dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

I am relitivly new to rc electric. I have recently purched a towers 420 charger on e-bay cheap, however it did not come with instructions as I believe they are on the box. and it did not come with the origanal box I was wandering if some one would send them to me via e-mail or post as an attatchment on here or prhaps just tell me how to use it.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJC34&P=7

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Pretty much what is in the comments is what is needed and on the box.

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

am I reading this right . The charge rate is 5A. I bought this charger to charge my pack on a rc18t. stock NiMH If I am thinking right I should not use this charger for NiMH batterys

If so what charger should I get.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

You are correct, the rate is 5 amps and is ok for nimh, but not ok for the small 2/3A cells in your 1/18.

A digital piranha would be a nice choice

dalolyn

My Feedback: (7)

Thats what I thought. I am rather new to electrics. I have been involved with nitro RC for over 20 yrs. only in the past few months have I started to get into electric. I take it that with a quick charger it will still take over an hour to charge the 2/3a size cells

guver

My Feedback: (325)

No, not nessecarily. It will depend on the rate used. A 1C rate (capacity times 1) would be about an hour for a dead batt.

A max charge rate of 2C on the 2/3A cells will charge in half that time because the rate is doubled and that's about max for a small cell because of temperature. If your batt happens to be a 1100 nimh then a 2 amp rate is considered max and the dig piranha will go up to 3 amps. If I was in a real pinch I may charge at 3 amps, but 5 amps is too fast.

dedvw

I am looking to order a charger and was also looking at the 420. Is this charger ok for the money or are there better buys for the buck?

Thanks

TampaRCGuy

My Feedback: (282)

The notes from the Towers tech people are dated 1994. It is a very old, very limited charger.

I am only familiar with the more technology advanced chargers such as the e-Station line, Multiplex, Orbit, ect... Generally they start at $80 and up. But, they are chargers that do multi chemistry such as nicad, nimh, lead acid, and Lithium.

decay

Im only familiar with more advanced technology chargers too. Such as Hobbico Accu-Cycle Elite, E-flite
lipo line, Mark II field charger, and B&K Precision. They typically start at around $60. Some are multi
chemistry, and some are designed for one chemistry only(usually a better charger for said chemistry)

guver

My Feedback: (325)

For $29 it is not a good deal (unless you want a timer charger) For $10 more you can get a nice peak charger that's more versatile.