Great Planes Triton EQ Charger - GPMM3155 - Manual (Page 13)

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4. To START CHARGE, press and hold ENTER for 2 seconds. “BATTERY CHECK, PLEASE WAIT…” will show briefl y,
and TritonEQ will start charging if the battery is in suitable condition.
5. When fi nished charging the screen will show “END” and tones will sound for 10 seconds. The battery should now be
ready for use. TritonEQ will display details about the charge data for your battery, including charge capacity, elapsed
charge time, etc. A more complete set of data measured during discharge can be viewed in the DATA VIEW screens
shown on page 14.
Notes about charging Pb batteries:
•
Lead-acid batteries use the “constant current / constant voltage” method (cc/cv) as explained in the section for lithium batteries.
However, different voltage levels are used for evaluating the condition of Pb batteries.
• Lead-acid batteries do not need trickle charge, and therefore no such feature exists.
• Lead-acid batteries have a nominal voltage of 2.0V per cell. For most fi eld batteries, even though you cannot see any individual
“cells”, there are 6 cells internally. At 2.0V per cell, this makes a total fi eld battery voltage of 12V.
• For lead-acid batteries rated at 12V or greater, the actual amount of current delivered to the battery might be limited due to
the charger’s maximum rated output power. This is normal, due to various possible circumstances such as the condition of the
battery, limitations of the input power source, charge connector/connection, etc.
DISCHARGING Pb BATTERIES
1. At the “Pb CHARGE” screen, press Ð to fi nd the “Pb DISCHARGE” screen.
2. Two values can be adjusted on this discharge screen. Press ENTER to cause the discharge current value to fl ash.
Press INC or DEC to change this value.
3. Lead-acid batteries are discharged to 1.8V per cell. Most hobby batteries have a nominal voltage rating of 12 volts –
being 6 cells at 2V each. So the proper discharge cutoff voltage for 12V fi eld batteries would be 10.8V (1.8V x 6 cells).
Press ENTER to cause the discharge cutoff voltage value to fl ash. Press INC or DEC to adjust the voltage value as
necessary. Press ENTER to confi rm the value.
4. To START DISCHARGE, press and hold ENTER for 2 seconds. “BATTERY CHECK, PLEASE WAIT..” will show
briefl y, and TritonEQ will start discharging if the battery is in suitable condition.
5. When discharge is fi nished, the screen will show “END” and tones will sound for 10 seconds. The battery can now
be re-charged, or disconnected from TritonEQ. The charger will display details about the charge data for your battery,
including discharge capacity, elapsed time, etc. A more complete set of data measured during discharge can be
viewed in the DATA VIEW screens shown on page 14.
Notes about discharging Pb batteries:
•
For more accurate discharge readings, it’s better to use a current which can discharge the pack in 1 or 2 hours.
• The maximum discharge current is 1 amp. Maximum power dissipation during discharge is 5 watts, which might cause discharge
currents to automatically be limited for packs having high voltage.
• The proper discharge cutoff voltage for batteries with a nominal rated voltage of 2V is 1.8V, 4V batteries should be discharged
to 3.6V, 6V batteries should be discharged to 5.4V, 8V batteries should be discharged to 7.2V, and 10V batteries should be
discharged to 9V.
MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS
Buzzer: Audible tones will sound to identify when a function has started or stopped, when an error occurs, and will
sound once for each push of a button to aid in setup. This buzzer cannot be adjusted or turned off.
Memory: When settings are adjusted in the programming, TritonEQ will memorize these settings until changed again
manually (even when power is removed from the charger). Note, however, that all measured test data is lost when power
is removed from the charger.
Safety Timer: A backup timer is built-in to protect the charger for safety purposes. If TritonEQ does not properly identify
a battery having reached full charge, this timer will automatically stop fast charge to prevent any damage from occurring
due to overcharge. The fast charge safety time for NiCd and NiMH batteries is fi xed at 1.5 hours (90 minutes), and is 3
hours (180 minutes) for LiPo, Li-Ion, LiFe, and Pb batteries. This function can be turned off (see page 14), but is ONLY
recommended if charging NiCd or NiMH batteries at very low currents. Do NOT turn this function off when charging
lithium-based batteries.