All in one charger/discharger purchase? INDI any good?

[teach]

I was going to buy the Vision Peak and Deans light bulb discharger. However, being the thrifty shopper that I am I decided to do more research on the two and came across the Integy site http://secure400.automatedshops.com/cgi-bin/ams/shopzone30.cgi/~wfp16353/st_main.html. The Indi Reactor discharger caught my attention. Is it any good? Then I did the math Vision $40 + Indi Reactor $40= $80. Now a whole new problem, should I buy a all in one AC/DC charger/discharger like the Indi 16x3 ($89)? Is this any good or can anyone suggestion another brand for under $90? Or should I stick with my original plan. I will be using Trinity Maxx Paxx and the charger must be AC/DC. Please help!!!

[JoeTheShmoe]

i like my indi 16x2, and have had no problems with it.

[bryceanator]

i own the apex sigma + its the same thing just not that color get that instead of the cheapo charger its great it has adjustable amperage digital display tons of other great features and its a peak charger i dont know if the one you talk about is get it for sure

[teach]

How much are the Apex sigma chargers?

[Obi112]

The Apex Sigma is around $99 or so. Integy sells them.

[TCorzett]

I have two 16x2 Pros. They are great little chargers, and don't require a seperate power supply like the Novaks. It has a discharger built in, but it's only 4amps. It is recommended that you discharge around 20-30amps. The quicker you discharge, the more like driving it is, so the better you teach your batteries. I have noticed the difference between discharging at 4amps and 20amps (I have an INTEGY discharger). With the 4amp discharge my car slowly looses power (over a minute or so). With the 20amp discharge it "dumps" very quickly (within a few seconds). The faster the dump, the more full power run time you have --- the more practice at race speeds. For bashing, I don't think it makes much of a difference, but if you race it's huge. Most races last for only 4 or 5 minutes, but batteries have run times around 8-10. When you're done with your race, you need to discharge the rest of the pack, and the quicker you discharge (more amps) the more like racing it is. Also it takes much less time.

Lightbulb or tray dischargers both work fine. Make sure to get one that has an auto-shutoff (or in the case of bulbs a reverse flow thinggie -- dean makes them). I personally like the tray dischargers, because I only use side-by-side packs they will all work on my tray discharger. If you use sticks packs get a bulb discharger. Deans make some nice bulb kitts, and Integy and Trinity make some nice tray dischargers. They are all the same, but make sure to look at the amps it discharges at ---- atleast 20amps, but the more the better (within reason).

-Todd...

[teach]

Nice and clear, thanks TCorzett. I was looking at the Apex Sigma Plus and it discharges at 2a and 10a. Do you think that is ok for bashing and a couple races? The reason I was looking at these chargers is because I didn't want to buy two separate ok items (Vision & Dean Discharge) when I could buy one good item (Apex, Indi, etc.) But they only discharge at 2, 4, and 10 and you are saying to go with a 20a discharge. How much better are the Apex, Indi, and Intellipeak in charging over the Vision, Piranha, & Superbrain (sport chargers)? Is their that much of a difference? Oh, what to do!!! If anyone can add their two cents in to help me I would appreciate it.

[teach]

Can anyone suggest a charger & discharger combination for under $100?
ex. Indi 16x3 and Deans bulb
Superbrain and Indi Reactor 20

[Obi112]

The Apex will be fine. The 20 amp discharge is great for cycling cells, which you probably won't do. In that case, the 10 amp discharge will be enough, because you'll only be using it to remove the little remaining charge that's left after you run it. As long as you charge the pack fully and run it down, you won't need a 20 amp discharger (at least for your first year or two).

[teach]

Obi112, I know you like your Intellipeak Digital. Does it false peak a lot and is there any reason I should go Intellipeak instead of Apex?

[Obi112]

As far as I know, there is no difference between the Apex and the Intellipeak Digital. I have yet to experience one false peak with it (over a month using it... probably have charged 25 times or so).

EDIT: To answer the last part of your question, there are two reasons I can think to go for an Intellipeak over an Apex. First, Duratrax is a huge company, and I am happy in buying their products, because they are quality stuff and they have good customer support (Apex may also have good customer service, but I haven't had any experience with them). Second, the Intellipeak looks a lot better. That yellow is just an ugly color!
:D

[ 07-14-2001: Message edited by: Obi112 ]