Does anyone have experience with the Hobbico Accu-Cycle Tx/Rx Battery Cycler from tower hobbies? Would you recommend it. What types of problems might you have if you don't cycle the batteries? My JR xf631 radio has a readout of the transmitter battery voltage. What voltage should my reciever batteries read on a voltmeter before they need charged?

I have a Hobbico charger/cycler that seems to work on Xmitter and RX batteries. I do believe it is too costly to justify its use. It is not useful for charging and recycling airborne battery packs for electric flight. For just a bit more you can buy a Hitec 335 that will operate from a regular 12V auto battery. One of the drawbacks is that it cannot operate from regular house current. I bought an Astro Flight power pack so that I can use the 335 at home. Total $75 for the power pack and $90 for the 335. Just a bit more than the Accu-cycle but I have the capacity to charge 1-24 cells both at home and at the field. Hitec recommends that the Xmitter battery be removed from the Xmitter for charging due to the diode protection built in. To discharge the Xmitter battery to a safe level you can get a little gadget named the Gecko for about $10. That should take care of all your battery needs. Most BEC battery ESC have a motor cutoff at 4.8 V which will give you control even after the electric motor quits. Most Xmitters are designed to operate from 9.6 V. If your readout is much less you should start the recharge. Most Xmitter batteries will show 10.5 V or so immeditely after recharge.

Hi thordoggydog,

I have a Hobbico Accu Cycler pro series. After recycling my new batteries, and being recharged wasn't showing full capacity of the pack. A 800ma pack would be 550ma. A friend of mine has the same charger also, and he is having the same problem.
I also have a Hi-Tec field cycler that I haven't used yet. It requires a 12 volt high amp source. You connect it to a car battery.
Ace (acerc.com) makes a good cycler also. There should be some good chargers out there.
Recyclers aren't cheep they cost over $100 to over $300.
The cost of a $150 recycler will out weigh the loss of an airplane due to a bad battery. A recycler will alert you by the reading on the unit in ma., and the inability to charge the battery pack.
You can also use a Expanded Scale Voltmeeter(ESV) to check your flight pack. The meter has a built in load that simulates a servo load.
Flyers in the club I belong to has save planes from recycleing the batteries, and finding a bad cell in the pack.
By normal charging that cell wouldn't have been found, and the plane would have crashed from low voltage.

A cell shouldn't be less that 1.1 volt per cell min. in a 4 cell pack would be 4.4 volts. A 4.8 volt pack has 4 cell pack at 1.2 volt per cell is a total of 4.8 volts


This site Radical R/C www.radicalrc.com I found on a website they have lot of information on chargers and battery care. (they make batteries and chargers and other r/c items) that they were getting a lot of battery returned to them as bad batteries. They retested the batteries with thier charger, and found that the battery was good. All the batteries that were returned they retested were recycled on a Hobbico recycler.
They said that the Hobbico wasn't calibrated right before shipped to the customers.
After you enter the web site scroll down to, and click on

RETURNS and MORE GOOD READING ON CYCLING about 2/3 down the page.

Hope this helps and answers you question,

rcflyer

Look up FMA Direct on the net or get their catalog. They have a cycler/charger that won't require a mortgage to buy. They have always been a pretty reliable company.

Is anyone familiar with the Super Brain 969 by MRC?
it's price seems somewhat reasonable because it can be used either with a home outlet or at the field
i mainly fly gassers with Nicds but am interested in electrics with the new li-poly cells and this charger can also charge lithiums does anyone have experience with this??