Cole Mayfield

Hey Guys,

I recently purchased the Hitex X4 Charger and it is by far the best charger I have ever used/seen/purchased. If you have not seen the HiTec X4 Charger from Hitec, and are looking for a new charger, this is the one you want ! It is the ultimate charger for the Electric Pilot.

I have found that since it can charge 4 batteries at once, it drains the 12V Battery I plug onto down to quickly. I am trying to figure out a good Battery or Power Source that I can take out to the flying field to run the X4 Charger off of. Do you guys have any ideas on Power Sources ? The biggest packs I am charging out at the field are Lipo 4000mah 22.2V 6S Packs...

Hitec says the Input Requirements are: 12 - 15 Volts DC, 20 Amp Minimum and like I said those 22.2V Lipo's are the biggest packs I'm charging out there. You can see more specs on HiTec's Website.

Any ideas on Power Sources ?

Thanks for Reading

CM

kyleservicetech

Yup
You need one of those deep cycle 120 Ampere Hour marine batteries. (Don't get a marine "engine Starting" battery, from what I can determine, they are nothing more than a standard automotive battery with handles.)

Take a look: This covers the issues of the larger electrics, including the deep cycle battery in chapter II. You can get 5 or 6 recharges on your Lipos from the 120 Amp Hour battery. (You don't want to run those deep cycle batteries under about 50% charge, that's hard on them.)

Thread on 70 size glow engine conversion to electric
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45222

Cole Mayfield

kyleservicetech: Thanks for such a quick reply ! Do you have any idea of places I could get exactly what your talking about for a cheap price ? I was looking at the Optima Blue Top Deep Cycle Marine Battery, but they are running like 200 dollars each... Do you know of any place (Online or In-Store) I could get a cheaper battery with the same specs your talking about ?

kyleservicetech

$200??? Ouch.

We have a place in Wisconsin called Farm and Fleet, that sells these deep cycle batteries for about $80 or so. Walmart also has them, but they are the "Deep Cycle Engine Starting" kind. My Walmart battery 70% of its ampere hour capacity in less than a year. My Farm and Fleet battery is on its second year, and is still going strong.

You could also check around places that supply batteries for motorhomes.

Your $200 battery could be a gell cell type, those are far more expensive. Those kinds are used in places where a tipped over battery could cause problems with leaking acid. Like electric scooters and the like.

Other people in www.wattflyer.com have suggested big truck batteries. I've looked at them at Farm and Fleet. Some of them run around $140 or so, but the danged things must weigh 150 pounds.

Take a look:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48469

Cole Mayfield

I think that Blue Top is a Gell-Cell which I have heard makes it much more expensive... I was talking to a fellow member out at my local flying field, and he was telling me that possibly a Die-Hard Portable Power supply might work... I don't know much about power supplies but what is your opinon on this running my Charger out at the field ?

DieHard Power Supply 1150

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=xsite_DieHard

Might this Work ??? Seemed kind of silly when I looked at it, but possibly ?


CM

rcers

Buy a cheap generator and use your power supply. Deep cycle batteries (good ones) re expensive and die in a few years (at least here in TX they do).

I found mine on sale for $89 bucks but you can find them for under $140 or so on sale.

And you can tell your wife it is for power outages and camping.

Mike

kyleservicetech

LOL
I've rewound a standard automotive alternator used with a 3.5 Hp Briggs gas engine to put out 50 Volts DC a few years ago to charge a 38 cell Nicad pack.

Could just put a standard alternator on it. That would be a LOT lighter than the two parallel connected 120 Ampere Hour deep cycle batteries now in my truck. That will be considered next time it's time to replace one of those deep cycle batteries.

FYI, my Cellpro Powerlab 8 charger pulls 43 Amps out of those deep cycle batteries while charging my 12S2P A123 batteries! (Charging is configured as a 6S4P A123 setup.)

rcers

Well I am super lucky we have AC at our field. So..... I only use my generator for other events and well, camping.

kyleservicetech

That's only got a 22 ampere hour battey in it. It'd go flat the first time you tried to recharge a 6S 3000 Mah battery on it.

Cole Mayfield

kyleservicetech: Well that answers my question on buying that Die-Hard

rcers: Thanks for posting... That generator idea is something to think about also...

HeliScRapYard

You could recharge from your auto battery possibly. And start the car so it doesn't get low.

Cole Mayfield

HeliScRapYard: My grandfather who I often go out to the field with has the same X4 charger I have and has a Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel which has Dual Batteries in it.. He has a Converter running into the tailgate and since has has dual batteries, he can charge batteries without any problems. I on the other hand have Range Rover HSE and the battery is completely covered and is somewhat hard to get to... I have already tried thinking this would be the easiest way and found it was the hardest... Most everyone I talk to says exactly as you said use your Auto Battery. I might have to make a modification, if I don't go ahead and purchase one of the Deep Cycle Batteries...

Thank you for the response and look forward to seeing you in the forums...

HeliScRapYard

If it were me it would come down to which was cheaper, a deep cycle battery or to mod the auto. But luckily the largest packs I have to charge are 4s 2200mah most are 1300-1500 packs and don't have to worry about draining the battery in my jeep so I don't even have to keep it running. Look forward to seeing your solution.

Cole Mayfield

I think that is what I am going to have to go off of is the cheapest way to do it...I will keep you guys updated with what I decide to do... I am going to shop around here in town and see what there prices are on a Deep Cycle 120 Ampere Marine Battery... I will probably find one at a good price and post it on here to see what you guys think of it... Make sure it is the right one...

Thanks Again for all of the Help

CM

rcers

Just add in the cost of replacement as mine used to be good for about 3 years here in the TX heat. I really like the generator as you can tell.

Old Fart

Buy a F350 Superduty diesel - it will come with a free "field charging station"

kyleservicetech

LOL
Let's see, a $200 airplane, a $100 charger, and a $45,000 power supply for the $100 charger!

kyleservicetech

Only problem is that $4.00 + + gasoline!

I suspect a lot of those automotive engines burn around a gallon an hour or so just idling.

Old Fart

LOL- if you're flying all day it's a whole bed full of $200 airplanes, several $100 chargers (I've had 16 lipo's charging on 4 Polycharger's several times) and hundreds of dollars worth of batteries. Oh, and that $45K power supply

Cole Mayfield

Going back, that 45,000 dollar (F-350) Power Supply is alot cheaper then my 96,000 dollar (Range Rover) Power Supply. Range Rover batteries have to be special ordered from the U.K. and my local Land Rover dealer will just rip me off if I buy it from them. Thats why I hate the tought of recharging batteries off the Range Rover. I would hate for after a few years the battery not working properly becasue of the re-charges for my Airplane Batteries. If I could go back I would have definately gotten a Dodge or Ford Truck. Cheaper and MUCH more reliable then Range Rovers...

Also, I was doing some research online on these 120 Ampere Deep Cycle Marine Batteries and I can't find any other batteries then the Blue Top Optima ones... Those are the expensive ones...

kyleservicetech you said you have the 120 ampere battery... What brand is it ???

kyleservicetech

Unfortunately, its been relabeled as a Blains Farm and Fleet battery. You will get about a year out of the Walmart Engine Starting Deep Cycle battery though. Walmart was about the same price as the Farm and Fleet battery.

kyleservicetech

Or in my case ONE $1000 giant scale model with a 12S2P A123 pack, and a Hacker A60-16M motor.

Old Fart

What are you flying in GS?

Cole Mayfield

Hey Guys...

I stopped off at my local O' Reilly Auto Parts today after school and told the guy what I was looking for and told me this was the battery I was looking for...

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...keyword=24dcmj

It weighs quite a bit, but I am going to by a Plastic Carrying Case for it and it is not that far of a walk from the Parking Lot to the Pit Tables at the field...I plan on buying it, as long as you guys approve it will work properly for those big 6S Packs I'm charging... I also charge 3S 2200mah packs and stuff like that but the 6S are the biggest I charge...

Battery Price: $ 77.99
Core Price: $ 12.00

Grand Total: 98.07

What do you guys think of this battery..???

Thanks Again,

CM

kyleservicetech

Don't understand
The model is a 78 inch wingspan, 1200 square inch Goldburg Extra 330, weighing in at 19 pounds ready to fly.