Power Supply's Portable System

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all, I was split about whether to publish this in chargers or here. My decision is here because I really don't know enough about the role of the power supplies to confidently go ahead and bring together the best package to sit in a case and take to the field or simply to supplement my existing charger station at home. Here goes......

Currently, I have the following batteries:
Six times 6S (5000mAh), three times 6S (1800mAh), four times 3S (2250mAh) and six times 1S (500mAh). With my current charging station Ladegerät Graupner Polaron EX Combo rot. I can charge all the big boys with my system in about 90 minutes taking the charger to around 25A. Any more and it just cuts out from an internal setting when the system peaks at the wrong time on both channels.

My portable system should be capable of charging two 6S as quickly as possible (240V supply) or four/six 1S as quickly as possible using 240V or 12/24V. The completed case should not be too heavy as I'm not so young any more.

Another alternative is Modellsport.ch | Pulsar Ladekoffer | online kaufen. The price is high but doesn't need any real thought or involvement from me. My preference is to enjoy the process of learning what it can do and building it myself.

All feedback appreciated.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
One of these ticks all your boxes: Turnigy Reaktor 300W 20A AC/DC Synchronous Balance Charger now with NiZN and LiHV (EU Plug)

Small lightweight, self contained and charges at 20A / 300W so would do two x 6S 5000mAh at a decent rate (about 45 mins charge time for both). If you want more power than that you need to look at seperate power supplies and chargers. For portability and convenience that starts to favour a custom charger case setup, which is fine but gets bigger and heavier and becomes a project in itself.

Alternatively you could get a couple of the Turnigy chargers and so half your charge time, plus have the added flexibility of being able to charge different voltage batteries at the same time. Compared to the setup you linked to that dual Turnigy charger would charge 6S batteries equally fast but still leave enough change to go buy a spare heli!
 
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Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi Steve, thanks for coming back on this. I was thinking of two chargers as I'd like the possibility to quickly charge a couple of batteries to get to the field asap when the weather looks good. However, I'm really looking for the technical explanation of why go for the separate power supplies and what to go for exactly. Both my local hobby shops have something to offer but I really don't know if they are offering the best options. They are consistently more expensive than shopping around for something as an alternative.

I like the idea of having a project to do having seen a few videos and reading Geena's thread on her system. I'm going back to work starting Monday so will be open for something in the evenings/weekend before the days get longer and I can fly a few batteries after work. I just need the info to get going on it.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
The technical explanation of why to go for a seperate power supply really comes down to the fact that you cant get inbuilt power supplies with enough power for the very highest power chargers. If you want real 'monster power' then you need a seperate power supply.

If you want a charge case build project then the guy to talk to is Ian Contessa a.k.a. 'coolice': Charge Case's - Coolice Charge Cases & Power Supplies - UNREGISTERED VERSION

Ian is a really nice guy, always very helpful. He's the 'go-to' guy for custom charger cases in the UK. He can supply really well priced power supplies, all the parts to build your own case, or complete pre-built charge case assemblies, whatever you want to your own spec and price point.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi Steve, I understand the principal of why, it's the details I was looking for so that I could do some research to source appropriate supplies. No worries on that score for now.

I've sent off an introductory Email to Ian so hopefully we'll be corresponding soon. His products look cool, so the website is well named. I'll keep all informed here as things progress.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all, I'm corresponding with Steve's contact from above and he's looking into my initial requirements. I'm hoping to get something moving on it soon.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Please keep us informed as to what you decide to go with. 'Coolice' does some great cases, one of the guys at the club i occasionally fly at uses one of his cases with a Powerlab charger, it's a nice setup.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all, here's an update on this one............

I'm still waiting on Ian's invoice with the details ready for a final decision on whether to go ahead with an import or not. He's a very busy guy and at the end of last week he put me on ice (no pun intended) whilst he did some work for a client of his.

I talked it all through with she who must be obeyed and she's keen for me to go ahead with the best option. That remains to be seen which one fits the bill best. Locally, I can get the finished article within two working weeks so given the time to get to this point, I'm thinking the most efficient way is a local purchase. I've offered to pay Ian for his work to date in developing the specification of the finished system should my final decision be to go locally.

Let's see.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Latest update is that I'm going ahead with Ian's 'Coolice' product as the way forward for my case. It's been a long road to this point with lots of patience on my side and understanding on Ian's as I've flipped around a bit trying to decide on the 'big-bucks' items to go inside the case.

I'm going to fit the charger into the case when it arrives............. why? I hear you asking......... the reason being that Ian was unable to find my chosen charger at the right price. His source is quoting £831.34 and I have bought it locally for the equivalent of £335. I could theorise all day about why the big difference but the best price won at the end. The link to Hugo's site is in the thread above.

In the U.K. Ian has solved the high price of the power supply by finding a suitably priced 48V unit for less than £100. I need to do some careful measuring of my charger so that he can work on the deck and support for it underneath. If the worst comes to the worst, I have a friend here who can cut the hole in the deck for me.

I'll keep you posted on progress from here on in as hopefully we'll see things moving soon.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
That looks like a killer charging system you are putting together. The street lights will dim when you wind that beast up!
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Things are moving now.............. deposit is paid and Ian's getting the case. Meanwhile, we've been doing some final tuning of the layout. I asked him if he could provide something for the Forum during the build. Hopefully, he'll find time in amongst it all. Fingers crossed.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Here goes with the first batch of photos. Ian's been working hard on getting things ready........ the battery holders for the DC supply are coming along nicely. There will be four 6S batteries sitting in holders lined up along the hinge edge of the case. I have the charger purchased locally, so Ian's using an alternative with the same shape to test out the holding brackets and I will fit the charger when the case arrives.
 

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Smoggie

Well-Known Member
That's a really special charging setup you are putting together. i cant wait to see it all assembled!
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
It's been a long wait but Ian's expecting to complete and test next week. Here are a few photos of the recent progress.

I'm hoping to receive it before my next time off from work due in mid June so that I can fit my charger (all ready and waiting) and of course to work out how best to programme it.............

My thinking is to use the discs to create various programmes for my different batteries. As I understand from a video I watched on YouTube that you stick the disc on the battery and go through a one-off setup. This doesn't allow for different combinations for each battery. For example, there should at least be a store mode and a charge mode for each battery. Up to now, I have parallel charged up to four 6S 5000mAh at a maximum of around 1.5C. When using my case, I'm not expecting to do much parallel charging unless it proves practical at home as well as in the field. This means it will mostly be two 5000mAh batteries at max C for each and the smaller batteries will be mostly charged from the DC supply option using my 6S batteries using the supply switch on the deck.

I need to do some research so any help on this will be appreciated.

Bye for now.
 

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Smoggie

Well-Known Member
That's an extremely slick looking system!

As for programming. Personally I just have a series of pre-sets at different charge currents from 5A to 40A. I just select the appropriate pre-set according to how many and how large batteries i have hooked up, and at what rate i want to charge. I can work required amps out in my head and select the required current much quicker than i can connect the batteries, so i really dont see much point trying to be any 'cleverer' than this with the pre-sets. The KISS principal applies.
 

Heliman450

Well-Known Member
Hi Steve,

I can also work them out in my head. However, the system works only with the 'bump' charging so there are no buttons to press everything is done on the display in combination with the pre-programmed discs. I watched the video some time back now so need to check it out again and possibly some other sites. There are no instructions with it and I haven't powered it up yet as it only takes 48V supply not dual. I suppose that it's the next step towards a 'paperless' system............ just watch videos.

I was going to pre-programme the discs after sticking them on a plastic tag and then just select the tag for the appropriate programme. It should be just 1. connect the batteries 2. scan the disc and wait.

On my existing system I was working with a few programmes and only had to select one for the appropriate battery combination then fire away. However, since doing the parallel charging, I need so many different combinations that programming is a pain in the neck and the capacity limitation is what pushed me to go for a better beast. I can hardly wait to get started!
 
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