mart242

Maybe to charge 14.4v + cordless drill batteries? (could you do that? is it how these batteries work?)

MoJoe

ok my battery was false peak coz of my power source was not good... i update my review

p.s there is a "secret" menu that is not mentioned in the instructions....

when you are not charging, press and hold "battery" (the first button) and it will show you the Input Volt and then output Volt and then press + or - you will see how much amps the charger has charged or discharged...

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Monster trucks, most have running 12 cells or more. I don't have any boats that use over 8 cells, but some use 12 or more.

shford

My Feedback: (27)

Red,
I purchased this charger based on your recommendations. I am happy with it. One question. I just read the review of this charger in MAN. The author states that NiMH batteries should be charged at 2C and NiCads at 3C. Are this numbers correct?
Sam

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

I'll be interested in Red's comment. Based on my limited experience charging NiMh packs, it depends on the cells. I charge my "high discharge" NiMh's at 2C and some of the low discharge cells at 1C. I think it depends on the internal resistance of the cell. However, I have never charged NiMh over 2C.

MoJoe

hi was wondering if anyone had problems with cycle mode?

as mentioned in a previose post, the voltage cannot be set by the user when discharging in cycle mode.... i was cycling a 5cell 2500mah NIMH RX pack..... and was watching the voltage drop well below 4.6volts... it went to around 3.8volts and would of went further if i had not stopped it manually.... anyone had this problem?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Those would be good general guidelines for a "max" setting.

MoJoe

i was charging 1800mah nicad at 5amps thats at 2.78C and i could hear the cells leaking gas.....[>:]

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

Since I started this thread my only real complaint is that there is no trickle charge for Ni-MH batteries. It bugs me enough that I will probably sell the charger. All my batteries except for two are Ni-MH. I don’t understand how someone could manufacturer such a nice little unit but neglect a trickle feature for Ni-MH batteries.

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

Mine trickle charges in either NiCad or NiMH charge modes.

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

My charger automatically switches to trickle charge mode after finishing a fast charge for either NiCd or NiNh.

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

Well all I can say is both you and Texan must have the only two with a trickle for Ni-MH batteries because mine does not have than feature. I spoke with Tony @ HiTec support on 9/1/05 and he confirmed by stating that the trickle feature for Ni-MH batteries is disabled.

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

I just charged an 8 cell pack of GP 1100 NiMh @ 2A. The charger completed the charge and automatically switched to a "trickle" rate if 100mA.

Texan

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

I'll try it again tonight at a higher charge rate and see what happens. Maybe my charge rate is being set too low.

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

I just charged an 8 cell 700AH NiMh pack @ .7A and the charger did not show a trickle charge. I'm not sure if it is the display or actually not trickle charging. I may put a meter in-line to check.

Texan

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

If the charger is NOT showing a trickle rate then it is just sitting there trying to look pretty. I'm sure that there has to be a minimum charge rate for the trickle to kick in. I'm just not sure what the charge rate minimum is.

MoJoe

I CHARGED a 2500mah rx pack over night at 100mah ... it would not go into trickle mode..

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

I'd suggest this is to be suspected @ 100mA. Most trickle chargers are rated C/10 of the battey in play. 100mA represents .1A apparently there is not sufficent voltage/current to cause a delta peak.

I charged my batteries @ 1A, subsequent to the peak a 50mA trickle starts.

I spoke to Tony Ohm at Hitec Servie this afternoon, he said he would he would look into this further but was of the understanding trickle was not a feature with NiMH.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

The delta peak in NiMH batteries is much smaller than NiCd, especially when the charge current is smaller, or the battery temperature is increased (during overcharge). NiMH packs also tend to peak better after several charge/discharge cycles. So, for the formation charge and first few charges, it is safer to use C/10 and terminate manually after 16 hours. I also find that some cells peak better than others, e.g my 2300mah pack delta peaks better than the 1100mah pack.

RCP57

My Feedback: (25)

Well I did a little experimenting this evening with one of my 2600 Sub-C Ni-MH battery packs. Any charge rate under 1A and there was no trickle after peak detection. However, at a 1A charge rate a 50ma trickle charge kicked in at the end of the peak charge. I humbly stand corrected.

mglavin
It would be nice if someone put the specs for the trickle in the manual for people like me who just don’t experiment on a regular basis.

Texan

My Feedback: (10)

Mike,

Thanks for your observations and report. I learned something new about my charger.

Later,
Texan

crazymustang

yes, jim you are not alone, i share the same situation as you are, there is no current setting for Lipo on this LN-5014, i have been using triton and hobbico accu cyler, for a 2000mah battery pack, i could set the charge current to 1C and the charging time is around 60 minutes to fully charge the batter, and when i set the charge current to 1/2 C (i.e. 1000mA) then it takes about 2 hour to fully charge . with this LN-5014, i am not sure where/how i could adjust the charging current. it only allows you to adjust the capacity based on the battery pack. This is somewhat confusing.

another area of confusion is the battery output voltage reading, the other chargers (trition and hobbico) wud show the actual battery voltage when you plug in the batterypack , for instance, i have a fully discharged pack of 2 cell, the voltage reading in triton would show 7.5v or 7.6 v.. but the LN-5014 would show 8.35v to 8.39 and it would reach 8.401 V in a few minutes, and then stop charging. !!!

i received the charger few weeks ago, and just opened up the box this morning, and was not able to charge my 2 cell battery, cos the voltage shows 3.95 v, and it goes up to 8.401 v in 2 minutes and stop !! then i switch the battery pack to hobbico charger and it start charging normally !!! the voltage starts at 7.5v and rise up ton 8.4v after approx an hour when the charge current was set to 1C.

Also, i could not get my answer from the 2 sheet manual. everything sucks with this LN-5014.

does Mike Glavin have any input to clarify this ??? or any input from other users to help me understand how to work with this charger ??

it has a beautiful appearance, no doubt !!

thanks in advance


crazymustang !

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

FWIW: Drawing comparison on functionality of one charger to another is always going to be futile as each OEM broaches requirements and procedure from their own perspective. And then there is consideration for the origin of the charger, in the case of the MPX LN-5014 is of Germany technology while the others you note are of Asian assent.

1) Pack and power supply voltage is displayed when you depress the "Battery Type/Stop" button.

2) You can change the charge rate by manipulating the capacity of the battery under charge. The LN-5014 defaults to a charge rate of 1C for Lithium. If you read through earlier posts you’ll note we discussed same previously.

3) The voltage display you noted (8.34-8.39) is the voltage the battery is seeing under load. The charger terminated at 8.40V as it should. Can’t offer any input an why it was not fully charged as if it actually realized 8.40v and terminated its charged. It’s possible the MPX LN-5014 believes there is a problem when you introduce a two cell pack with a static voltage of 3.95V, it likely assumed user input error and terminated charge for safety sake.

MPX coupled the charge rate with capacity to prevent user charge rate input errors for safety concerns. With capacity linked to chare rates two safety features are in play, first the charge is terminated if the charger input exceeds the battery capacity selected and secondly charge rate is a 1C factor of the mA capacity of the battery under charge. There really is no need to manipulate the charge rate.

crazymustang

thanks Michael for your quick response, you have answered my question on charge rate, i.e. default 1C and could not be manipulated, so i will live with this default charge rate for lipo.

however, still wud like you to clarify the voltage reading, first of all, it was my typing mistake, what i mean was 8.395 volt (not 3.95 v sorry !!) The battery pack i want to charge was a 2 cell-700mah, and it was likely 80% discharged, cos i hv flown it for 15 minutes until when ESC voltage cut off. i measure the voltage from normal voltmeter, and it reads somewhere around 7.1volt. Then i plug this pack into the LN-5014 and it read 8.39volt, and start charging at 1C (700mA) within 2 minutes, the voltage rise to 8.40, and mAH was around 15mah and it stopped, i tried few times, its about the same. Then i took the pack back to my hobbico charger ( i do not mean to compare different brands, but just trying to tell you what i did ) , when i press start, the voltage reads around 7.0 volts, and start charging at 1C (700mA) then it was charging healthily !!!, the charge process last about 50 minutes and completed with a voltage reading of 8.401 v and capacity 650 mAH, my battery pack is now fully charged and ready to go.

i then tested other lipo batteris, 2cell 700mah, and 3cell 700mah, and 2 cell 1300mah, as well as Nimh 8cell-2300mah, and found that this charger is not able to charge any of these lipo, cos it just ended charging within 15 minutes with feeding capacity no more than 40 to 50 mah. as far as the 8 cell nimh goes, it last about 30 minutes and feed about 200 mAh and stopped, then i took all these batteries back to my hobbico charger, they all work fine and feed enough juice in the expected period of time.

Also, my 8cell nimh pack is measured at 9.28 volt at normal voltmeter, and once plug into the LN-5014, it read 13.46volts.

It looks to me that this charger keeps telling me that your battery packs are not hungry, no need to feed them juice !!!!

can you please help me to understand better , am i not knowing how to use the LN-5014 or do i need to send back for a check up ?? appreciate if you could advise me. many thanks , Crazy mustang[]

mglavin

My Feedback: (31)

What kind of power source are you using?

If I follow, your having problems with every battery you've attempted to charge? And your noting disparaging voltage values as compared to other devices.