Hobby Chargers

Original chargers are 3 to 5 years old and one out of 5 chargers has died in that amount of time.

In the US the new chargers are only $30, which is super low compared to the old ones that still sell used in the $40-$50 range. Of course you have to buy a 15w 4A power supply for each charger so that could raise the price significantly if you aren't clever about how you power each charger.

The heat problem is resolved in the new charger design because power supply is not inside the charger anymore. And I'm reluctant to say the new chargers are twice as fast, but sure seems near to that. But that could also be an upgraded processor thing.

See, when I'm charging a module with an old SkyRC charger and it gets to 8.4v or 8.5v range it slows down and takes forever, but on the new charger it goes straight up to 8.7v or 8.8v and I turn the charger off. However when I hook the new charger up to a module that's stuck at 8.4v or 8.5v it goes right up to 8.7v or 8.8v in a minute or so, which tell me the old chargers are not measuring as well as the new ones are. This also explains why sometimes I've unnecessarily heated up a module trying to get a full charge.

I've even boosted the old chargers to 4.8amps while I keep the new chargers at same old 4.3amps but that doesn't seem to make any difference in how fast things charge.

 

What is the discharge power limits for this unit? It seems that most I see are only 5W discharge which really slows down the process.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

10w resistors... I've seen 15w and 20w resistors in more expensive chargers. I've also researched buying my own resistors but sourcing and good pricing escaped me, at least for now. If anyone knows a good source for low priced 30w to 70w resistors that would be ideal for 8.2v modules I'd love to get some links.

 

Could you clarify the spec of the power supply? I've checked my spare AC adapters and they don't quote a value for watts. E.g. one states input 230v 50hz 0.6A and output 12v 6A. Would that be OK for a single module using the imax b6 v2?

Thanks for your replies.

 

Oops, apologies... I meant 15volt output not watts... As for input most consumer products run at both 120v and 230v input unless it specifically says it does not.

Ideally/eco-consciouslly you'd want to have solar panels store your electricity in a 24v or 48v home power storage and then convert that down to 15v 4amp and then you don't even need to buy a power supply. And then you can also tell everyone how you're using the sun to fix your hybrid battery.

 

Lol that would be amazing, is that what you have? Think I definitely need to walk before I run...

Thanks for your help.

 

I don't have that yet... But that's the goal... I also want to one day have a solar powered gardening and tree pruning service with all electric everything so I can say it's a zero-emission sun powered service. But solar panels are expensive...

 

PriusCamper: Can you tell me what settings worked for you when charging Prius modules with your HTRC t240 charger? Did you use the "cycle" method, and if so how many times did you cycle through a discharge and charge cycle? Thanks for your help.

 

I only use the automated cycle method for final discharge of last few 10ths of a volt and use 12v 50w mixed with or just 12v 20w halogen bulbs to drain modules manually and try to draw less of a load when module voltage is low. For charging I use 4.3amps and periodically shut down chargers to let fans around pack catch up with cooling. I also don't use the delta measure for shut off because it's unreliable and basically manually shut off at 8.7volts or so and then will charge a bit more after things settle down. My current rig can discharge 7 modules while at the same time charge 7 modules.

 

100 watt resistors? Like these?

DIY Simple Arduino Discharger for IMA battery | Honda Insight Forum

 

For discharging, I think the DL24P would work great. They can handle 180W. Comes with power supply and leads. They track the mAh capacity. You can set the cutoff voltage and discharge at a set constant current or constant power. I have one that I've been using to capacity test 12V 100Ah LiFePo batteries. If you google "DL24P" you'll find it. AliExpress has the best price now at $26.84 with free shipping, but you have to wait 3+ weeks for it to arrive from China.

 

There's a used one available on Ebay right now: DL24P 180W Electronic Load Voltmeter Ammeter Battery Capacity Power USB Tester | eBay

But it says 2-200v and wondering if it can handle 240v?

 

If you mean a 240V DC battery assembly, then I doubt it. Chinese electronics don't exceed their specs in my experience. The aliexpress page has the most detailed specs and information on the product. If you mean for the AC adapter to run on 240VAC then yeah usually the power supplies can run on either 120VAC or 240VAC. It runs on 12VDC and it barely uses any power so any 12Vpower supply will do.

 

I mean the standard prius battery pack that's fully charged is 240V DC and was wondering if this device could be used to charge and discharge the entire pack, rather than individual modules. I guess not?

 

Unfortunately the specs say it only goes up to 200VDC. I suppose if you had another means to discharge down below 200V (like a light bulb) then you could use this to do the rest.

I'm using it to discharge my individual modules at 5A to speed up my cycling process since most of my hobby chargers can only discharge at 10W (about 1.2A).