Cheap NiMh 36V charger

[tourtoe]

I need an extra charger for "el Focus" - for topping up when I park the bike at work. Until now I have brought the Schachner charger every time, but I'm afraid it won't last long that way.

I need ~1.5 - 2A, but 3A would be nice. The pack is a ~10Ah and has a 10K Thermistor R 3950. I don't need maintenance mode, revitalising functions oir anything fancy, but if I can find top of the pops for a reasonable price, the Schachner charger could stay at work, and the new one at home.

I live in Denmark, so shipping from Germany is often much cheaper than from the UK.

Any recommendations?

Cheers,
Torben

 

[fcurran]

May I suugest contacting our Danish distributor as they may be able to source one for you:

CYKELLET

* Frederiksborgvej 521

Gundsømagle Vig

4000 Roskilde

info@cykellet.dk

Tlf. 2612 4000 / 4673 2685

Regards

Frank
Powabyke Ltd

 

[flecc]

Alternatively, chargers from Powerstream in the USA are a particularly good buy with current dollar exchange rates. The one I'm recommending costs just over £28 in the UK currently, plus postage:

See here
.

 

[jha07]

I just bought a NiMh charger from Powerstream. I'm pretty happy with it. I bought the 48V, 2A, model. So far, I've tested it with 35 cells (42v), and 30 cell (36v) packs. Worked well for both.

 

[tourtoe]

I got the Powerstream - and it is indeed a fine product.

I payed ~40£ for the charger plus shipping, and 26£ to the Danish customs. Sigh. The shipping took 5 days, the customs handling took 10 days.

"el Focus" works better than ever, now I have more than 1000km on it.

Cheers,
Torben

 

[Ian]

It seems the Danish customs are very much like the English customs. Often it is possible for small packages to get through without paying duty and tax, but larger packages usually attract unwelcome attention resulting in delays and costs.

 

[jha07]

Torben

Nice job on your el focus. I never would have thought to use a hub motor that way. Very creative!

 

[tourtoe]

Torben

Nice job on your el focus. I never would have thought to use a hub motor that way. Very creative!

Thank's. I'm forwarding the roses to cleverchimp/stokemonkey as they got me interested in this kind of solution in the first place

Cheers,
Torben

 

[jha07]

One thing I've noticed with the 48V powerstream charger is that if you connect it to a lower voltage battery, the charger will pulse the current for awhile until the battery voltage has raised to what it thinks is right. Then it will start charging at 2A. I'm mainly using this charger for my 35 cell, 42V battery. If the battery is fully drained, seems to take 10-20 mins before the charger will kick into the full 2A charge mode.
36V packs works too, but takes even longer before the charge starts charging at 2A.