I need a field charging setup

[ted schoonard]

Reply.........It's certainly not going to provide 30v...... was only expressing various power sources I was looking at, not ideal, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Look, I'm first to admit I need expert advice on electrics. Learning curve from old nitro days is steep. The generator would at least provide 120vac to a power supply just like the server power supplies that I have wired to 24v, just looking for optimal power for the charger so I'm considering the 30+volt notion. I see there are server power supplies that provide 30v but so far all I've seen are low power. If I'm nuts, fine, but advice is why I'm here.

[OV10]

I like the way ASECERTIFIED is doing it but sources are telling me that the only way to get the best performance out of my charger [406 DUO charging twin 6s 5300 packs] is to get a 30+ volt supply. I have wired up servo power supplies for 24v but not seen anything greater available. I'm shopping 2200watt inverter generators but would really appreciate an alternate idea....just don't want to deal with the generator if I don't have to......ideas?

:Confused: How is an inverter generator gonna provide your 30Vdc. 2200W inverter generator brands like Honda/Yamaha/etc only put out 120Vac and 12Vdc.

[ted schoonard]

I like the way ASECERTIFIED is doing it but sources are telling me that the only way to get the best performance out of my charger [406 DUO charging twin 6s 5300 packs] is to get a 30+ volt supply. I have wired up servo power supplies for 24v but not seen anything greater available. I'm shopping 2200watt inverter generators but would really appreciate an alternate idea....just don't want to deal with the generator if I don't have to......ideas?

[ASECertified]

I'd recommend a deep cycle, AGM battery. CCA won't be as important for a non-starting battery, though if you plan to use it as your standard battery as well as for charging your RC devices, it would be best to get both. I personally would recommend the Optima Red Top or Yellow Top battery as the best car battery for field charging. If you have enough of a need, you might consider getting one of these in addition to your regular car battery. It can be wired into your trunk, inside of a vented battery box and will be charged by your alternator but won't take away from your starter battery. This is common on performance vehicles and aftermarket stereos to handle the increased load.

[Crawlmonis]

Hope you are only charging 1 battery on this. The cigarette lighter port is limited to 2 Amps tops but I guess you should blow a fuse anyway if you try to pull more than what is safe. People have burned down cars like this.

The way I do it: I hook my charger directly to the car's battery and I monitor the input voltage from the charger, if the car's battery is at ~50%, I turn on the car for 10-15 mins while charging. I can go all day like this.

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[MikeT]

I use a deep-cycle 12v Marine battery & my dual voltage Thunder Power AC680 power supply & can charge batteries all day at the field. Never had any issues. I leave the battery & charger in the back of my Cherokee in the shade when at the field.

Denny

+1 mines gone above and beyond. Charges 6S batteries all day long. We once hooked up 4 chargers to it and it just keep on charging. No noise either.

Mike

[Abigail569]

Hope you are only charging 1 battery on this. The cigarette lighter port is limited to 2 Amps tops but I guess you should blow a fuse anyway if you try to pull more than what is safe. People have burned down cars like this.

The way I do it: I hook my charger directly to the car's battery and I monitor the input voltage from the charger, if the car's battery is at ~50%, I turn on the car for 10-15 mins while charging. I can go all day like this.

https://www.2kreviews.com/best-car-batteries/

[Grossman56]

That generator is on my list of things to buy, I heard it first hand and its simply amazing, as CB has said, you get what you pay for, this is a gem!

Grossman56

[OV10]

Thanks all and sorry for the slow reply back. The Christmas holidays are taking a 'time' toll on me. :) A gas tow plane would be much simpler to deal with but my gas days are over with so I will have to learn to deal with the electric field charging side of this matter.

I looked at gas inverter generators and frankly the cost and noise is more than I want. I had a buddy some years ago that had a propane fed Honda generator ( I think it was a Honda ) that was near silent. You could stand next to it and barely hear it run. I don't mind the expense so much as I do the noise so I am looking for propane fed inverter generators now.

In the end, it just may be simpler to deal with a couple of batteries that I lug back and forth and keep on a charge at the house, then carry to the field.

Hello Aggelos,
The noise level from a gas powered inverter generator is within a dB or so of a propane powered one. No real significant difference that the average person is gonna hear.
I use a Yamaha 3500kW gas inverter (53 to 60dBA noise) to run my rollin bunkhouse/hangar 120vAC requirements which included a 15A DC charger for my two 55Ah deep cycles.
60 dBA is equivalent to: Conversation in restaurant, office, background music, Air conditioning unit at 100 feet.
When I'm not traveling with the bunkhouse, normal operation of one of the 55Ah deep cycles at the field will get me a 4000mAh 4S LiPo charged 8 times.
Hope you find this as helpful info in making a decision.

[Aggelos]

Thanks all and sorry for the slow reply back. The Christmas holidays are taking a 'time' toll on me. :) A gas tow plane would be much simpler to deal with but my gas days are over with so I will have to learn to deal with the electric field charging side of this matter.

I looked at gas inverter generators and frankly the cost and noise is more than I want. I had a buddy some years ago that had a propane fed Honda generator ( I think it was a Honda ) that was near silent. You could stand next to it and barely hear it run. I don't mind the expense so much as I do the noise so I am looking for propane fed inverter generators now.

In the end, it just may be simpler to deal with a couple of batteries that I lug back and forth and keep on a charge at the house, then carry to the field.

[seaviper]

I use a "Wally World" $50 car battery (the deep cycle batteries usually aren't) and I can charge my 6s 5000s probably 3 or 4 times. I usually carry 4 6s batteries. So I can fly 6-8 times with that setup.

[fhhuber]

Really depends how much you plan to recharge as to what source will be needed.

Your average "marine deep cycle" isn't a true deep cycle battery. Its a compromise battery to give power to start up to appx 250 hp outboard and run a trolling motor for a reasonable time. If it says its a 120 ah battery its good for about 60 to 70 ah as a supply for your field charger.

That is a few charges for small to medium 3S and 4S packs.

I drained one to the low input voltage shutdown of my charger in 2 recharges of 12S 5000 mah.

If that isn't adequate, you need either a portable generator or something that will just about need a trailer to carry it.

I have 105 watts of solar panels and 4 high capacity batteries installed in my model aircraft trailer allowing up to 4 hours of pulling 100 amps before its drained.
Next update will be newer version panels for 80% more solar input from the same area.

[yorkiepap]

I use a deep-cycle 12v Marine battery & my dual voltage Thunder Power AC680 power supply & can charge batteries all day at the field. Never had any issues. I leave the battery & charger in the back of my Cherokee in the shade when at the field.

Denny

[Aggelos]

Planes: Graupner Husky 1800S and Multiplex Mentor
Batteries are Hyperion G7 Si-Graphene, 4S, Standard Voltage, 3300 mAh
Charger is iCharger 106 B+


I intend to do some small glider towing this summer and need a field setup to repeatedly charge batteries through the day. I suppose I need something along the line of a 12volt, high CCA, deep cycle battery and a cart or something that is already factory provisioned.

Any ideas from anyone?

Regards