Hopefully, if you are a beginner at flying remote controlled airplanes and helicopters, you selected a nickel metal hydride battery for a number of different reasons, one of which is affordability. Let’s say you want a faster airplane battery charger than came with your airplane model or if you want additional ones in order to allow yourself rapid recharging so that you can have longer flight times. What type of airplane battery charger should you select?
In the previous article, we discussed how it is best to buy a NiMh airplane model because it is a lot less expensive to purchase an NiMh battery as opposed to a lithium potassium. Another reason is that you don’t have to hassle with discharging your battery properly, (although it is useful) which requires a much more expensive model of discharger.
So what kind of price difference are we talking about?
Usually, a lithium potassium airplane battery charger will run around $100, whereas you can get a nickel metal hydride battery charger for around $40.00, although some more expensive chargers are available.
So let’s look at some NiMh battery chargers that will suit your needs, starting with the least expensive.
The Vision Peak 2 Peak Charger only costs around $40.00, and is manufactured by Dynamite. It is a top seller on most r/c airplane model websites, and features a wide range of charging voltages from 4.8 volts to 8.4 volts.
While this battery charger will not charge any less than four cells, it can go as high as seven cells.
It features a charge rate which ranges from one amp, to two amps, to four amps, and you attach it to your battery with either in AC plug or alligator clips.
Some good features are the bar graph which show you just how charged your NiMh batteries are and how long they have to go. It also features a volt meter connection. The Vision Peak 2 battery charger also has an auto trickle charge and is fuse protected, in order so that you don’t have any backwash and blow your airplane battery.
The Dynamite Vision 2 battery charger will definitely suit the needs of most beginner remote controlled airplane hobbyists, and it is definitely a must buy if your r/c model only comes with a standard charger.
If you are willing to spend a little bit more money on a universal charger, then you may want to check out the multiplex MULTICharger LN-5014, which will set you back about $75.00.
One of the advantages of this airplane battery charger is that it will handle lithium potassium, lithium ion, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries.
It also features an easy to read LCD screen which tells you a lot of different information as opposed to less expensive models, such as the battery type, the current voltage, the charge time that is left, and the amount of milliamp hours left in the airplane battery.
Even better, the Multiplex airplane battery charger can display anything that is wrong with your airplane battery, such as input voltages out of range, reverse polarity, or battery condition. It only takes four buttons in order to control everything.
This airplane battery multicharger will handle from 1 to 6 cells with a traditional lead battery, and 1 to 14 cells with a NiCd or NiMH. It will handle 1 to 5 lithium potassium or lithium ion cells. Even better, it will offer discharges down to one amp, as well as trickle charges.
This multi airplane battery charger connects to the battery with alligator clips, and can handle just about any type of pack that you decide to throw at it.
For those r/c airplane hobbyists who own a variety of remote controlled plane models, this is the model for them, and will probably save you money in the long run, as opposed to buying different types of airplane battery chargers.
If you want to spend a little bit more money, then this Pinnacle battery charger made by E-flite, runs at just a hair under $100. It comes in a blue frame with a black trim, and has a number of useful features.
This charger model offers a large LCD display which indicates mAH, voltmeters, and ammeters, and also comes with the DC fan in order to allow for efficient cooling of the unit.
A handy beeper allows you to know when your airplane batteries are fully charged, and banana plugs and alligator clip adapters are also included.
It holds a number of different types of charge leads including Tamiya, receiver, transmitter, and BEC. This NiMh battery charger minimizes heat output, and offers peak production in order to make sure that you don’t blow up the battery.
Reversed polarity protection is also included, and starting your battery charging is as simple as pushing the start button.
This airplane battery charger is also very versatile, and it can handle 1 to 14 cells and has a charge rate of 200 milliamps. This model also features a discharger option, and has a 7.5 amp fuse safety circuit, in order to prevent accidental overload of your batteries.
If you only need to charge Ni-Cd or Ni-Mh batteries exclusively, then this isn’t a bad model because it will suit all of your needs in the future.
As you can see, these are just a few of the many types of nickel cadmium airplane battery chargers that are available on the market, and if you’re in doubt, you may simply want to purchase a multicharger such as the second model described, in order to make sure that you can charge just about any type of different airplane battery.