RunRyder - Test your Triton on Lead Acid Batteries now!

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e-Electric Batteries & Chargers > Test your Triton on Lead Acid Batteries now!

hpilotrc
Veteran
Location: NY--->>Mooresville, NC USA 8/2005

I am also on my 3rd Triton. Hobby Services keep on sending me new units, but if they all are programmed the same way and don't work....that will not fix the problems.

The Triton does not charge my Panasonic LC-R127R2P1 12V 7.2AH battery correctly. It does not perform the Constant Voltage correctly. If I set it to charge at 2A..it will ramp up to it...stay there and then as it starts to decrease current 1.8A it shuts off and says "END" which is end of charge. This is a FLAW.

Also when charging LI-Ion cells it does not go up to the selected max charge current (assuming the pack is discharged to the min allowed). The length of the wire should not be all that critical - the Tritons program and electronics should provide sufficient gain to do so. Another Triton Flaw!

Great Planes needs to correct these problems NOW! Stop playing games and sending us new ones that are no different!!!

Michael

10-14-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

satnaam
Senior Heliman
Location: GTA Ontario

You should write

a letter to the president ( Don Anderson) I think. He needs to see how fustrated you are.

satnaam

10-15-2003 Over year old.

shaley
Heliman
Location: montclair, NJ

hpilotrc

what is the update on your triton. I was about to purchase one today, but glad i checked the forum.

Any other recommendations. I will need to charge LIPOs 4S4P s

10-15-2003 Over year old.

d_wheel
Senior Heliman
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas.

If you are looking for a LiPo only charger, check out the Astro Flight model #109. You can see it at http://www.espritmodel.com .

10-16-2003 Over year old.

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

Any chance the problem is with the batteries or the voltage selected on the charger?

Rob

10-16-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

hpilotrc
Veteran
Location: NY--->>Mooresville, NC USA 8/2005

Triton problems with lead acid batteries...

If you have a sealed lead acid cell try this test:

Put your Triton in the discharge mode and discharge the battery to the selected level (10.8 for 12V). If you don't want to discharge it down to the limit just try discharging about 2000mah out of it.

Select a charge current 1 to 2 amps depending on the size (0.3C) and watch the Triton at work. Normally my charger will slowly ramp up to maximum current and then under a constant voltage charge (I hope), start lowering the current. My Triton ends up in trouble as soon as the current starts to taper down ( by 0.2 mA or so). The Triton will just stop and terminate the charge and say "END" on the display. This happens after only about putting back slightly more then half of the MAH that was taken out. If I try to restart the charge it will go to max current or slightly before max and shut off with another "END".

There must be a flaw in the Tritons programming software. Hopefully Great Planes can figure it out and correct it.

Michael

10-16-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

Michael. Some comments and suggestions:

The Triton is very conservative. If memory serves, it uses an absorption charge voltage of only about 14.4V. This isn't too bad for standard lead-acid cells, but for deep cycle and especially gel cells my reading indicates it is too low to provide a full charge. In comparison, I think the Orbit uses an absorption charge voltage closer to 14.8V.

As for bulk charge current, 0.3C may be a bit too high, especially for sealed gelled electrolyte batteries, and may be causing your Triton to terminate even earlier. 0.10 - 0.13C is often recommended.

So in summary, I don't think the Triton is "faulty", although I do think it has been set up too conservatively and the penalty is incomplete charging - particularly of deep cycle and gel cells.

Rob

10-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

hpilotrc
Veteran
Location: NY--->>Mooresville, NC USA 8/2005

Triton on Lead Acid Cells

Rob,

Sorry but I disagree. The Triton should be folding back the current when in CV mode at or near 15vdc. It should be fully charged when the current is only around 0.1A or less. My Triton (s) did not even folding back the current all that much before terminating the charge cycle. I also suspect a problem when the Triton stops charge to monitor the voltage of the pack before continuing. This happens once a minute and I notice that the charge terminates right after this when the battery voltage is around 13.93v at idle.

It would be also nice to have a "CC" or "CV" on the LCD panel when charging to show what the current mode the charger is in in the charge cycle.

I hope they investigate this problem and fix it so that I do not have to return it for a more expensive German Schulze Charger which I do not really want to go out and buy.

Michael

10-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

Michael.

You don't have to apologize if you disagree with my explanation!

I have some trouble explaining the early termination but I think I have offered at least a partial explanation for the behaviour. For example, I have observed the voltage used by the Triton and as you can see it is quite different from another charger.

The construction of the battery determines what is required to achieve a full charge. All batteries are not the same. One charger does not fit all if we want a full charge without overcharging. I also noted your observation that the Triton seemed to terminate early. I have observed the same thing with my gel cell.

A few questions for you. How old is the battery? How has it been maintained in the past? Have you tried the same experiment with a new battery (if the one you have is old)? Have you tried a charge rate of around C/10? Have you tried to find charging guidelines for your particular battery? Have you investigated proper 3-mode chargers for maintaining your lead acid battery(s)?

Rob

10-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

rscamp
Veteran
Location: Ontario, Canada

Hey Michael. I just noticed you provide a part number for the battery you are using. I just checked the specs and as I feared the Triton is at or below the bottom limit for the absorption charge voltage for your battery. This isn't good.

Another thought. This is a standby battery. It is designed to be maintained on a constant float charge. It is not designed for deep or frequent discharge cycling. Perhaps this design goal results in less than ideal characteristics for use as a power souce. This may also make the Triton less than ideal as a charger for it.

Another thought. If you have significant resistance in the connection to the battery this will cause the charger to terminate early. You can measure voltages at the battery terminals and at the output terminals of the Triton to check this.

Another thought. 2A is much higher than the charge current developed by chargers normally sold for this type of battery (500-800mA). The voltage of this battery may go abnormally high when charged with a current this high.

If none of this helps, I pretty much give up!

Rob

10-17-2003 Over year old.

HOMEPAGE

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e-Electric Batteries & Chargers > Test your Triton on Lead Acid Batteries now!

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