Donnie7

I need to know what brand is the best 120 volt and 12 volt charger. Ive seen prices from $30 to $180 dollars. Which one gives you the most bang for the bucks.
Donnie

Pathogens

My Feedback: (1)

Triton or Accu ellite


Super Brain 969 clamins it can handle lipos, but it doesnt auto shut off.. stear clear..

FlyingFish

My Feedback: (17)

Triton is by far the safest and most efficient Lipo / Nicad / Nicle metal hydrade battery charger around. However you will need to purchase a seperate 120v/12v power supply if you want to use AC house current.

VinceHerman

120VAC to 12VDC regulated supplies are almost free. Do you have an old computer laying around? Pull out the power supply. The yellow and black wires are 12 volts. Some supplies require a load to keep the 12v line active. An old hard drive plugged in works. I have heard of others using a CPU fan to load the line. I use this for my $49 Apache 2500 1-4 cell LiPo charger.

ChopperMike

That's easy, Astroflite 109. It does a better job than the Triton and handles more cells and charge current, certainly better than the Hobbico Quick Charger MKII I have.


Mike

Donnie7

Choppermike,
Where can I find some info on the Astroflite 109.
Thanks
Donnie

ChopperMike

Here's the info on the 109.

http://www.astroflight.com/e/env/000...roducts:af-109


I've had mine since last summer and I'm very happy with it.


Mike

Donnie7

Thanks guys,
It seems its a toss up between the Astroflite 109, and the Great planes triton. The triton charges more than lipo but the astro charges more cells. Hmmmmm. It would be nice to find one with both 120vac and 12vdc inputs and handle lipo multi cells and the nicads. Maybe I want too much. I have a Apogee 11.1v 5160mah on the way for my Corona120 just ordered. So far the astroflight 109 is the best choice. Anyone know of something better let me know!!
Donnie

ChopperMike

One of the reasons I got the 109 is I already had 2 other chargers that will do NiCad and NiMH so it didn't matter that the 109 is a LiPo only charger. Plus I will eventually be flying larger electrics and need the capabilities of the 109. The 109 will charge at up to 8 amps, though it's derated at the higher cell count to 5A, I think.

As mentioned an old computer power supply works good as a source for your charger. You can also find switching power supplies pretty cheap. I've seen one at a hobby shop I go to that is rated for 10A and was only around $45.


Mike

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

I used to think that the triton was the best but the triton is second now that the Astro Flight is around I had a triton but it sucked on large lipo's because it only goes to 2.5 amps but the 109 can go as high as 8 amps so now I can charge my 6000mah lipo in one hour instead of four.I would say get the 109 it is the best.

onesillyhatch

My Feedback: (1)

I was warned repeatedly not to charge Li polys too fast, if you are charging a 6000 in an hour you might be getting false peaks. Check the charge at a slow rate and see if you get the same flight time. Most told me the Triton is the better of the chargers, speed is nice but isn't always the best for the batteries.

Moe3754

My Feedback: (14)

I have been doing this for three years and I have 30 years as a electrician so I think that I know what I am doing,as far as battery's and chargers go.

Donnie7

Anyone heard of this one. Specs say it can handle 1-8 cells.
Super Brain 969 Pro - AC/DC 120V / 12V source Lithium charger
http://www.helihobby.com/html/chargers.html
Donnie

ChopperMike

You can't have a false peak with a lithium battery, at least not in the true sense. When charging a lithium battery the voltage doesn't peak and then fall off slightly like other battery types. They're charged until the voltage is 4.2V/cell. True, if you try to charge them at too high a current, more than 1C, the charger will shut off too soon. However if the battery is not fully discharged it may very well take less than an hour to charge. Fully discharged it will certainly take more than an hour to charge, unlike a NiCad or NiMH which a linear charge.

Several guys at my field use the Triton, it definitely doesn't do as good a job on LiPo's as the 109. The charge gets weird towards the end of the cycle on the Triton. My 109 will pulse the output checking to see what the voltage is stabilizing at. The Triton does this by shutting off the charge current for quite some time while it checks this. As a result it takes a lot longer to finish off the battery once it gets close. And of course the 109 will charge more cells, 9 total, and at a higher current, 8 amps (dereated above 5 cells I believe).


Mike

Pathogens

My Feedback: (1)

I really dont know why someone that has a super brain 969 and have tried to charge a lipo and hurt themselves or others dont sue the crap out of MRC and get them to stop saying that the 969 is a lipo charger..

The 969 will charge lipos, BUT, it will not shut off properly. You will overcharge your batteries and they will explode with the 969..It is not recommended to use this charger for anything other than nicad,nimh.

Donnie7

Wow,,, not cool Pathogens, Thanks for the input. Thats a mistake I don't need to make
Donnie

Donnie7

Anyone know where to buy the astro flight 109. Tower hobbies is out
Donnie

Donnie7

Never mind,,,I ordered from the factory
Donnie