my hands on a box full of those smart chargers for RC
cars etc...
They're the Dynamite brand Vision peak and the peak plus pulse
chargers for 5-7 cell nicad's(the plus also does nihm.)
I'm pretty sure the answer is no but can these chargers be used to
charge SLA's?
I have several 12v SLA's that I use in various apps and it'd be nice
if I could use these chargers to get longer life out of these SLA's.
The model #'s are DYN-4045 for the peak and DYN-4046 for the plus
model.
charge rates are 1 and 4 amps for the plus and 2 and 4 for the
standard peak.
I believe the volt range is from 5v to as much as 24.
These units test for cell # and condition and are twin pulse chargers.
If they can't be used for lead acid I can use 'em for what nicads I
have.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:52:46 -0500, "Hugh Prescott"
wrote:

No they will not do a 12 volt battery of any type. They are a 120VAC or
12VDC input charger for home or field use. They can be used with a 12 volt
SLA or car battery as a power source.

IIRC they can charge 8 cell Ni-Cad or NiMh batteries but no more. Some
models only go to 7 cell and do only Ni-Cad cells.

For detailed help call 1-877-0233 and talk to a service technician at
Horizon Hobby. He can tell you the specs for the models, may be able to
point you to a web page with the instruction booklet.

He probably will not have a schematic or will not release one. Last time I
looked these are PIC based chargers. They have a very good record for low
return / repair rate at our shop.

The top end models will also do Li-Po cells.

Hugh

Thanks for the info. I did manage to find the specs and diagrahms on
these yesterday.
One will handle any battery up to 16 volts and all cell #s.
I was hoping I could mod one to smart charge all my SLA's. More
trouble than it's worth though.

"none" wrote in message
.. .
I've gotten my hands on a box full of those smart chargers for RC
cars etc...
They're the Dynamite brand Vision peak and the peak plus pulse
chargers for 5-7 cell nicad's(the plus also does nihm.)
I'm pretty sure the answer is no but can these chargers be used to
charge SLA's?
I have several 12v SLA's that I use in various apps and it'd be nice
if I could use these chargers to get longer life out of these SLA's.
The model #'s are DYN-4045 for the peak and DYN-4046 for the plus
model.
charge rates are 1 and 4 amps for the plus and 2 and 4 for the
standard peak.
I believe the volt range is from 5v to as much as 24.
These units test for cell # and condition and are twin pulse chargers.
If they can't be used for lead acid I can use 'em for what nicads I
have.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 09:01:04 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article O2qwe.5961$Iv6.659@trnddc03,
James Sweet wrote:
No, SLA's have completely different requirements, the good news is that
they're much easier to feed properly, a 12v wall wart will usually do the
trick.

But you have to make sure they can't overcharge, as they can't gas safely
like a wet type.

The convention is a 13.8v constant voltage charge.

Right I use a 13.4v/1amp wall wart currently.
Problem is overcharging.
The smart chargers they make for sla's work much like the pulse
chargers for denser battery types. start with a pulse peak rate and
ramp down during the charge cycle. The better ones will also adjust
the charge to form the cells on a weak or sulfated battery and run
rapid discharge cycles to increase battery life...
Problem is they cost so darn much.(My local supplier's SLA chargers
start at 79 bucks and go up.)
Using the walwart I'm lucky to get 100 cycles out of a battery rated
for as much as 250.(United Battery or Powersonic.)