CAPtain232

My Feedback: (40)

Looks like it is time to get a new charger. I have all types of batteries, NiMH, NiCd and Lithium.....What do you guys have and what do you like or dislike about it? Do you prefer one charger to do it all, or do you have a couple of chargers to do different battery types?

thanks fellas

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

i have several chargers, but honestly, they one I grab and use the most is the Multiplex LN-5014

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Hobbico Accucycle Elite. Does nicad, mh and lithium. Variable charge rate using a simple programming menu. AC or DC with an included 110V/14DC power supply. It also cycles batteries. Perfect bench charger and also the perfect field charger.

I hated the Triton. It's only got one output on it. How many of us fly a GS plane with only 1 battery? Most of mine have 3 batteries. It's also very sensitive to input voltage. Mine was constantly dropping out and giving a "Low Input Voltage" beep and refusing to charge batteries.

I still use a wall wart to charge my TX the night before. That way I can fly all day and not worry about the TX battery. I then have 2 output ports to charge my plane. I'm kind of a nervous nelly about my RX batteries. I usually fly 3 or 4 times and then charge them, so having a good field charger is essential to me.

altavillan

My Feedback: (1)

Ditto on the Accucycle elite. If you have 3 lipo's in the plane get the Fromco cube. It's only for lipos though.

EXTRA ADDICT

My Feedback: (2)

I still like my trusty Triton. It does them all but if you get into big lithium packs you are screwed. I am sure there are much better chargers out there but for the money a Triton does a pretty good job.

Rush7

My Feedback: (74)

The triton is nice but my nod goes to the accucycle elite. It does everything that the triton does but can do two batteries at once on AC or DC power.

selwyn

My Feedback: (19)

I have a Miniron Mobile Plus which is the 5 amp version......5 outputs charges all types of packs....you can charge a Lipo on one output ...a Ni-Mh on the next...you can charge one pack and be cycling another or discharging...all the outputs operate independantly...I'm very happy with mine...I have a Schulze as well as a Triton....great chargers but lack on their ability to do multiple tasks at the same time.[]

as722

My Feedback: (1)

I have the mineron as well and it is by far the best charger out there plus for a few dollars you can upgrade the software if there's ever a change.

Albert

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

Triton, hands down for me. I tried a few others as well but none was as easy to use.

It does only have one output (I think the Triton 2 has more), bit it is very easy, keeps settings in memory and has a temp probe to make sure nothing gets too hot...

I also use a smaller Thuder Power field charger 405 when I have more LiPos that need to be done in a hurry.

Comments above are right - you need a good 14v power supply in any case.

CAPtain232

My Feedback: (40)

Well the charger that I have that is crapping out on me is the TRITON.... I have had it for a couple of years, and honestly haven't used it much....Not sure why it is starting to fail. I can tell you that it will DISCHARGE a pack fully, but it will not fully CHARGE a pack. May have to check into this Miniron

Where did you guys get the Miniron Mobil Plus????

erikpmort

My Feedback: (52)

accucycle. unless you want to be charging forever

yarom

My Feedback: (82)

Send it to Tower with a complaint. Likely they will replace it for you with a new one...

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

A charger made by the same people as the Triton, but head and shoulders better for the same price, is a Duratrax ICE.

Better construction
No PB, but higher current NiMh, NiCd, and LiPo/LiIon (10 Amp charge, 8 Amp discharge, adjustable in 100mA increments)
Much larger screen
Much better battery data
10 memory
Can set peak sensitivity for each battery memory (triton is univeral... 1 setting for all... bad)
Graphs the charging process on the screen... BEAUTIFUL. You can actually see the peak coming. I found several bad charging leads with the graph as well.
Can set ZEROPEAK... stops batteries just BEFORE peak... better for batts.
Same temp probe as Triton
No backlight... wish it had that.

Overall... hands down better. I have both.

Check it out... beautiful unit!

erikpmort

My Feedback: (52)

but not as good as charging 2 at the same time

sillyness

My Feedback: (25)

Depends on your setup.

I fly Fromeco LiIons for RXs and NiMh for TX and Ignition. My 2700 TX pack gets charged once every 1-2 months. My ignition gets charged every couple flying days. Don't need two chargers.

I use a Fromeco ION cube for LiIons. I can charge 5 LiIon/LiPo batteries at once (gasser plus 3 Foamy or Heli packs) with data for each battery. Top that!

CAPtain232

My Feedback: (40)

Do you have a separate charger for the NiMH or does the ION CUBE do those, too?

erikpmort

My Feedback: (52)

congrats you've spent the most money

Panzlflyer

My Feedback: (15)

Hughes Spectra does it all X 4 independant ports...limited to 1amp each tho.
It has menus in english unlike some.

rtn9105

My Feedback: (35)

I have the Triton which I really like, if your having problems with your packs not fully charging you might try charging them at a lower amp setting. I've noticed expecially with the NiMH packs if I try to charge them to fast (to high of a amp setting) the charger gets a false peak but if I charge them at a lower setting they fully charge.

I also use the Hobbico quick field charger http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCTZ5&P=ML
which I think is the best deal you can get. It can charge two packs at the same time, it will charge Nicad, NiMH, and Lipo packs, or any combo at the same time, you can adjust the current separately on both packs that are being charged, it's pretty compact so it's easy to take along to the field and best of all it's under $50. It won't discharge/cycle but if your using NiMH or Lipo packs you don't have to worry about that anyway and like you said your Triton still does that fine

CAPtain232

My Feedback: (40)

I have tried all sorts of different things to see if it is the batteries or the charger....one thing I have been doing is charging at lower current rates (1/2C) and the problem still exists even with newer batteries.

Panzlflyer

My Feedback: (15)

check your charge leads. Bad leads show up on charge more often than not as the charger needs to see the correct voltage thru them.
Many mystery charger problems are caused by the breakdown of the cheap Hobbico type leads.
I have resorted to making my own outa HD servo leads 24" or less.
The longer the lead the worse the charge.

chrisF test pilot

Had a Triton and hated it, it would false peak on nimh packs constantly and wouldnt charge my li-ions all the way up. Best bang for the buck charger I have seen is the Multiplex LN5014, several guys I fly with use it and love them. Almost bought one but ended up buying the Schulze 6-330, was more expensive then everything else but will charge every battery type you will ever use and is firmware upgradeable for new types. Also has a second output, while only good for up to 330mah is good for trickle charginf Rx packs while you are charging something else. Really comes in handy trying to form charge new nimh packs. Also have never used a charger that is as consistent as this one in charging packs.

As for charging at a lower rate, Schulze recommends charging nimh and nicd packs at minimum .8C or the peak detection may not trip due to the way the packs peak out and how it is detected. It uses similar peak detection as most chargers so should apply to any situation.