A123Racing Charger Questions

A123Racing Charger Questions
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A123Racing Charger Questions - 8/25/2006 3:41:27 PM

A123 Racing

Posts: 101
Joined: 8/25/2006
From: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Status: offline

Hello RC Universe, please use this forum for any questions regarding the Sonic Charge battery charger, or general charging questions for our batteries.

Brian

Post #: 1

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 8/31/2006 5:58:14 PM

gniessen

Posts: 78
Joined: 12/26/2001
From: Sugar Land, TX, USA
Status: offline

Does the charger always fast charge? Or is there a way to switch it from fast to slow? How long is a slow charge on a 2300mAh pack? How long is fast?

_____________________________

Gordon
Electric (Clean, Quiet, Smart)

(in reply to A123 Racing)

Post #: 2

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 8/31/2006 7:13:01 PM

Thundermaxx1

Posts: 2
Joined: 8/30/2006
From: Wellford, SC, USA
Status: offline

That depends on how low the batts are.

(in reply to gniessen)

Post #: 3

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 8/31/2006 7:35:13 PM

gniessen

Posts: 78
Joined: 12/26/2001
From: Sugar Land, TX, USA
Status: offline

Assuming 100% DOD.

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Gordon
Electric (Clean, Quiet, Smart)

(in reply to Thundermaxx1)

Post #: 4

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 9/6/2006 11:53:40 PM

A123 Racing

Posts: 101
Joined: 8/25/2006
From: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Status: offline

Hello Gniessen,

The Charger always fast chargers the packs. There is no slow charge setting. When you pug a battery and the balancer into the charger it detects what type of pack it is and begins to charge it at 10A. Near the completion of the charge cycle you will see the green charging light begin to blink. This means that the charger is balancing the cells in the pack and it is almost finished. This last step may take a little bit longer the first time you charge a pack. Assuming 100% DOD you can expect the Hypersonic 2300 6.6V and the Hypersonic 2300 9.9V to charge in about 15 minutes. The Hypersonic 4600 6.6V will take roughly 30 minutes.

If you have any more questions please ask.

Brian

(in reply to gniessen)

Post #: 5

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 9/11/2006 10:00:35 PM

DHC8GURU

Posts: 72
Joined: 2/11/2005
From: ARLINGTON, TX, USA
Status: offline

CAN YOU USE A STANDARD LITHIUM ION CHARGER(SCHULTZ ISL)?

(in reply to A123 Racing)

Post #: 6

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 9/12/2006 2:46:30 AM

A123 Racing

Posts: 101
Joined: 8/25/2006
From: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Status: offline

Question: Can you use a standard charger: Shulze ISL.

We do not reccomend use of any other charger except our Sonic Charge system. There are three advantages to using our charger.

1) It charges the pack to the proper 3.6V/cell that is needed for our packs.
2) It properly balances the packs during charge.
3) It charges at 10 amsp for a charge in as little as 15 minutes.

There are some charger manufacturers that have incorperated our charging voltage into their software. Because these chargers do not have the ability to balance the packs we suggest that you use them at your own risk.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Brian

(in reply to DHC8GURU)

Post #: 7

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 9/30/2006 12:55:53 PM

hotgluedheli

Posts: 10
Joined: 8/4/2003
From: Honolulu, HI, USA
Status: offline

Hello Brian, I wanted to know if the sonic charger is already cabable of charging a 4 s pack? I opened up my sonic charger and examined the sensor connector and it looks like the middle pin is connected to the circuit. If the only problem is a thermal one I could easily just run a fan on it to keep it cool under the heavier load. I know that I would be doing that at my own risk and void the warranty obviously. I just wanted to know if it would be possible or would it definitely not work or damage the charger. Thanks

(in reply to A123 Racing)

Post #: 8

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 10/3/2006 9:08:11 PM

A123 Racing

Posts: 101
Joined: 8/25/2006
From: Hopkinton, MA, USA
Status: offline

Hello hotglue,

The Sonic Charge system was designed to be a 3S charger. It cannot be modified to do a 4S charge. If you are looking for a 4S pack I would recommend using two of our Hypersonic 2300 (2S1P) packs and stringing them together in series.

Keep the questions coming,

Brian

(in reply to hotgluedheli)

Post #: 9

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 10/25/2006 4:43:29 PM

NitroSpazzz

Posts: 42
Joined: 4/21/2003
From: Menomonie, WI, USA
Status: offline

I am looking at using a 10 cell a123 pack out of a dewalt power pack for powering my new Aerial Photography platform. What would be the best charging system in this case?

Thanks

(in reply to A123 Racing)

Post #: 10

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 11/15/2006 11:45:36 PM

OCR99

Posts: 43
Joined: 7/13/2004
From: PLOVER, WI, USA
Status: offline

is it harder on batteries than slow charge
Rick

(in reply to A123 Racing)

Post #: 11

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 11/25/2006 4:09:14 AM

everydayflyer

Posts: 892
Joined: 8/21/2005
From: Buchanan, GA, USA
Status: offline

What is the resting voltage of a 3 cell pack 30 minutes after charging?
If it is indeed 10.8 volts then what voltage is the charge terminated at?

< Message edited by everydayflyer -- 11/25/2006 12:58:16 PM >

(in reply to OCR99)

Post #: 12

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 11/26/2006 4:32:11 AM

Marv829

Posts: 28
Joined: 5/23/2004
From: Worthington, IA, USA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: everydayflyer

What is the resting voltage of a 3 cell pack 30 minutes after charging?
If it is indeed 10.8 volts then what voltage is the charge terminated at?

I read this and forgot I had a 3s pack on the A123Sonic charger for ~1.5hrs. I took it off and measured 10.98v. 30min later I measured 10.97v. 60min later that pack still reads 10.96v! I had another 3s pack charging during that time and took it off when it was finished. It measured 10.95v and 30min later measured 10.38v. The A123Sonic charger will keep repeaking the pack if you leave it connected.

I wish the Sonic charger would charge my 3s1p packs in ~15min like it does my 2s1p packs. With the software in it now, it takes ~25min. Maybe it's a wattage limit but during the charge it only averages 58w with peaks of around 80w at start. The A123 site states 108w max for the Sonic.

These are by far the best batteries I have owned for my trucks. The balancing charger is the icing on the cake.

(in reply to everydayflyer)

Post #: 13

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 11/26/2006 2:46:18 PM

everydayflyer

Posts: 892
Joined: 8/21/2005
From: Buchanan, GA, USA
Status: offline

Thanks for the numbers.,Marv829

I use A123s in aircraft and RC Truck, I use other chargers and balancers as it provides versatility
Below is a paste from one of my post at RC Groups.

quote:

At a resting of 10.3 volts( 3.43 per cell avg.) I added 40 mAh and voltage reached 11.72 and was 11.30 resting right after charge.(3.766 avg. per cell)
After 15 min. 11.08
After 30 minutes 11.04 volts (3.68 avg. per cell)

Dsicharged 100 mAh and resting voltage after 15 minutes 10.05 (3.35 avg. per cell).

100 mAh is 4-5% nonimal capacity of a full (?) pack.

Toped off a with 110 mAh./ balanced durning top off.
Cells 3.751 / 3.746 / 3.770
After resting for 15 min.
Cells 3.683 / 3.668 / 3.697

< Message edited by everydayflyer -- 11/26/2006 2:48:16 PM >

(in reply to Marv829)

Post #: 14

RE: A123Racing Charger Questions - 11/26/2006 3:25:30 PM

Marv829

Posts: 28
Joined: 5/23/2004
From: Worthington, IA, USA
Status: offline

Update: I measured my packs today from the charge they had recieved last night. The first pack is still at 10.87v, pack two at 10.24v, pack three at 10.23v and pack four at 10.57v.

(in reply to everydayflyer)