[hankster]

[IMG-LEFT]http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/530/1dtxp4320-thumb.jpg[/IMG-LEFT] The driver's choice for fast discharging. It's a high-rate discharger for high-level competition racers!

* Discharges up to 6 individual sub-C NiCd or NiMH cells at up to 20 amps.
* Unique lever-lock handles and spring-loaded contacts make cell insertion and removal quick and easy.
* Status lights indicate the battery condition for each cell.
* A cooling fan is built in that can be powered by load cells or an external DC power supply (not included).

Larger Picture

DTXP4320 20A Discharger
Retail $69.99
Street 49.99

DUE IN STOCK LATE NOVEMBER 2004

 

[eviltone]

[IMG-LEFT]http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/530/1dtxp4320-thumb.jpg[/IMG-LEFT] The driver's choice for fast discharging. It's a high-rate discharger for high-level competition racers!

* Discharges up to 6 individual sub-C NiCd or NiMH cells at up to 20 amps.
* Unique lever-lock handles and spring-loaded contacts make cell insertion and removal quick and easy.
* Status lights indicate the battery condition for each cell.
* A cooling fan is built in that can be powered by load cells or an external DC power supply (not included).

Larger Picture

DTXP4320 20A Discharger
Retail $69.99
Street 49.99

DUE IN STOCK LATE NOVEMBER 2004

I wonder if it will be better than the Integy discharger! I'd be willing to try yone out, once they are available.

-Tone

 

[tfrahm]

Hank -- full discharge down to zero volts, or are there diodes to halt discharge at around 0.9v for each cell?

 

[mattyk6]

OT, but that Intellipeak Ice DC charger looks interesting.
http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/530/1dtxp4170x-med.jpg

 

[hankster]

The discharger brings the cells down to 0 volts.

 

[sean cant drive]

looks pretty nice, the price ain't bad either

 

[sixandeightstringer]

This is a rebadge/remake of the Apex discharger, which I've had for about a year...

It works well and is super easy to put the packs into, but has one problem: the wires that connect the battery contacts to the resistors are a little thin, and this unit gets hot if you use it for a couple packs in a row without cool-down time; the heat melts the wire, the wires short, and you've got a problem.

If you get one, I recommend either hooking the fan up to the power supply or giving ample cooldown between each pack.

 

[David Washburn]

i thought that it wasn't good to bring them all the way down or am i wrong

 

[mattyk6]

This is a rebadge/remake of the Apex discharger, which I've had for about a year...

Duratrax copied their Digitial Intellipeak from Apex as well. As did Integy, I think. I know the Duratrax Digi Intellipeak came after the Apex, but not sure when Integy brought their's out.

 

[kcobra]

So if you are trying to bring your cells down to 0v after you have already discharged them down to 0.9v per cell at 30 amps, what would be the best discharge tray? Is this Duratrax/Apex unit as precise as say the Novak tray that discharges around 2 amps? Any reason to spend more on the Novak tray if your only purpose is to bring the cells down to 0v?

 

[erock1331]

The novak tray is more for mod racers.
It will take it down to 0 volts to deadshort but it will take about 12 hours.

If deadshorting is your thing, get a 20 amp one like this one or the new Integy one that brings it down at 30amps. Should be down to 0 volts in about a half hour to an hour tops.

 

[kcobra]

Twelve hours on the Novak tray? I thought the Novak tray discharged at a little over 2 amps? If this is a consistant 2 amps no matter the voltage, the most it should take to discharge a fully charged GP3300 pack is around 2 hours. Or does the Novak tray drop the amerage rate lower and lower as the cell voltage get's lower and lower?

 

[erock1331]

Not exactly sure on the Novak...but
I was using my Trinity Real Time 2 tray (20 amps) at the track Saturday and even after 2 hours on it the cells were not down to 0.00 volts.

Make sure you check em on a volt meter before shorting.

Here is a description of the new Trinity tray which is a 2 amper:
"Discharges each cell individually 2 amp discharge rate Individual cell lights dim at .85 volt Pack monitoring LEDs go completely out at 5.4 volts Master LED goes out at 3 volts for the entire pack Discharger will deep cycle down to zero volts after 12 hours."

 

[UnderDaHill]

kcobra...Most discharge trays use a resistor of some sort in the discharge circuit. As your voltage drops the amount of amps the tray pulls will also drop. So no... it is not a consistant 2 amps for the novak tray. As the pack gets down to a lower voltage the amps the tray draws will dwindle.

Here is the info I have on the Zero-thirty discharger from Integy. It is the same as the durtrax and apex trays but the zero-thirty discharges at 30 amps.

*********************
<From Integy Tech Support>
Thank you for your e-mail inquiry. The unit has 6 individual circuits, one doesn't affect the other ... so, no cell reversal possible. Each unit has about 0.04 Ohm resistance, therefore the rate is 30A. As the voltage lowers, the current draw lowers too (Ex. 0.6V at 15A, 0.3V at 7A ...etc) It usually takes more than 2 hours to deep discharge each cell.

*********************

I'm guessing most trays work this way. I should have my zero-thirty tomorrow. I'll try to remember to post back here after I've used it a bit.