Quality Charger for AW C cells

[BlackICE]

I'm in the process of building a 2C Mag 5761 using AW C cells.

I'm trying to figure out what the best charger would be. My main criteria are finding one that's easy to use and more importantly will charge safely. Something in the $150 or less range.

Here's the one's I'm looking at:
Cellpro 4S
Tenergy
BC-6
iCharger iC6

I'll most likely be using magnets to charge the cells individually. Any suggestions on which would be best?

Will

 

[mudman cj]

I'll let someone else comment on the chargers, as I do not own any of those. I will say you might want to add the Triton or Triton jr. to your list though. My reason for posting is to suggest that you take a look at this method of connecting the charger to your batteries. Happy modding. :wave:

 

[alfreddajero]

I have this charger and it does the job well.......amperage and mv's are all adjustable, and it will also charge lith-ion, lipoly, as well as your car battery......it can charge two packs at different rates as well.....which i find useful-its like having two seperate chargers.

 

[BlackICE]

I'll let someone else comment on the chargers, as I do not own any of those. I will say you might want to add the Triton or Triton jr. to your list though. My reason for posting is to suggest that you take a look at this method of connecting the charger to your batteries. Happy modding. :wave:

Yes, I was originally thinking of adding the Triton/Triton jr. to the list. The reason I didn't was because the others have the option to add a 12 VDC power supply for about $30.

Are the Tritons significantly better than the others on the list? I wouldn't mind going that route if there was a simple/clean way to set them up for AC.

 

[alfreddajero]

If you take a look on ebay you can get a psu for cheap.......take a look at some rc sites you can make one using the old psu thats in your dead computer........Here's another that i like to use.....easy to set and hasnt false peaked on me yet....and it also comes with its own psu.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLCJ6&P=7

 

[FredM]

Do the AW cells light a 5761 bulb? Thats impressive if they do.

I would say BC-6, I have never used one, but I checked one out at a race and it was pretty nifty. Might be overkill for just some C cells though.

 

[BlackICE]

Do the AW cells light a 5761 bulb? Thats impressive if they do.

I would say BC-6, I have never used one, but I checked one out at a race and it was pretty nifty. Might be overkill for just some C cells though.

Yes, from what I've read the AW cells with a 5761 make an excellent compact light with about 900 torch lumens. I'm still gathering the parts for mine.

The BC-6 looks like a great charger. I like the fact it's comes ready to go with AC current.

 

[g36pilot]

AW C's work great w/the 5761 lamps. I'm running mine with AW's multi mode switch and charge with a Triton.

I have two PSU's on my bench for powering up the Tritons. In the field a car battery works well.

 

[FredM]

I thought they would not even power a ROP HO.

Thought they had protection circuits kicking in around 4.5-5 amps.

 

[santza]

How about this?
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12618

Any good?

 

[alfreddajero]

Seems to be a nice unit.......

 

[BlackICE]

I thought they would not even power a ROP HO.

Thought they had protection circuits kicking in around 4.5-5 amps.

I'm not sure at exactly what point the protection circuits kick in. But there are numerous people running this setup successfully with a softstarter.

 

[FredM]

AW claims 5 amps max. the 5761 draws around 5.5.

 

[g36pilot]

I thought they would not even power a ROP HO.

Thought they had protection circuits kicking in around 4.5-5 amps.

Aw's softstart design ramps up the initial load allowing a reduced draw as the lamp stabilizes instead of the usual max amperage kick start then lower draw. Others are modding switches w/NTC's to do the same thing.

Not an expert and only have a couple of 5761 assemblies under my belt, but I haven't had a good battery go bad or lamp instaflash yet.

 

[g36pilot]

deleted double post

 

[BlackICE]

AW claims 5 amps max. the 5761 draws around 5.5.

You can find some more talk about the 5671 with C cells here

 

[Gunnerboy]

I thought they would not even power a ROP HO.

Thought they had protection circuits kicking in around 4.5-5 amps.

You might be confusing AW's C-cells with that KD battery pack that barely lights up a ROP-LO. AW's will easily power up the ROP-HI.

We've noticed some variance in AW's C-cells where some of the cells will trip their protection when powering the 5.5A 5761. Too little resistance in the light will trip the protection circuit also.

Gary

 

[Flipside]

To the OP...

I've a BC-6 on order. Should be here this week. The fact that it can charge anything that's rechargeable was a big selling point for me. It will also balance charge multiple cells. Along with the AC/DC power, I saw it as a trifecta.

However, $180 (with the thermocouple, a few charging harnesses and the like) is a bit much for 'just a couple' of C-Cell batteries (NiMH and LiIon)...:sick2:

 

[FredM]

You might be confusing AW's C-cells with that KD battery pack that barely lights up a ROP-LO. AW's will easily power up the ROP-HI.

We've noticed some variance in AW's C-cells where some of the cells will trip their protection when powering the 5.5A 5761. Too little resistance in the light will trip the protection circuit also.

Gary

i was just going off of the 5A limit in his sell thread.

 

[BlackICE]

To the OP...

I've a BC-6 on order. Should be here this week. The fact that it can charge anything that's rechargeable was a big selling point for me. It will also balance charge multiple cells. Along with the AC/DC power, I saw it as a trifecta.

However, $180 (with the thermocouple, a few charging harnesses and the like) is a bit much for 'just a couple' of C-Cell batteries (NiMH and LiIon)...:sick2:

I actually just placed an order today for the BC-6. It's true that it's overkill for just a couple C cells. Ultimately, I wanted a good charger that I could grow into with other projects.