I've finished the work on the replacement charger for the Giant Lafree Twist series and all the details on that and how to get one are now available on my Twist website.
Twist, Comfort & ST Replacement Charger
- Thread starter flecc
- Start date
Reoplacement charger
I obtained one of these from Flecc and it's very good - seems to charge much more quickly than the last one (although I have forgotten what the other one was like in its prime - latterly it had to be switched on and off constantly). Many thanks - I was very impressed with the help I got after I put my query on the forum.
I obtained one of these from Flecc and it's very good - seems to charge much more quickly than the last one (although I have forgotten what the other one was like in its prime - latterly it had to be switched on and off constantly). Many thanks - I was very impressed with the help I got after I put my query on the forum.
Thanks Pauline, glad it's working well for you. The information has been passed to the USA distributor now by A to B magazine since they were stuck for a 220 volt charger for their Twist Sport sales in higher voltage countries. For anyone who's interested, I've located a supplier for my recommended charger in the USA as well as Electrodrive in this country.
It's Powerstream, a specialist supplier. The links to the individual pages are generic, so on that page click Chargers on the left hand menu, then NiMh and NiCad charger index, then scroll down to 24 volt NiMh/NiCad charger with 3 amp charge. Click that and you'll see part number PST-3PN9530-24, that's the one, priced at $56.25 and quantity reductions, about a third of the Giant price in the USA. That would still compete with the £65 UK price after all import costs.
I'll update my Twist website when my ISP condescends to provide my full broadband service for access.
It's Powerstream, a specialist supplier. The links to the individual pages are generic, so on that page click Chargers on the left hand menu, then NiMh and NiCad charger index, then scroll down to 24 volt NiMh/NiCad charger with 3 amp charge. Click that and you'll see part number PST-3PN9530-24, that's the one, priced at $56.25 and quantity reductions, about a third of the Giant price in the USA. That would still compete with the £65 UK price after all import costs.
I'll update my Twist website when my ISP condescends to provide my full broadband service for access.
Flecc's charger has arrived from the States and has not attracted import tax this time. Total cost just under 80$ so about £40 including 'Air Parcel Post' which was the cheapest air option.
Wonderful!!
Just need to fit a Brit plug and get the other half of the adaptor on the DC output end.
Sav.
Wonderful!!
Just need to fit a Brit plug and get the other half of the adaptor on the DC output end.
Sav.
Thanks for the information Chris, pleased it was such a low cost for you, about one third that of the Giant version. I think you'll be as pleased with it's performance as Pauline is.
Anyone re-celling a battery per my site details and buying one of these chargers will have saved £230 on Giant's prices, and a better performance from both.
That's Consumer power in action.
Anyone re-celling a battery per my site details and buying one of these chargers will have saved £230 on Giant's prices, and a better performance from both.
That's Consumer power in action.
Minor problems, The charger comes with a three pin line socket and I can't source the corresponding plug locally, have ordered what I think it is from Maplins.
Good job I played safe!!!!
I got the voltmeter out and followed the pin-out on the charger diagram and got negative voltage across the thermistor and 9v across the main charging loop. By now deeply suspicious I took the charger plug apart and found the wires in my charger are a different colour to Fleccs, mine are brown, yellow, blue. Assuming blue to be the neg I put the voltmeter across the other two suspected positives,5v & 40v as expected. Take another look at the instructions and realise they are a mirror image of the socket pin numbers!!! 1(brown/main),2(yellow/Therm) &3(blue/neg) antclockwise on the destructions are 1(main), 2(neg), 3(therm) clockwise on the socket.
Stuffed the Giant wires in the socket holes for now and its charging as described by Flecc.
Good job I played safe!!!!
I got the voltmeter out and followed the pin-out on the charger diagram and got negative voltage across the thermistor and 9v across the main charging loop. By now deeply suspicious I took the charger plug apart and found the wires in my charger are a different colour to Fleccs, mine are brown, yellow, blue. Assuming blue to be the neg I put the voltmeter across the other two suspected positives,5v & 40v as expected. Take another look at the instructions and realise they are a mirror image of the socket pin numbers!!! 1(brown/main),2(yellow/Therm) &3(blue/neg) antclockwise on the destructions are 1(main), 2(neg), 3(therm) clockwise on the socket.
Stuffed the Giant wires in the socket holes for now and its charging as described by Flecc.
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That's right Chris, always difficult with plug and socket connections to know which is the best way to display them.
That socket on the charger may well be an NTC, the Chinese seem to like them, which Maplin don't do, the plug you've ordered is probably an XLR. If that's the case, you can get an XLR socket to match from Maplin, or if you mail me an address, I'll post you a new one I have spare, no charge of course.
That socket on the charger may well be an NTC, the Chinese seem to like them, which Maplin don't do, the plug you've ordered is probably an XLR. If that's the case, you can get an XLR socket to match from Maplin, or if you mail me an address, I'll post you a new one I have spare, no charge of course.
Thanks for the offer Flecc,
Its the Chinese instructions that are wrong, not yours which were very helpful.
Re the plug, no its not an XLR (push fit) its a screw type. If the Maplin one doesnt match I'll order the female half as well, so no worry.
The Panasonic charger has awfully thin wires for low voltage!!!
Sav.
Its the Chinese instructions that are wrong, not yours which were very helpful.
Re the plug, no its not an XLR (push fit) its a screw type. If the Maplin one doesnt match I'll order the female half as well, so no worry.
The Panasonic charger has awfully thin wires for low voltage!!!
Sav.
Yes, they are very thin, but they can carry enough current, especially given the slow discharge of the new charger. There's much that's odd about that Panasonic charger altogether, you can tell it was new territory for them, a long way away from transistor radios etc.
I did mean the screw type NTC, but your's may be different. If there's difficulty, a pair of XLRs do the job well.
I did mean the screw type NTC, but your's may be different. If there's difficulty, a pair of XLRs do the job well.
Well it's all done.
Plug (L45AZ Lkg Line Plug 3-Way) arrived today from Maplins.
Had to pad the thin Panasonic cable to get the cable clamp to grip, but it works, all credit to Flecc.
Final cost from Powerstream as no duty was charged, £40 plus Maplins socket & postage £4. Well happy!!
I'll report on the 10Ah cells in the other thread.
Sav
Plug (L45AZ Lkg Line Plug 3-Way) arrived today from Maplins.
Had to pad the thin Panasonic cable to get the cable clamp to grip, but it works, all credit to Flecc.
Final cost from Powerstream as no duty was charged, £40 plus Maplins socket & postage £4. Well happy!!
I'll report on the 10Ah cells in the other thread.
Sav
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