Whats your opinion?

[recon]

I would like some opinions on the Hanger 9 Sure cycle and the hobbico accu-cycle. Thanks.

[AJCoholic]

I had the sure cycle, and currently own the accucycle and accucyle plus, They are all good, however there is one small thing about the sure cycle I dont like - the inability to set a different charge rate for the trans. and receiver battery. That is an option for the two accucycles.

I'd go with them, and the plus is #1 my choice.

Andrew

[can773]

Personally I would not get either of those, my suggestions would be

Dymond Super Turbo (I use this one) $109 US
FMA Super Nova - dont know price
Great Planes Triton (friend has one, nice peice) - dont know price

Those three have more or less the same functionality behind them, very simple to use and completely programmable (with memory functions for up to 10 batteries) for charge rates (0.1-5A), types of cycles, discharge rates, trickle rates, etc etc. These things will charge just about any batteries you can think of.

Do a search in the battery forum on RC Universe for the chargers as they have be discussed many many times.

[JimMoss]

Nice thing about the Accu Cycle's is that you can do both RX and TX at the same time which you can't with some of the others.

Like Andrew I have both the original and the Plus, saved my bacon a few times. :wink:

Jim Moss :)

[KStation]

Could someone explain a little about cyclers, I'm not really sure if they're just fancy chargers or what. Do I need one?

Kevin Station

[AJCoholic]

A battery "cycler" is nothing more than a charger that alsa has the capability to discharge a battery pack down to a preset voltage, and display the capacity the pack "gave out" in mAh.

Some are a lot fancier than others, have variable charge rates, different timer functions, etc. But basically if you can charge the trans. and rec. batteries at the same time, at different voltages, have a selection on the # of cells that is all you really "need".

I personally like the peak charger as opposed to the timed cycle charger since I dont discharge my packs each time I fly.

There are a LOT of good chargers out on the market now, so to make your decision you have to compare features vs what you have to spend.

Personally, I would look in the used market as there seems to be a lot of them around.

Andrew

[can773]

Nice thing about the Accu Cycle's is that you can do both RX and TX at the same time which you can't with some of the others.

Like Andrew I have both the original and the Plus, saved my bacon a few times. :wink:

Jim Moss :)

Hi Jim

True, the three I listed only do one battery at a time.

But for the price of the Accu Cycle Plus, it falls far short of the features of a Super Turbo

Here is a comparison

Accu Cycle Plus

Input Voltage: 110V AC US standard
Fast Charge Termination: When peak charge is achieved
Output Connections: banana jacks
Transmitter Charge Rates: 500,1000 milliamps(mA)
Receiver Charge Rates: 500,1000 milliamps(mA)
Discharge Rates: 250, 750 milliamps(mA)
LCD Readouts: Milliamp-hours and elapsed time in minutes
Length (front to back): 5"
Width (side to side): 8"
Height (overall): 3-3/8"
Safety: peaks up to 120 minutes, then goes to trickle; if charging
cells over 2000mah, may need to restart peak after 120 minutes.

From http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL358&P=0

Super Turbo

Easy 4 button programming with newly developed logic
5 Basic Programs selected by scrolling up or down
Charge 1-26 cells NiCad or NiMh 100mAh-5000mAh
Discharge 1-26 cells NiCad or NiMh 0.1A -5A
Cycle Mode 1 First Charge then Discharge
Cycle Mode 2 First Discharge then Charge
Parameter Setting Display lets you adjust
Delta Peak Sensitivity for NiCad (5-15mV) and NiMh (3-10mV) batteries separately
Trickle Charge Rate Setting from 0 mAh to 250 mAh after Fast Charge is completed
Precision Voltage Reading in 1 Thousand of one Volt
Readout after charging or discharging gives information for Quality of Battery.
Delta Peak Point,
Elapsed Charge time
Average Voltage under load
Accumulated Charge (What is stored in your battery)
How good is your battery ?. Keep a record and compare the data after several charges.
NEW added BATTERY Charging Safety features
Temperature and load watch in the DYMOND SUPER TURBO Charger regulates the Cooling Fan inside.
Temperature watch will cut off unit when it gets too hot.
Optional Temperature Probe ($ 14.95) can be strapped to battery and will trigger a Completed Charge message and cuts off when the battery gets too hot. Excellent safety feature for unknown battery types.
Maximum Charge Limit. The maximum charge can be programmed. If you have a 2000 mAh battery, then program a save stop at 2400mAh. Reaching 2400 mAh accumulated charge would turn the charger off in case the Delta Peak Point was too vague and could not be detected.

Taken from http://www.rc-dymond.com/Chargers/20156SuperSmart.htm

I did a huge amount of research before I bought a charger and the Accu Cycle was in my list, but it just didnt compare.

Personally I would get the new GP Triton because you can do lithium, Pb, NiMH, and NiCD. While the Super Turbo will only so NiMH and NiCD, but I needed a charger and could not wait for the Triton to come out.

The Triton is also cheaper than the Accu Cycle Plus

[AJCoholic]

Chad,
$$ not being a factor in a decision, there is something to be said with
simplicity"...

Many of us will never use many features and just want a simple plug in - hit the button type charger/cycler. HAving to remember to set the correct charge rate and battery cell # is enough for me when I am trying to set up 4 chargers to get planes ready for the day's flying ;)

I think cyclers are like engines/radios/etc in this hobby. They all work, some better than others, but they all will do the job.

If I were Recon, I would be looking on the used market to try and save some $$ - I had a sure cycle listed a few months ago for only $60, would have taken $50... I also bought my accucyle like new last year for $150 and my accucycle was under a hundred new on sale (50% off).

Recon, if I were you I would go to some swap meets - they are like a goldmine! Allways a high turnover in this hobby and many newer items are up for sale!

Andrew

PS, what do you want to spend? Maybe one of us will see somthing at whitby or aurora swap...

[can773]

Chad,
$$ not being a factor in a decision, there is something to be said with
simplicity"...

Many of us will never use many features and just want a simple plug in - hit the button type charger/cycler. HAving to remember to set the correct charge rate and battery cell # is enough for me when I am trying to set up 4 chargers to get planes ready for the day's flying ;)

I think cyclers are like engines/radios/etc in this hobby. They all work, some better than others, but they all will do the job.

If I were Recon, I would be looking on the used market to try and save some $$ - I had a sure cycle listed a few months ago for only $60, would have taken $50... I also bought my accucyle like new last year for $150 and my accucycle was under a hundred new on sale (50% off).

Recon, if I were you I would go to some swap meets - they are like a goldmine! Allways a high turnover in this hobby and many newer items are up for sale!

Andrew

PS, what do you want to spend? Maybe one of us will see somthing at whitby or aurora swap...

Thats the point of memory, I have all my batteries programmed into the charger, I just select the program and go. There are only 4 buttons to use, it is braindead easy to figure out. There is no cell count to pick, and you can use an auto setting which will pick the correct (conservative though) charge rate and battery type, 1 button not that hard.

Plus I can field charge any battery I want, starter battery, glow battery, anything.

I just think that you get more bang for your buck from the chargers I listed.

PS: I am sponsored by Hobbico and can get an Accu Cycle for almost nothing, I still would not get one :)

[AJCoholic]

Chad,
Well if you want you can get me a second one for "next to nothing" and I'll gladly take it ;)

Funny, no one wants to sponsor me ?! :)

I also forget to mention that I have an astro flight peak charger to charge from 1 to 32 cells, and a few others like the hobbico fast field charger.. having all these in my trailer makes it easy to charge a lot of things at once. If I was looking for ONE charger/cycler to replace all the others I own I would probably pick something other than the accucycle,

TOO many choices really!

Andrew

[can773]

I guess that is why I went with what I did, when the Duralites hit I jumped on the bandwagon full bore and got rid of anything Nicad.

So when I went back to Nicads I wanted a fast charger/field charger/cycler that could do my electric plane, starter battery etc all in one unit. If I only wanted a cycler I probably would have got another Einstein (what I had before I went to Duralites).

The Litco Alpha 4 looks nice but the $250 US is a little too much to swallow :yikes:

[JimMoss]

Hey Chad you can put me down for one of those "next to nothing" Cyclers as well! :wink:

I can always use another.

Jim Moss :)

[recon]

Thanks for the input guys. I will put up a want ad on the board here.

What Im looking for is just a simple cycler for nicads, just to condition the ones i have.

[recon]

Well, I think im going to buy the Triton Charger. Is it a quick charger as well?

[JimMcIntyre]

Yes, the Triton is a quick charger.

In fact, the only beef I have with my Triton is that it won't charge at less than 100mah which is a fairly quick charge for small packs (can't achieve C10 for any battery smaller than 1000mah)

[recon]

What is 'c10'? Would it be worth while to buy this charger to cycle my batteries, all of which are around 650 mah? Also, does it come with leads? I have the leads from my hobbico quick field charger, would those work?

[JimMcIntyre]

C10 is the "typical" manufacturer recommended "slow" charge and is equal to the theoretical rate that would achieve a complete charge of a fully discharged pack in 10 hours.

In simpler terms, divide the capacity of your pack by ten. For example: to charge your 650mah pack at C10, you would need to charge at a rate of 65mah.

No, the unit doesn't come with leads.
Yes, your hobbico leads will work.

Hope this helps

[recon]

Thanks alot Jim. I think I will put in an order for one of these this week. Im sure it would be better to cycle the batteries, even if the charger doesnt achieve c10, than to not cycle them at all.

[can773]

Dont worry about C/10, its really not necessary with these newer chargers. The only time you really need to C/10 a pack is when its new, then after that have at it :) Batteries are rated with a C/5 cycle on them anyways so for a 1000 mAh pack its a 200 mah charge/discharge is what they use to rate them anyways.

I hit my packs with a 1-1.5C (1 to 1.5 times the capacity on 1100 mah pack) everyday for flying, and cycle 1-2 times per month. I have put on about 500 flights on that pack this summer alone and it still cycles out right on capacity, so I cant beleive that its hurting them.

I also voltage test every flight (250-500 mah load) and monitor the amount of mah that I put into the pack with the charger each session so I can tell if something is not working properly. So far so good.

[Propworn]

Chad please be very battery specific. There are lots of packs out there for stuff such as park flyers in the nickle metal hydride type of batteries that will not take more than 1 or 2 C without cell damage. I know the batteries you use and most of the ones I use can take much higher charge rates but not all cells that are in use today can. I have hand launch gliders with cells in the 250 ma capacity that you can only charge at 50 ma max. There may be those among the readers who will take things we say as gospel and might end up damaging the cell packs. I urge each and everyone of you to follow the manufacturers recommendations on fast charging. Not all cells are the same.

Dennis

[AJCoholic]

Most of the cells in my packs are the standard "16 hour" charge at C10 variety. 90% of the time I fast charge my cells at C1 using my Accucycle (500mah rate for 500 to 700mah cells and 1000mah rate for 1100mah cells and up)

I am quite cautious, however, with my 1/2A packs (250mah) and the park flyer 6 cell 250 packs as they get too warm for my liking when pushed hard.

I prefer to slow charge them on 25mah overnight, or quick charge on a slower rate but watching the packs as they charge as not to let them get hot.

Speaking to the owner of SR batteries last year (I got a few packs made up from Larry) he suggested NOT fast charging if you want your batteries to last the longest time. Thats not allways possible in many of our cases, so I accept a shorter cell/pack life goes along with the convenience of fast charging.

[prangled prop]

You should check with Chuck Smith. His theory is bigger better (batteries and charger) and throw them away if they stop working.

[can773]

Chad please be very battery specific. There are lots of packs out there for stuff such as park flyers in the nickle metal hydride type of batteries that will not take more than 1 or 2 C without cell damage. I know the batteries you use and most of the ones I use can take much higher charge rates but not all cells that are in use today can. I have hand launch gliders with cells in the 250 ma capacity that you can only charge at 50 ma max. There may be those among the readers who will take things we say as gospel and might end up damaging the cell packs. I urge each and everyone of you to follow the manufacturers recommendations on fast charging. Not all cells are the same.

Dennis

Good call Dennis :)

My airborne packs are all 4.8V 1100 mah AAU cell Nicads, they are very light for their capacity (same as a standard 600 mah pack).

I have both 1100 mah AAU TX packs as well as 1650 NiMH packs that I charge like that but I dont take the 1650 NiMH over 1C. I have hit 2C on my NiCDs at contests when I want to top them up between rounds.

I do have a couple of 300 mah 11 cell NiMH that I use on my IFO that I have charges with rates as high as 600 mah, it has not appeared to cause any damage yet, but I dont use them that often.