Step chargin with a CE Pitbull X3
 

Has anyone messed with the step charging feature of the pitbull X3? ...if so how did it go and what settings did you use? ...I'm particularly interested in stock and 19T settings.

I tried it and didn't like it. Batteries dropped off really bad around 3 minutes.

I used pretty much the std settings...

0-200mah 2A
200mah - 3000mah 6A
3000mah - peak 5A

I also tried
0-200mah 2A
200mah - 3000mah 6.5A
3000mah - peak 5.5A

Went back to a straight 6A charge and they are much better.

Blake

I wonder if it's a setting thing, or just the charger itself ...the thread on the Orion charger made me think about this again, someone posted:

Those steps are way different than the ones you tried ...again different chargers so the above may not be relevant to an X3 anyways :weird:

I have messed around with it a little. I havent seen any miraculous improvements-but the packs come off the charger a little cooler and still feel punchy. They also seem to charge longer which supports the idea of increased runtime at little loss of up front punch. Basically I set it at 6.5amps till 3000 Mahr, then 6.0 till 3500 and then 5 for the last part till peak.

Normally I charge at 6 on a T35GFX at 0.05 cut-off and have pack temps between 130 to 140 degrees. ON the Pitbull-they are 115 to 120 only.

I have tried 7 up front too. I have been changing it a little bit here and there.

Again-no concrete evidence to back up anything I have just typed.

I'll try that setup...I'm all for punchy and leaving the batts cooler to boot.

Blake

Robitronic also make a multi-phase charger.

Their first version was a 3-phase thing, but packs was too cool... So now they have 4 phases, and 4. is a custumable one, which basically is an overcharge phase with the purpose of getting the temp up.

Robitronic recommends phase 1 = 8-9 amps, phase 2 = 5-6 amps and phase 3 = 3-4 amps. Phase 4 is selectable and adjustable, where you can specify some minutes of extra charge, including the rate, I think.

You can read more here: http://www.robitronic.com/produkte/expert_e.htm and also download the manual here: www.robitronic.com , where the 4. phase is explained.

Might not be a miracle, but to me it sounds great, with good punch AND lower pack temperature. Shold get better battery lifetime... Good for my wallet :D

Problem with 3 Step
 

Anyone else having difficulty getting the 3step to work? It works fine for the first 2 stages but I have yet to see it hit the 3rd stage.

Setting are:

1: 3000mAHR 7amps
2: 3300mAHR 6amps
3: 4.5amps

Thanks,:)

Re: Problem with 3 Step
 

yeah i had the same problem when trying it out ona couple of packs. I'm going to call CE and see if they can help

MY bud uses the Step charge and he has been experimenting with different settings and we then do cycle testing to see which is getting the best numbers...So far the step charging isn't showing any signifacant increase in runtime or voltage than a standard 6Amp continuous regular peak detect. So really it is up to you.
The battery life thing is really not an issue. I have been using the discharge tray over night technuque for months and I have only lost about 1-3 seconds of runtime in fifteen charges. SO really do what you think works but I never let my cells get above 118degrees and I usally get about 4200mah input with 3800-3950mah discharge with that techneque.
Hope this helps,
Stephen <><
Also that is the technque for stock and 19T not for MODS...They need runtime...

Step Charging
 

After talking with Jim at CE, I have found out that each stage is additional to the previous stage.

Therefore if you set:

Step 1: 3000mAH at 7amps
Step 2: 3300mAH at 6amps
Step 3: 4.5amps

It will not start the final charge until the battery reached 6300mAH!:eek: So in order to correct this issue you would want the step charging to look like this or similar.

Step 1: 3000mAH at 7amps
Step 2: 300mAH at 6 amps
Step 3: 4.5amps

Works like a champ now!:D

Later,:)

i have tried the Hara settings, for 1/12 stock. Batteries are fast, but it seems to kill some of the runtime.
I found that going to a 4A/900mA- 6A/2000mA- 5A yiielded better runtime. Basically, it looks like the longer you run the 1st step with this lo-hi-med type profile, the better runtime. Note, this is on the track vs. a cycle type situation. YMMV

Charging Problem
 

Has anyone else noticed that when charging with the PitBull that the voltage tends to jump around quite a bit and not stay consistant? It is causing me all sorts of false peak problems.

Thanks,:)