Tenergy Balance Charger - Battery Cradle Discussion

[Drewfus2101]

So after some digging it seems that the Voltcraft item is just not available anymore. This is bad because I just ordered one of these Tenergy balance chargers. This great thread by LuxLuthor explains alot:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=160942

Seems like its just a NiMH/NiCd charger. I thought it was some sort of special cradle. I started looking, and there are tons of cheap NiMH/NiCd chargers out there.

So I'm thinking about picking up a cheap one and tearing it apart and rewiring it for use with this charger. Has anyone else done this? Any advice? After reading the above thread, I've gotten a few pointers about what to look for. Here are a few that look good:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BATERY-CHARGER-...mZ110193685120QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=8

 

[Fizz753]

I cant help you with your questions but I too am in the market for a charging cradle for the Tenergy.
I would prefer it ready to use though if at all possible. Mostly because I am lazy, honest but lazy.

If someone is willing to mod a few I would be willing to buy one from them.

 

[Beastmaster]

I took a generic Energizer NiMH 4 bay battery charger (20 dollars at K-Mart/Sears) and did this:

1) Snipped off all the electronics and surface mount components
2) Cut the board in half (had to - the board was parallelizing bays 1/3 and 2/4)

Once I did that, and soldered the wires (10 gauge wire - all I had in the house), I was set.

It's only capable of handling 16340's/RCR123a's, and the 17500/17670/18500's. Anything that's 2x the length of a 123A primary isn't going to work.

20 bucks, 2 minutes of destruction, and 15 minutes of soldering.

-Steve

 

[Mr Happy]

I'm thinking one of these could be good to cannibalize for parts and cradle, especially at $9.99. Anyone tried it?

 

[Beastmaster]

I'm thinking one of these could be good to cannibalize for parts and cradle, especially at $9.99. Anyone tried it?

No, but it would be worth trying it out.

I particularly like the Eveready one because it doesn't require the need or use of rekeying the negative end. It's flat with bumps, so if you need a different position, you just add a "bump" using solder.

-Steve

 

[Drewfus2101]

I'm thinking one of these could be good to cannibalize for parts and cradle, especially at $9.99. Anyone tried it?

That looks just like the one I just ordered online. I wish I had looked there first and saved a little money.

I'll post my experiences when I get started with this project.