improved batt charging clamp instructions

[Pummy]

I built one too, found the 6" clamp in a UK store called Wilkinson for £2.25, two screws and some wire to connect the gold reuseable banana plugs from Maplins (£1.79 each)

The cell you see charging is the LSD D size from Maplin I posted about a few weeks ago.

Now to go off in search of charging guides for 3 cells and 4 cells for the MC-E and SST-90 projects...

 

[The Dane]

I'm interested in measurements on that D cell, but unfortunatly those @£$€ at Maplin wont ship NiMh's to Denmark, some hasmat bull

 

[cy]

interesting.... this old thread is still lives :thumbsup:

still using my original clamp ... springs are a cool idea, but preference is being able to control contact by compression.
you will get a solid contact each and every time.

much simpler to make too... simple is good!

 

[ptolemy]

speaker wire is 12 gauge, how thick should banana plugs be, 2mm? or thicker?

it's for thunder ac6 charger thank all

 

[cy]

size of banana plug is decided by what you are fitting to.
hard part is to find banana plugs large enough to fit 12gauge wire inside.

most banana plugs are designed for test leads, which has low current requirements. vs this application which needs to support much higher current loads.

speaker wire is 12 gauge, how thick should banana plugs be, 2mm? or thicker?

it's for thunder ac6 charger thank all

 

[The Dane]

speaker wire is 12 gauge, how thick should banana plugs be, 2mm? or thicker?

it's for thunder ac6 charger thank all

Way overkill. No RC charger i know of will charge with more than 10A so something like AWG 18 is fine, and the AC6 will do 5A max. thus 18g is super.

 

[Magic Matt]

Some Hi-Fi shops sell banana plugs that take thicker than normal wire... probably because some audiophiles think speaker cable should be thicker than industrial power cables.... so if you have trouble getting some banana plugs to fit the cable you want to use, you could try a hi-fi specialist.

 

[cy]

this point has been debated many times .... don't know what brand hobby charger you are using.... but on chargers capable of charging multiple cells... a slight voltage drop for one cell may not make any difference, but for multiple cells... could cause charger not to work properly. thus... not only is gauge of wire important, so is length of wire.

this clamp design is also good for other uses.... like a discharge clamp that requires larger current with solid contact, etc, etc.

look at the history of this thread... this clamp is a proven versatile design that's easy and inexpensive to construct.

Way overkill. No RC charger i know of will charge with more than 10A so something like AWG 18 is fine, and the AC6 will do 5A max. thus 18g is super.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

cy, I just want to thank you for this thread. I have a hunch a variant of your setup will be implemented on my end shortly. I received a BC8DP last week, and your design is just the ticket to get it into action!

 

[cy]

glad to see this old thread still lives...

tickles me that I still receive requests to make this charging clamp.

it's so simple to make with raw materials needed readily available. most anyone can put one together in short order. my original clamp was used last night. once made these clamps are pretty durable

 

[angrycookieman]

The simplest ideas are the best, and you guys have some nice setups. I'm going to try and find me something to make a couple charge clamps with today. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[cy]

eight years and several chargers (now using a Cellpro Powerlab 8) later .... this charging clamp is still in action. a pretty rugged tool!

new 8 years ago

 

[cy]

still using my original clamp in 2023
talk about withstanding test of time