flyingtomg

My Feedback: (10)

I'm moving towards flying a 10s plane for the first time (Sebart Wind S Pro) and I was wondering what everyone uses for power when they go to competitions. Car batteries? Generators? Multiple smaller batteries? I'm just looking for good ideas on what to get to charge-up my flight packs.

Thanks,
flyingtomg

woodie

Luckily, my home field has AC power available but when we go to fields that do not have electricity, we usually take a generator. For 1-2 people, I really like the Honda 1000, for more than that, we use a Honda 2000. Both are very quiet and so far, absolutely reliable over 2 years of use. We tried deep cycle marine batteries for a while but they just don't have the capacity for a days flying.

Woodie

awat65

My Feedback: (17)

When I go to a contest, I generally bring 4 sets of batteries. If we fly 4 rounds that day I am covered. I charge them back at the hotel. Before I go to bed, I make sure all 4 sets are charged. I usually bring the best set of batteries I have to a contest.

underdw

My Feedback: (2)

Hi flyingtomg
I charge all my batteries the night before and bring a deep cycle battery to the field. It's good for 3 to 4 charges.
I can also charge a couple of sets from the car battery. That let's me fly all I want.

PS. contact me if you need any help getting that plane flying and trimmed. It's an awesome plane. I fly at Arvada and Longmont.
Dan: [email protected]

RC11

My Feedback: (7)

I am looking at puchasing a generator. I am looking at sharing one with my friend and my son. Is it feasible for us to keep 3 iof us fluing from one power source? We will have 4 sets of batts for each of us and have power everywhere but at our own field.

As far as generators go, Honda and Yamaha are touted to be the best but are expensive.Are there any other viable options? Honeywell makes a 900w at about $300.
Thanks for the help,
Rick

dreadnaut

My Feedback: (5)

I have a 60AmpHr Marinne deep cycle battery. I can get four charges of my 8s 4000mAh packs. I charge my four packs the night before the contest, and recharge 2 or three at the contest depending on how many rounds get done on Saturday. This should work with 10s packs too. I looked at generators, and elaborate charger setups with metal instrument cases and cooling fans, but my simple setup works just fine.

VerneK

To keep 3 of you going, you'll need the Honda 2000. You can get a pretty good deal on them with some careful and selective shopping on EBay. By careful and selective, I mean no pawn shops or obvious resellers. You want one from a private individual with good photo documentation and a good reason for selling it. The Honda's are the lightest, quietest, and most durable generators going. A loud generator won't make you the most popular guy at a contest and you won't be having fun if your generator breaks down, particularly if parts are next to impossible to find.

Verne

rcpattern

My Feedback: (45)

Rick,

Buy a Honda and forget about it. Yes, they are more expensive, but as Verne said they are quieter and last forever. Spend the money upfront and you wont have any issues. You will definitely want a 2000w if you need to do that many packs. At the Green Sea contest I was charging my 2 packs, plus a 3rd set for a friend and when the 3rd set when on it definitely bogged down my 1000. Fortunately most of the time its just me charging, so its not an issue.

Arch

f3a05

Yes,that's what I did,as a completely non-techi flyer, on advice from here and else where.
It's been a sensible way to go,for me.
However,with the arrival of much better batteries, and them being much cheaper now, I'm wondering
Would an alternative strategy be, to buy enough packs for a day's flying(say six?),and have more chargers (say three?),and (say) two power supplies, and charge solely at home?

greg_m

the way to go is to just get a minimum of six battery sets and charge them at home the night before. Even on good weather days after six flights I have had enough pattern for the day ;-)

the added bonus is that packing the car is also a lot simpler and easier. Checklist = plane, wings, radio, batteries, hat, sunglasses and something to drink after!!

jhatton

I have the Honeywell 1000i seems almost as good as the Honda for about a third the price... have been running it for a year now to charge and run the RV when I don't want to run the 5500 watt Onan. I can keep two chargers running at 1C on 5000 10s packs all day on about a gallon of gas.

flyingtomg

My Feedback: (10)

Everyone,
Thanks for the replies. They give me some ideas to think about.

flyingtomg

PS I don't mean to shut this thread down. If you want to keep talking batteries and generators, I'll keep listening.

cmoulder

Get the Honda. You won't regret it.

For peace of mind, you can get a new EU1000i from Wisesales.com for $719 + 14.95 S&H.

It is so quiet that from 20 feet away the sound from a small electric helicopter drowns it out.

I made a field (and home) charging station using 2 Cellpro 10s chargers and 2 Revolectrix power supplies fitted inside a toolbox from Wal-Mart and a cooling fan from Radio Shack. The Revolectrix PS has a handy 12v DC outlet on the back that powers the fan. Neat.

J Lachowski

My Feedback: (46)

Aren't you the guy who flys a gasser?

cmoulder

I'm a swinger, Joe. I go both ways!

Blame Anthony for luring me over to the dark side. And cheap LiPo's from HK.

Decided to go electric with the Pentathlon Evo as a pesky issue (front bearing) with the gasser is sorted out. Still going to use the Focus II as my test bed. Got an "updated" engine and would be flying the crap out of it if not for the snow cover. Man, am I ever getting my nickel's worth out of the Focus.

I fly small electrics at my local field and was extremely frustrated by being limited by battery packs, dead car batteries, etc. Just got PO'd enough to shell out the shekels for a proper field charging set-up and am extremely happy.

MarkGrabowski

The company Wise Sales is, based on my experience, a decent outfit to work with. They are located in Schaumburg, IL (about 15 min. from my house) and have an actual storefront. There prices are competitive and knowing it's a "for real" storefront gives me more comfort spending my $$ with em...

cmoulder

Mark, yes after speaking with the well mannered young sales lady for a short while I felt that they are good to deal with. No pressure, just "call back if you have any more questions."

Quick service, and 3 days later the generator was on the porch. Glad that most often I don't use absolute lowest price as my only criterion. But that is a pretty good price for a reputable source.

DaveL322

+1 for Wise....great price and prompt delivery to NJ.

Regards,

cmoulder

Here's what the modular charging station looks like.

wagen017

wauw, never realised these generators were so expensive! Glad we have a mains connected!

Volkert

MachLoop

My Feedback: (3)

Bob,

That came out nice. Never thought to considerone of thoseStanley tool boxes. Do you know which one it is, or just provide dimensions? Thanks.

cmoulder

The tool box is [link=http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stanley-FatMax-23-Toolbox/14146170]this one[/link].

The stock top shelf was discarded and the shelf for the chargers was made from some 1/8" ply and some particle board I had on hand, laminated together with some 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, then covered with white Ultracote.

shepga

Bob,
I like it, thanks for sharing the photos. Did your replacement shelf fit and mount in the same place as the original shelf? I think I'll build one like this too.

Glen

cmoulder

Glen,

The original shelf is about 2/3 the length of the tool box so that the bottom compartment is somewhat accessible without removing it. It is suspended from the vertical braces on the inside of the tool box.

The simple shelf I made is suspended by the recesses for the end grips on the tool box. Works better because it allows the shelf to hang a little lower and thereby make plenty of room for the chargers. It is, of course, also flat which makes mounting the chargers a simpler process - simply drill some holes and use some zip ties.

If you check some of the other forums there are similar set-ups that you might want to see. Nothing new I am doing, just borrowing the ideas of those who tackled the problem before. It is nice to have everything in one place and to not have the tangle of wires in a box or in multiple containers, or forgetting some key item at home, a long way from a flying field.