Discharge Equalizer trays?

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Okay so I just bought some new cells and their current voltages are ALL over the board (0.7, 1.17, 1.28, etc). I need to get an equalizing tray. So the one I'm looking at is.. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKTS6&P=0 I think what I need to do is discharge each cell to about 0.9v.. right? But why the heck does it say "cutoff at 0.0v/cell"? Is that a typo? Do they mean 0.9v/cell? If not, why would anyone want to discharge a battery to 0.0v? wouldn't that completely ruin the battery? Thanks, guys.

-J

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Any takers? Isn't discharging the cells to 0.0v totally bad for the cells? I have IB3800 and IB4200s. Thanks.


-J

[lostwages]

get the novak smart tray, it has an adjustable cut off, the indi you linked to is a dead short tray, takes em down to 0.0

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Is there anything less expensive? I can't really afford like $70 for a discharge tray.... :( And hey, welcome to the forums!... What's your name mean? Is it by chance from Frisky Dingo? Haha...

-J

[highroller]

Integy has roughly 3 or 4 models of discharge trays, the Octane2 is cheaper than the newer trays like the Zero-30. Trays that have no adjustable cutoff setting are fine to use, what most do is remove the pack once the LED or bulb begins to dim, even after going out completed it may take 5-10min before cells reach a zero voltage level. The IB4200 are different than previous cells so handling and storage has changed a little.
With previous NIMH cells when you come off the track you discharged cell using a string of bulbs, charger etc with loads at close to racing (25-35amp) then stored the cell or place in an equalizing tray until cells were properly discharged - this meant taking cell right down to zero if pack was used more than once on race day.
With IB 4200s they recommend discharging the cells to a 1 volt per cell level after your race heat at 25-35amp loads. If you use the pack more than once allow sufficient time for pack to cool between equalizing and charging - this can be 90 minutes to 2 hours.

If you are looking to maintain the performance of your packs, the money is well worth it. Now with IB and EP cells being used alot by some racers it's always best to check with the company matching the cells to see what they recommend for care as it varies a bit.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Hey, thanks. Yeah I was going to call Team Brood and ask their opinions. They've been helpful before. Thanks for the info!

-J

[Ghostface Buggy]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNDB7&P=ML

I'm not a huge fan of Trinity, but I have to admit that their Dyna Pro Digital Discharger is worth its weight in gold. Excluding lipo and brushless, it was the best RC purchase I made in the last year.

It does a great job of maintaining your batteries, provides lots of helpful info about the individual cells, and it can even help bring old batteries back to life. I had several 4 year old 3000's that I wanted to give to my nephew, but I didn't store them properly and they wouldn't take a full charge. After removing all the bad cells and doing 2 - 3 cycles on the remaining cells with the new discharger, they came back to life!!!

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Looks pretty nice.. If only I had more money.. Thanks for the link though.. Looks real nice.

-J

[Hemi6677]

I will definitely 2nd the recommendation of the Trinity Dyna Pro!! I use a DPD and a Noval smart tray SE and they are keeping my Slingshot EP4200's top notch! The price is high but if you want to maintain your expensive batteries its whats recommended.

[JeffEmbracedDC]

What's the difference between the smart tray and smart tray special edition? Anything I would care about? Thanks.

-J

[Hemi6677]

The smart tray SE can equalize up to 1.2V. The original smart tray will only go as high as .9V.

Someone people like being able to equilize at 1 volt which the SE edition will only do. :wave:

[JeffEmbracedDC]

Gotchya. Sounds good! I made my decision and ordered a Much More racing Zero-V equalizing tray. It's a dead-short tray.. but each individual LED goes out at about 0.95v so I just need to keep an eue on it and disconnect each cell as they go out. After a cycle or two they should be perfect. Thanks for your help, guys!

-J

[InspGadgt]

I never had one all these years of racing but when I got back into 1/12th scale almost a year ago I decided since I can now afford my hobby I would pick up some of the fancy stuff I couldn't afford when racing as a starving student. One of those purchases was a used Novak Smart Tray I got off ebay for a decent price. Worth every penny I spent. When I started 1/12th again I took apart old 6 cell packs to make my 4 cell packs...all of which were at different states of discharge...so when I went to charge them some cells were getting really hot and others didn't even get warm. Once I started equalizing my cells the performance got a lot better and they charge better now too.

[chestnut007]

Get a Novak Smart Tray SE, you won't regret it!

[JeffEmbracedDC]

I can't afford much right now :( I'm trying to get some other stuff and I just can't afford all of it. I think that the discharge tray will have to do for now. It will be better than a bank of light bulbs (because you can equalize with it).. so it's good enough for me for now.... Thanks for all of your help, guys.

-J

[highroller]

Some equalizing trays will get too hot if cell voltage is above 1 volt, it may require fan to be running (if it has one) so many racer use a string of bulbs or charger that is capable of discharging at those high rates then equalize the pack before charging.
Check out Stormer Hobbies for the cheaper Integy model - is will suffice for now or look for someone selling a older used equalizing tray until you can afford a better one. Equalizing trays have gotten expensive plus other companies are introducing ones with different features and functions. Spintex (389.00), this is out of the cost range of most but it discharges and charges each cell individually.

[Demon-TC3]

Novak Smart tray (standard) used it and just makes an increadable difference!

Really does bring the juice back into your cells!