Great Planes/ Electrifly Triton charger

[Rick]

Im totally new to LiPO but the way I see it, LiPO is the only batery technology out there to get decent perfromacne and runtime.

For a charger, I have the Electrifly Triton computer charger, with the temperature probe option.

This should be able to handle any of the batteries for small and medium whirlybirds, I think.

Now there's tons of options to set, cell number seems to be the most important one.

Anyone using this charger? Any advice?

Also, has anyone tried getting a ac/dc power supply so this can be used indoors? I live in an apartment with bit of a walk to where my van is parked, and there's no way I'm leaving anything unsupervised in my neighborhood. being able to use this indoors would be great. :o

[avalon]

I am new to lipos as well but looking around the web the main thing seams to be not to usr the wrong charge rate, there are some very spectacular videos of lipos turning into flares!!! Take the time to research this could save you a whole lot of greif. As for power supplys I live in Australia and we have an electronics chain called Jarcar, I guess it is a bit like Radio Shack in the States. You should be able to get a regulated 12-15v 5 amp DC power suply there. Mine was less than US$50. Hope this helps

[swatson144]

I have a couple and love them. There is no most important parameter! They are all of the utmost importance. Check double check and then engage. Use some common sense and you'll be having fun for years. The #1 cause of lipo mishaps is complacency. The more attention you use the better. The more safety factors you build into your station the better.

Here is a pic of my garage charging station. It's scrunched together for the pic.
The PS is a modified computer PS, The most load I have had on it is 12A
The counter top is metal.
The flower pot is to hold the packs.
There is a smoke alarm above it.

In an apartment It would be best to charge in the bath room with the exhaust fan running. There is little worry about fire if nothing around can burn, though if a pack burns you could have a lot of smoke damage from the gases.

Use care and always plan for the worst.

[Fecomosis]

pretty kool setup you got there. I didnt think about using a computer powersupply as the source. What I use is a car battery in my room and the MKII Quick Field Charger from hobbico, with like a 5 year warrantee.

Charges all types of batteries, Nimh, Nicd, Li-ion and Lipo.

[swatson144]

I was using the car battery that supplies my radio in the garage but this is a lot easier to take with me.

Steve

[Sleepstalker]

An awesome charger..simplicity is efficiancy check in your local area for an amatuer/ham radio club and guarenteed those guys can sell or point you to a nice AC to DC 12volt power supply , these guys use them to power mobile (car) radios that can load up to 100 watts off the antenna and pull 20-25 amps off the power supply when they use these mobile radios as home base stations . Average price for a NICE AC to DC unit with a very clean signal should be 65 to 85 bucks...Sleepster... 8)

[medtech]

I just got a new triton charger too. At $90 you can't beat it for it's features and abilities.

As far as power supplies, you could go the PC route, or, if you want some real power, get one of these!
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/PS-2157/480/DUAL_POWER_SUPPLY_--_2X_12_30A,_2.2_20A,_5_35A_.html

It's a dual 12volt 35amp power supply from an Ibm Eserver. Plus it's only $40. You can power alot of stuff with that much power!

[eddiemoth]

I am using a Vision Peak Ultra charger by Dynamite. It can charge Li-Po (1 to 3 cells), Ni-Cd and Ni-MH (1 to 8 cells). I think it is over priced - I paid almost $100. I cannot go more than 3 cells for Li Po. If I want to go with a Trex 600, then I have to have a new charger. However, there is a built in Voltmeter which is handy. Also, I can charge it out from my car battery. I am gonna stay with it for awhile.

[swatson144]

Probably the most bang for the buck for greater than 4S would be the astroflight 109 1-9s for about 129$, balance with a blinky for 25$. The other options get crazy prices and adapter purgatory.

I have 3 blinkies and can't say anything but good about them. 2 of them fit the bulk of my packs, and the 3rd is with the TP pin spacing. I use them in conjunction with the tritons and other chargers. Work good and I can order any battery pack I want without worry about adapters. Easy to use.

The 109 is getting a little old design wise. It has one very scary draw back (for me). It detects cell count automatically by voltage. So it is possible and has been accused of detecting a charged pack as the next highest cell count. It seems it reads the voltage and makes a conservative guess at the cell count and starts charging. After charging for a while 2-3 mins it rereads and adjusts. Then it is locked in for the rest of the charge. So even if it detects the correct number of cells when the charge is started, you have to be vigilant until it locks the cell count after the 1st couple mins.

Steve

[Rick]

I just got a new triton charger too. At $90 you can't beat it for it's features and abilities.

As far as power supplies, you could go the PC route, or, if you want some real power, get one of these!
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/PS-2157/480/DUAL_POWER_SUPPLY_--_2X_12_30A,_2.2_20A,_5_35A_.html

It's a dual 12volt 35amp power supply from an Ibm Eserver. Plus it's only $40. You can power alot of stuff with that much power!

awesome solution, thanks!