EZY

External port warning:
Don't ever bother using the external port. (Ever, it is crap, no it’s even worse)

As I found, if the top left of the unit (not the heat sink) gets hot the output goes uncontrolled. (Full power supply voltage and current) Yes that’s right, until it cools it’s a fire hazard for your batteries. I was lucky and it only split the cell heat shrink on a 3300 stick pack, and didn’t burn my house down! (That’s no joke, this charger will!) So I looked a bit harder at what the Spintec charger was now doing.

The story:
Firmware V1.06C Hardware V1.2
Charged a 3300 stick at 5A, it completed fine, battery just warm.
Plugged next one in and charged the 3300 stick at 5A (same as before), it beeped twice and told me it was finished. (I finished reading a page in a book, and by now could smell something hot.) Battery hot, very hot. Disconnected it put it aside to cool. (Note for self batteries get hotter as the internal temp warms the outside. Soon the battery was untouchably hot, and splitting its heat shrink.)

What’s up:
Room temp about 25C
Top left of unit hot, heat sink not.
I plugged in another 3300 stick.
Charger would not charge, charger told me low power supply volts. (It’s the first time I ever had that message with my PS.)
It would not even charge at minimum setting. (Still low ps volts.)
Checked Spintec option 4(system settings) option 3(system info) yes the volts were below 12V but the next two told me something was wrong 9.5A and 104W.
So I disconnected battery and power. I waited 30secs. Plugged power back in. Waited for the Spintec to be ready and at the main menu. I plugged in a battery. Yes, same result 9.5A. Repeat whole process. Still the same.
Plugged in a "Watt's Up" gauge between the Spintec and Battery. Confirmed 9.4A to battery.
Disconnect everything. Reflect that the other person in our club with one had blown the external port running in a motor, it had gone from running his motor in at low volts, to full power supply. Yes, he had to send it back.
Waited for the only bit on the Spintec that was warm to cool, crossed my fingers and plugged it back in. Attached battery to external. Whew all, ok. Perhaps a larger power supply would have blown it totally. Started a charge to confirm the unit now ok, yes it was. Disconnected the battery and will never use the external again. (BTW: If you want to know how long it takes the Spintec to get the to 5A on the external it’s around 2 minutes.)

I will never use the external point again... ever!


Any manufacturer that builds a charge unit which when it thermals(at a reasonable room temp) and protects its self by running full power supply to the output totally uncontrolled and with no error messages is looking down litigation when someone house burns down. And if what I have found above to be a design flaw that the manufacture knows about, then all hardware versions 1.2 should be recalled. At the minimum the Firmware needs to be changed to alert the user.


BTW: I have found the internal charger to be the best in the industry. (I hope the internal charger does not have the problem above.)