Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained  
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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Batteries & Chargers >> Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained
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Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 6/26/2003 9:29:11 PM   
Bax


 

Posts: 12619
Joined: 4/26/2002
From: Champaign, IL, USA
Status: offline 		There's been a lot of misunderstanding about the Peak Delay at Start function. Here's how it works:


Triton’s PEAK DELAY AT START function is explained on page 14 of the manual as follows:

“4. PEAK DELAY AT START: During the early moments of fast charge a battery’s voltage can temporarily be unstable which can cause some peak chargers to prematurely terminate fast charge. Delaying the time at which Triton’s peak detection circuitry is activated at the beginning of fast charge can help to avoid this situation. Select a peak delay time, which ranges from 0 to 60 minutes. Typically, a delay of no longer than 3 to 5 minutes is necessary. A delay time of 0 minutes effectively disables this function.”

To clarify the exact operation of this function:

Triton actually uses TWO techniques for checking NiCd and NiMH batteries for full charge. For every minute during fast charge, by watching the charge current readings on Triton’s display you can see that current is applied to the battery for a period of 55 seconds, and then this current suddenly goes to zero for 5 seconds. This process happens repeatedly during the charge process.

During the 55 second intervals WHILE current is being delivered, Triton is rapidly checking the battery’s voltage looking for it to “peak”. This is true “peak detection”.

During the 5 second intervals when current is NOT being delivered, Triton quickly measures and records the battery’s open voltage. This is NOT “peak detection”.

When the PEAK DELAY AT START function is active (the actual charge time is LESS than the time setting in the PEAK DELAY AT START screen), Triton’s “peak detection” function is DISABLED. Meaning, Triton is NOT checking for voltage “peaks” during the 55 second intervals. However, Triton IS STILL checking and storing the battery’s open voltage during the 5 second intervals. And, IF the battery’s open voltage has dropped for three 5-second intervals in a row (over 3 minutes of time), it is an indication that the battery may be bad or fully charged already. Here, Triton will automatically RE-ACTIVATE the “peak detection” function - even if the time setting in the PEAK DELAY AT START function has not expired. This is so Triton can immediately begin checking the true condition of the battery while under load and end fast charge if necessary.

Triton’s dual-detection charging and safety systems are the state-of-the-art in providing advanced charging and protection for NiCd and NiMH batteries.

_____________________________

Bill Baxter, Manager Hobby Services/Futaba Service/North America
3002 N. Apollo Dr. Ste. 1 Champaign, IL 61822 USA
Service Phone: 217 398-0007
Email: hobbyservices@hobbico.com
       Post #: 1

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 6/27/2003 4:03:33 PM   
rcamp


 

Posts: 106
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Raleigh, NC, USA
Status: offline 		Bax, there's something here I don't get. During the 55 second period the Triton is applying current, how can it check the battery's voltage. The voltage being applied by the Triton has to be greater than the voltage of the battery in order to get a charge current flowing into the battery. If the voltage is checked during this process, the voltage being measured is the voltage of the Triton, not the battery.

BTW, I'm having troubles with my Triton. When set on cycle with NiMH it indicates it is gets more out than it puts in. This sometimes happens with NiCd also. I've done this with a cycle count of 5 and each time it will indicate it discharged in the neighborhood of 1200 mA and on the charge cycle it put in only 1000 mA. And this happens for all 5 cycles. So how can it be consistently getting out more than it puts in????

I've worked with the Triton for 2 months now, PS is a 25 amp unit and I keep running into anomolies like this. I'm not very confident that the Triton is doing what it says. I'm considering going back to something that makes more sense and return the Triton.

_____________________________

Robert Camp

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 2

No Faith in Triton - 6/28/2003 5:50:39 AM   
acroguy



Posts: 38
Joined: 7/27/2002
From: Port Orange, FL, USA
Status: offline 		I also have a Triton and have been trying to get some sort of confidence that the NiMH batteries I am trying to charge are indeed fully charged. I discharge a 2700, 5 cell pack and get a discharge reading of about 2000 mah. When I charge it at .5 or 1.0 or 2.0 amps the Triton shuts down anywhere from 500 to 1200 mah. I tried every setting, Peak Sensitivity set to 15mv, maximun charge to 3000 mah, time set to 999 min.
I've tried new & old batteries, 4 & 5 cell, 2150 & 2700 mah, still no luck.
It charges Nicad's just fine, but certainly not NiMH's
I finally gave up and sent the thing back to Great Planes last week.
It's a shame you spend good money for a product that is suppose to handle all your battery needs and it won't charge the battery.
Let's see if Great Planes find anything wrong!!

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 3

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 6/28/2003 7:38:58 AM   
tunnelvishon


 

Posts: 214
Joined: 2/23/2003
From: St. Catharines, ON, CANADA
Status: offline 		I've had my triton for several months now, charging NMH and nicads with no problems at all. Maybe you just got a "bad" one. I do however check the temp of the batteries at the end of peak charging...if they are warm and the full amount didn't go into them I would wonder more about the batteries than the triton. Good luck either way.

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 4

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 6/28/2003 10:56:38 AM   
YZ-212


 

Posts: 33
Joined: 4/29/2003
From: Tucson, AZ
Status: offline 		I too have the triton and to this date it has served me well. I charge nmh, nicads and lipos and haven't had any problems with any of them. I use an astroflight power supply rated at 13.5 amps. I use memory setting for all my charging and haven't used the auto setting. I feel confident that mine is doing it's job. Maybe you just happen to get a lemon.

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 5

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 6/30/2003 6:49:04 AM   
rcamp


 

Posts: 106
Joined: 5/23/2003
From: Raleigh, NC, USA
Status: offline 		I have some other questions that need explanation also. I just charged a NiCd that was only partially discharged. Settings; 4 cell, 1100 mA, charge current .2, safety timer 360, peak sensitivity 10mV/cell.

While charging I measured the charge current with a Flucke 85 and Micronita and got .233 A and .23 a respectfully. So the first problem is the very high variance in the reported and actual charge rates, 15% error.

At the end of the charge the Triton reported 118 min charge time and 372 mAh charge. This too doesn't compute.

118/120 * .2 = 393 mAh
118/120 * .23 = 458 mAh.

If I correct further for the 5 seconds out of 60 it's not charging;

118/120 * .2 * (55/60) = 360 mAh.
118/120 * .233 * (55/60) = 420 mAh

The error here is either 3% or 13% depending on whether I use the displayed or actual charge rates.

_____________________________

Robert Camp

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 6

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 7/3/2003 11:38:53 PM   
Bax


 

Posts: 12619
Joined: 4/26/2002
From: Champaign, IL, USA
Status: offline 		rcamp: You might want to check your settings to see why the charger appears to be putting in less charge than it reads during a discharge.

As far as reading a voltage, when a charger is connected to a battery pack, the voltage reading across the pack is ALWAYS the battery pack's voltage. You are reading the voltage drop across the pack. The voltage of a charger in an open circuit condition is only the potential. The difference between the voltage potential of the charger and the voltage potential of the battery pack determines the charge current. The current is the critical figure, not the apparent voltage readings.

During charge, the Triton charger can monitor the battery packs voltage. As it charges, the pack should climb in voltage until it reaches the peak, where a small dip will happen, or it will just level out. This dip or levelling is noted by the Triton charger and peak charge commences.

During the "off" times, the battery pack's voltage is also checked. If the "off" time voltage is unchanged during three consecutive checks, then charging is cut off. It should climb, also, during charge, unless the pack's charged.

_____________________________

Bill Baxter, Manager Hobby Services/Futaba Service/North America
3002 N. Apollo Dr. Ste. 1 Champaign, IL 61822 USA
Service Phone: 217 398-0007
Email: hobbyservices@hobbico.com

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 7

Triton Peak Delay at Start Explained - 7/3/2003 11:52:02 PM   
Bax


 

Posts: 12619
Joined: 4/26/2002
From: Champaign, IL, USA
Status: offline 		While all of the Triton chargers we've checked have not been off by more than few percent, we'd not worry about small variances at the low end of the scale.

It's not unlikely for the Triton charger to have some variance at the low end of the scale. 200mA charge rate is considered quite low, especially if you're working with large packs.

If the pack is being charged to its peak, and the pack is good, the slight variance wouldn't be considered a problem.

_____________________________

Bill Baxter, Manager Hobby Services/Futaba Service/North America
3002 N. Apollo Dr. Ste. 1 Champaign, IL 61822 USA
Service Phone: 217 398-0007
Email: hobbyservices@hobbico.com

(in reply to Bax)
       Post #: 8

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