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charger ?

Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 3:02 pm
by joez2872
? about a adaptor i found its a plug in the wall thing will it work if i hook it up to a chargeing pad or will i fry my car /the output is dc 4.5 v 600ma.

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 7:15 am
by Matic
I think it should work. You can connect the battery, look at the watch and check the temperature of the batt. Soon it gets a little warm switch it off and look at he watch again so you can calculate charging time

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 11:25 am
by hue35
4.5V is perfect to charge a dual-celled car. Charge until the batteries get warm... they can get pretty warm, but don't let them get hot. 3V is what you want for a single-celled car... 4.5V is too much.

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 11:35 am
by Matic
Voltage isn`t important. If you manage to fullcharge 50 mAh batt in no less then 3 min u have nothing to worry about....

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 3:46 pm
by joez2872
so your saying i can charger my daul car ok but i cant charge my single cell car ???

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:55 am
by Matic
U can charge both. See my previous post

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:57 am
by hue35
joez2872 wrote:so your saying i can charger my daul car ok but i cant charge my single cell car ???
I use a multi-voltage, 1000mA adapter to charge my cars. I set it at 3V (just like a stock controller) to charge my single-celled cars, and at 4.5V for my dual-celled cars (because 3V isn't enough)... I've had no problems. 4.5V will charge your single cell faster but it's harder on the battery, based on what I've read. Give it a try... if the battery fails after a handful of cycles, find a 3V adapter for your single-celled cars... I know 3V works great.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:03 am
by Matic
Ok here we go again: VOLTAGE ISN`T IMPORTANT (unless is too low) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Current IS important. As long your charging current is 600-900 mA is ok.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:19 am
by hue35
Matic wrote:Ok here we go again: VOLTAGE ISN`T IMPORTANT (unless is too low) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Current IS important. As long your charging current is 600-900 mA is ok.
Settle down there, Einstein... take a deep breath. Now, if you can keep your finger out of your exclamation hole, explain why voltage doesn't matter.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:25 am
by Matic
Because voltage will always drop to a certain level when charging battery. That level is about 1.8 v for single cell and 3-4 V for dual cell. Try it if you dont beleive

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:06 pm
by hue35
I'll try it later tonight... all I know about electricity is what I've learned from here and tinyrc. I haven't read that about Voltage in the little car forums.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 12:15 pm
by Namuna
Matic wrote:Because voltage will always drop to a certain level when charging battery. That level is about 1.8 v for single cell and 3-4 V for dual cell. Try it if you dont beleive
Scenerio:
You charge a single-cell with that adapter that puts out 4.5v @600mAH. While indeed if you stick a Meter on there it'll probably show 1.8v as it's charging...Keep in mind, with that AC Adapter, you're STILL SENDING 4.5v, and whatever can't be sent to the battery, is getting dissipated as HEAT.

Dedicated chargers, to my understanding, automatically detects the resistance of the battery as it's charging and adjusts the voltage accordingly (to avoid that dissipation).

I do concur that voltage makes MUCH LESS impact vs. the amperage though.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:16 pm
by crazydave
hue35 wrote:
Matic wrote:Ok here we go again: VOLTAGE ISN`T IMPORTANT (unless is too low) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Current IS important. As long your charging current is 600-900 mA is ok.
Settle down there, Einstein... take a deep breath. Now, if you can keep your finger out of your exclamation hole, explain why voltage doesn't matter.
Voltage pushes the current, the higher the voltage, the faster the current moves.

VOLTAGE IS IMPORTANT!

I've popped a battery charging at 4.5v, probably a bunk battery, but none the less, worst cause scenario, 3v is a much safer voltage for single cells. Also I've noticed batteries charged at 4.5v volts false peak, and drop charging voltage early. Giving much shorter run times. Also the batteries I charged at 4.5v quickly deteriorated in performance from run to run, where as batteries charged at 3v or less, and properly cycled have only gained performance as time has gone on. That battery I popped could have been a contender had it been charged properly.

The slower the charge the better, your battery will actually charge closer to it's peak capacity, and have a higher output voltage when charged at a slower rate. I've got batteries pushing 1.72v when they come right off the charger.

You can trust me on this, as I've watched my batteries voltage on every single charge for year now.

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 8:17 pm
by CaboWabo
I'll trust a proven pimp (or pimps) over a new guy any day - period.

and I've got crazydave proof running on my floor almost nightly

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 11:34 pm
by joez2872
thank u dave ill rush on down to ratshack and pick up a 3-6v multi adaptor which they say has 800ma will that do ,,,,,,,,,, thanks for all the help pimps.....,,,..,.,.