Commodores Challenge

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

where is Etherow Bob, and do they still have a lifeboat gathering…obviously when this pandemic is over.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Neil

I have no idea of the clubs future commitments, due to the Corvid problem

Etherow Country Park is in Stockport, near to Romiley in Cheshire

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Is this normal?

I might have a problem with my charger?

Today I charged a Ni MH rechargeable battery for the Slipper Launch with my Turnigy charger

As I`ve done, dozens of times

I left the charger running and returned about 3 hours later. knowing that the charger switches itself off, after charging

Imagine my surprise, when I discovered the battery so hot, I couldn`t pick it up!

It could easily have caused a fire!

Any comments please?

Bob

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Is it an Accucel 6 charger? If so, mine beeps, says finished, which stays in the display and stops charging. Ive had NiMh get quite hot during charging (hotter than LiPo ever do) but not as hot as yours!

Chris

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thanks Chris

The charger is TURNIGY

It`s about 10 years old and has never got hot before

Might be time to get back in the garage for safety

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Just as a thought Bob…if one of the cells was duff, the voltage would never get to the cutoff point and the charger would continue to charge forever making the pack very hot…??

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Ashley……Brillo!

Your suggestion sounds plausible

But I`ve just checked the voltage of the two charged batteries and they read 8,10 volts and 8.5 volts

Mmmmmm?

The hot battery was the 8,10 volts

I still fancy your idea though

Will charge them again tomorrow and see what we get

Thanks Ash…..Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Bob, I would do a full cycle of a discharge and then a recharge. You can then see what the battery was holding before you started the process and what the charge is on completion.

Also worth checking all settings such as the charge rate wasn't inadvertently set too high or you had the wrong battery type set etc..etc..

Did the charger not switch itself off at the end of both charges or does it appear that just the one battery did not work correctly?

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello there Richard

The charger is very complicated and was set up about ten years ago, after a lot of faffing about!

I have never performed a discharge and loathe at upsetting the charger for the time being

I`m doing another charge up on a third battery at the moment.

The charger was reluctant to charge at first and then went through a procedure never seen before!

It appears to be charging ok at the moment, but it is not making it`s normal funny sound

I was hoping to sail the Slipper Launch this morning, but will wait now till the battery problem is sorted out

It`s no fun getting old

Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Hi Bob, I completely understand, some of the modern chargers can be a little complex to use and are one of the things that put me off Li-Pos. They get way too complex for me!

If you want to be sure of the battery you can send it to me and I will do a number of complete cycles on it and see if it looks like all the cells are sound and it is holding charge OK.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Bob

Mine is the same charger and like you I found it complicated at first and was nervous particularly as I was charging LiPos for the first time. I did wonder, as Richard said, whether any of the settings had been changed.

Having used mine quite a lot now, for different battery types and cell numbers, I'm very comfortable with using it now though some parts of the instructions are still gobblygook!

Could the "normal funny sound" be the fan which I find operates sometimes when charging NiMH? It only does it if the battery is pretty well discharged and not if it only requires a little topping up. The procedure it doesn't normally go though is puzzling though. Has it done it again since?

Chris

Edited By Chris Fellows on 05/08/2021 14:16:24

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Bob

I think you need to check the charging rate as if too high (I use 2amp) then the battery will get very hot. Also how old is the battery? As they age the internal resistance increases which results in the temperature increasing more as they are charged.

I'm making some notes on how I set my charger.

Chris

Edited By Chris Fellows on 05/08/2021 15:21:39

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Captain Bob

Are these the same battery packs that you were using when you built the Ellie and Great Eastern?

If they are then it is likely that one or more of the individual cells have scummed to old age and failed.

For peace of mind and your safety it would be prudent to buy a new stick of batteries.

Paul

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Bob

When I turn on my charger it shows the last used settings, in my case:

LiPo Balance CHG

2.0A 11.1v (3s)

For charging my NiMH I do this:

Press Type/Stop which shows BATT/PROGRAM LiPo BATT in the display. Use + & – buttons to scroll to NiMH BATT

Press Start/Enter which shows

NiMH CHARGE

CURRENT 2.0A

If not 2.0A or lower then press Start/Enter and the current will flash and can be altered using the + & – buttons.

Then press Start/Enter to set the value.

Finally hold down Start/Enter for 3 seconds and charging will commence.

It's a lot easier than it sounds and you can go back by pressing Stop or disconnecting the plug.

In theory you could charge at 4A or more but I wouldn't as that will make the battery hot. Does your charger (as older than mine) have a Discharge program or peak and cycle charging? Check the charge rate though first.

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

Edited By Chris Fellows on 05/08/2021 15:47:44

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Given that you said that the voltages achieved were 8.1v and 8.5v then that would support Paul's view.

My battery is still charging and showing 8.51v and both the battery and charger are cool (not fully discharged from start of charging though) and should go to 9v for a 6 cell.

The values you stated would indicate that full charge hadn't been achieved and why the charger hadn't turned off and why the battery got so hot.

Chris

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Charging finished and showing 9.01volts. Battery comfortably warm.

Looks like time for a new battery Bob!

Chris

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I usually end up with around 9.0 to 9.2 volts at the end of a charge so I tend to agree that it is the battery on its way out.  You can sometimes recover them with a few complete cycles but you are probably only really delaying the inevitable!

Edited By Richard Simpson on 05/08/2021 18:44:30

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thanks Richard for your generous offer to check the batteries

I think I`m OK now. panic over

Just checked the two new batteries and they are still showing 8.2 volts

The charging rate is set at 2.5 amps

Please remember chaps, that the battery that got seriously hot yesterday was one of the newish batteries

So we are "not out of the woods yet"

Will be extra careful from now on. Will now charge the next newish battery and see what happens……In the garage of course!

Bob

Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Bob, one characteristic of NiMh batteries is the fact that the voltage drops off significantly as soon as charging is complete. Over night it will drop noticeably. You need to check the voltage as soon as you finish charging to see just what they get up to. If you leave it until the next day to check the voltage you may well see a drop of around a volt or so.

A healthy one should finish at around 9V but there is also quite a variation in final voltages so that is only a guide.

Edited By Richard Simpson on 05/08/2021 19:27:06

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Richard

Just charged up the third newish batteries chaps and it took 24 mins and peaked at 8.91 volts

It was still charging when I pulled the plug, as I was getting rather cold in the garage!

The battery showed no signs of warming up

Anyway chaps, panic over now that I`m charging in the garage again

Over n out……. Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

In my view (and that of the late DM) Nimhs should be charged with much less than 2.5A, I use 300mA, or 600mA if in more of a hurry. Battery life is much improved by using a low 10% charge rate (so I have read!).

I use a simple nimh charger.the only controls are cell numbers, and charge rate (300 or 600 mA). The way to go.

My Lipo charger is all singing all dancing and a bit like Bob..I set it up and left it at that. 300mA charge rate ages ago.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Ashley

I`ve used this Charger for the last ten years and always on 2,5 amp charge rate

Don`t fancy changing it now

Now for a daft question…..

I`m trying to set up the small Gentleman`s Vintage Launch. which I built about four years ago

It is controlled by a crazy tranny, a Futaba 6EXAP and I can`t find where the crystal is??????

I`ve looked and looked and beginning to think it hasn`t got one!

Any idea…..Anyone, please?

Bob

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Bob, If you haven't got a copy of the manual you can download it here.

Having a quick flip through it does say that if you change the frequency you need to have the set readjusted by the manufacturer. It would be easier to simply identify the frequency of your set, as described in the manual, and buy a crystal of the same frequency.

Futaba 6EXAP

Edited By Richard Simpson on 06/08/2021 12:21:44

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Richard

I have had this Tranny for about 10 years now and I do have the manual too. but no mention of a crystal in the manual

And never had a problem with the frequency before

I only want to know what crystal it`s got in it at the moment in order to fit a matching crystal in the model

Just can`t believe I`ve got this

I am so forgetful these days, it`s becoming a bit of a problem now. sorry to be a nuisance chaps

Bob

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Bob

Just had a look at my T6EXAP . On the back centrally, at the top small square of plastic sticking out is the crystal. Mine has a small silver sticker. Mine says 40.665 MHZ.

Hope this helps.

Tim

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