what charger should i get????

[ta02]

i need a charger for racing, but i also am going to be charging sport packs for practice. i need a charger that can be plugged into the wall ac/dc charger, and one that is easy to use. i also would like to be able to charge 3000 sport packs pretty fast. im having a hard time finding one that can be used in racing and for practice that can charge fast. i have narrowed my search down to the novak ionic http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXWL89&P=7 and the duratrax pulse charger http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF43&P=7 are they both worthy of charging race packs, and also, how fast do they charge? sorry bout all the questions! :D

[TC3Racer]

Those are both nice chargers you've picked out. But, if you want to buy a charger that will be the last charger you'll need. Check out the MRC Superbrain 969 Pro Series. This charger is awesome! Charges NiMH, NiCd, Lithium Polymer, and even Lead acid. it also has a great discharge feature. It is able to charge 2 batteries at a time, or discharge one and charge another, i have used this feature several times and it does it flawlessly. It will charge from 1-8 cells, and up to 4.5 amps. you can increase or decrease the amperage at .1 increments. Its a little more expensive than the charger your looking at - 99.99 on tower, but i guarantee you this is an awesome charger! I did have a thread where i stated i had some problems with it but that didn't have anything to do with the charger. Anyway i highly suggest you look into this charger and let me know if you have any other questions. good luck!

Forgot to mention... the 969 has the AC DC converter as well. you can plug it into a wall or run it off of a 12V gel cell.

[Baja-Destroyer]

i have an intelli deluxe its really nice its got 2 fans charges up to .5 to 6.5amps! and it comes with the ac to dc converter so u can plug into ac and get dc power! chargers 4-8 cells charges nicd and nimh and its got a 2 and 10 amp discharge its about 70 or something like that on tower check it out

ben

[ta02]

thanks for the replies, the 969 looks like a solid charger but i would use all of the features knowing me :o . im about 80% sure ill get a duratrax, and the deluxe looks like a good choice. any other suggestions?
-thanks, mark

[trw]

You could consider this Duratrax Intellipeak as well : Charger (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF46&P=ML) Its had an LCD display so you actually know whats going on in the battery, it has a DC and AC plug in feature, and the battery connectors can snap on and off so you can switch between Tamiya and Deans connectors with ease, it also has 2amp-10 amp discharge feature, 0.5-6.5 amp charging with cycle features and the AC plug up has a fan on it as well to keep that cool, and the charger itself has two lovely fans to keep it cool.
plus it has both programming methods for both types of batteries (Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd) so it can charge both types of batteries perfectly, and its LCD display will display charge status in Milliamps, Amp output or Voltage Output for increased knowledge of how much is going in or out of your batteries.

lol phew lotta typing, anyways i have this charger, and i love it so much.

[Mathew J]

i need a charger for racing, but i also am going to be charging sport packs for practice. i need a charger that can be plugged into the wall ac/dc charger, and one that is easy to use. i also would like to be able to charge 3000 sport packs pretty fast. im having a hard time finding one that can be used in racing and for practice that can charge fast. i have narrowed my search down to the novak ionic http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXWL89&P=7 and the duratrax pulse charger http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF43&P=7 are they both worthy of charging race packs, and also, how fast do they charge? sorry bout all the questions! :D

Thanks for the link on the Novak, I will most likely go with that one...I am in the same boat as you only possibly more on a budget since I will never race..I looked at the Pirahana vision which seemed nice also, however if money was not a concern then the MRC 969 would most likely be the charger I would get.

[ta02]

thanks once more for the input... im 100% sure i will get a intellipeak now, you cant beat the price compared to the features.... the other brands have the same thing for around 150$ and they still require a power supply! hey matthew is this the charger your looking at? http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCLD5&P=7 ... i think that one will plug into the wall but im not sure... may i suggest that you look into the intellipeak http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF43&P=7 ? it has more features, and it can discharge too, only 5$ more...

[Mathew J]

thanks once more for the input... im 100% sure i will get a intellipeak now, you cant beat the price compared to the features.... the other brands have the same thing for around 150$ and they still require a power supply! hey matthew is this the charger your looking at? http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCLD5&P=7 ... i think that one will plug into the wall but im not sure... may i suggest that you look into the intellipeak http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF43&P=7 ? it has more features, and it can discharge too, only 5$ more...

That was the Pirahana I was looking at and it does plug into the wall, I looked at the intellipeak models but have read on a few forums that the ac adaptors like to cook, don't know how true that is but I have read it more than once...I really like Novak stuff and the ionic is in my budget, never was really a fan of Duratrax but they supposedly make really nice stuff now.

good luck

[trw]

hey TAO2, if your going to race you may not want to get the Intellipeak your asking about (the one you linked in your posts) because it only allows you to charge a NiMh battery at 3.0 Amps, which would take forever and definitly would be to slow unless you came to the track with 3 or 4 packs already charged, otherwise you'd want a charger that could cahrge NiMhs faster

but that is if your going to use an NiMh battery

the one i mentioned charges both NiCd and NiMh at 6.5 amps which is really fast.

Otherwise if your going to use NiCd batteries only then yea the one you mentioned should be good.

[ta02]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF45&P=7 is this a good choice? by the way, how long does it take to charge.. lets say a 3000 mah nimh pack with this. thanks-mark

[trw]

well that charger will also let you charge at 6.5 amps, I'd say it take 15-20 minutes to charge a pack like that.

[ta02]

excellent, i think that will be the charger to get, thanks for the help.

[Cain]

Here is something else to consider.

Sometimes these duratrax intellipeak chargers power supplies have a tendency to burn up. When they work though, the charger does a pretty good job.

Since you like this charger, you should look into the integy 16x3 charger as its the same thing, but it doesn't use the external power supply ( its built in ).

Personally, I would get the 16x4 or the 16x3 v2.5 Pro as you get a digital readout so you can see extactly what is going on with your packs. Really helps.

As for charge rates, i wouldn't do anything more than 6amps. 6.5A on so so cells is a quick way to smoke them. You should be fine charging with 5 to 6 amps on your sport packs, leaning more to the 5A side.

[ta02]

i just went to integy's site.. the 16x3 does look exactly the same, and i also looked at the 16x4. they are a bit to expensive for me though. i think my parent are gonna have a stroke if they see that the charger i bought was more expensive than the xxxs i just got, for (80$ new in box that is :p ) oh well, i guess ill pit indoors with a fan right over the charger ;) . thanks guys for all your input.

[Mathew J]

i just went to integy's site.. the 16x3 does look exactly the same, and i also looked at the 16x4. they are a bit to expensive for me though. i think my parent are gonna have a stroke if they see that the charger i bought was more expensive than the xxxs i just got, for (80$ new in box that is :p ) oh well, i guess ill pit indoors with a fan right over the charger ;) . thanks guys for all your input.

did you get an xxx-s for $80 NIB and if so where? or are you talking about the charger

[ta02]

i got it at ehobies, their currently having a sale... 80$ for the xxxs and 100$ for the g+ xxxs. naw im jokin with you.... i lucked out and got it of ebay(yes for 80$ mint in box :D ). with that being said, yes, i am talking about the xxxs :cool:

[powerstroke01]

A used turbo 35

[hooligan1]

the duratrax pirahna digital $49.95 on tower is worth consideration,it does ac/dc and nicd nimh and up to 5amps dc.

[highroller]

I don't know how much you are looking to spend but take a look at the Integy chargers 16x5, 16x7 and 16x9 AC models, the 16x4 may also work.

[RH Customs]

If you are going to race you need a charger that can charge at 5 amps and maybe 6. So get the DuraTrax IntelliPeak AC/DC Deluxe Pulse Charger, I have had mine for 2 years and have had no trouble with it.

[sumthinred]

I have the Duratrax CX-15 charger, i was wondering if it is capable of charding a NiMh battery (it only says Nicad) and if not...why? btw, i'm new to all of this and do not plan on racing or anything, just a hobby.

[mardigan]

I don't know how much you are looking to spend but take a look at the Integy chargers 16x5, 16x7 and 16x9 AC models, the 16x4 may also work.

I love my 16x7!

[Viperrgh2]

do u think the digital over non-digital deluxe is a big deal the digital is like $25 more and has same features like does the digital effect the performance and durability i just feel the packs for heat to see if there over charging lol...