Simon.O.

This is my beautiful battery discharger !
O.k so it is not beautiful but it does the job. I got the wiring diagram off the net and with a few bits I had in my project bins I set to it. Actually I began at 5.30am as I had run out of sleep and my wife was not………..never mind
It takes about 30-40mins to drop the battery to recharge level and then automatically shuts off. The lights are great as I can leave it on the bench in my workshop and see it from the house. When each pack is “flat" ( down to .9v/cell ) I roll a fag and shoot out to swap it for another pack. Over the space of an evening I can discharge and recharge my packs ready for another trip to the pond to run a couple of boats. O.k so now I have 3 boats we shall make that run a few boats.

zurhahn

looks nice. where did you get the wiring diagram? how do you make it cutoff?

Simon.O.

I haven't got the link to the site here as most of my stuff is on the work server and I of off fro another 2 weeks.
If you understand basic electronics and can solder then this can be knocked up in an hour or 2.
The basis is using a relay ( 6v for 5-7cell pack ) between the battery pack and the discharge lamps. The coil in this relay releases at 4v. That is too low for a 6 cell pack so we put a series of diodes into the positive line from battery to the relay to produce the lower coil voltage.
My one drops out at 5.15v.
I might shoot down to the station today and grab some files.

zurhahn

Ok thanks. I might try that if I can find some plans myself.