duralite is off to a bad start for me.

[Rchelicopter]

1 problem is OK, 2 is a pain, but 3 problems instill doubt!

:roll: First problem…….
I had to return my TX pack because the only way it would charge was to squeeze the pack. It had a loose contact in there somewhere and it was replaced within a week. No problem, great service! I was not even going to mention it until the other problems showed up.
:? Second problem…….
I got the replacement pack and I am using the 3+1 to charge it. I plugged in the TX pack and the LED goes on, once it is fully charged the LED goes out, normal so far. Here is the weird part, if I put my hand near the TX pack, the LED turns on. Goes on and off when my hand moves over the pack. I tried waving a metal object over the pack and got the same results. As soon as an object gets closer to the center of the pack the LED slowly starts to light. If held over the center the LED is full on. Move away from center and the LED fads to off. Looks like a shielding problem. But if they are that sensitive then it makes me a little nervous because there is a lot of noise in this hobby. It is either too sensitive to changes in resistance of the surrounding air in the meg-ohm range or a capacitive/inductive change in the surrounding air. I have seen this kind of problem in op-amp circuits if one of the inputs or a reference point is left floating. I called Duralite and they tell me it is normal, it’s just static. If it is static, shield it! Not really happy with that answer, I expect better from a 400.00 dollar battery system.
:arggg: Third problem…….
Once the RX battery has charged and the light has gone out, if I touch the case of the charger the led turns back on? ANOTHER loose connection?
My luck can’t be that bad, anyone else having these issues. I wish I was as happy as most others using this system but without a reasonable solution I think the hole system might go back. :(
Has anyone else seen this “static” problem? I have a QuickTime mov files that shows both problems, just not sure how to post them. I can't convert them to WMA on this computer, will try another. I Can Email them to anyone interested if they PM me their address.
If you have had this kind of problem, any suggestions are appriciated

[DavidH]

Chuck,
I have been using Duralite for nearly 3 years now. I have not seen the problem your describing. I charge the RX packs with them still in the heli. YES Duralite does say they should be charged outside the heli. But I personally don't know anyone that takes them out to charge them. And that is how I have always charged them.
I have the 4000 mah rx packs and use the Transmitter packs in my 9Z. I do charge the transmitter packs outside the transmitter. Just because it is easier to take them out and charge them.
I have not had any problem with handling the packs while they are charging.

Give Jack a call at Duralite and discuss your concerns with him. He is great to talk to and wants the customer to be satisfied with the product he sells.

David

[WayneBrown]

Jack and Rachel will either rectify the issues, Explain it to YOUR satisfaction, or find another means to alleiviate your concerns.
This is the first time I have heard of these issues as well, and I'd like to know what the end result is! To be honest, I've not heard of a Quality Control issue with any of the packs in a great while,..at least a couple of years..
Please keep us posted.. I just gotta know what the weird LED thing is about.. maybe You just have an electrifying personality? :)

[WillJames]

DId you call Jack? I am sure they will take care of you. I have 3 DL 3+1 chargers and I have never seen what youa re describing.

[bono1]

My charger will do the same thing (light when touched after fully charged). I just don't charge on metal and just let the light go out before I remove charge lead. My first charger had a problem of not charging unless it was squeezed. My wife said that I could only squeeze her so, I returned the charger to Duralite and a new charger was returned to me for free.
Sam

[WillJames]

When I get home I will touch all of them and see what they do. I definitely don't remember seeing this and I commonly loan out my chargers to, and nobody has ever complained of it...... Interesting..

[Rchelicopter]

I did call duralite and I think I spoke to jack. He said he knew exactly what I was talking about and it’s only a static thing. It will not affect the charger or the battery. I want to try running it through an isolation transformer and then I’ll try running it off a 12 volt battery. I have also noticed that when I plug in my fully charged TX/RX batteries, only the TX light comes on for a few minutes. Like the TX pack has discharged a little overnight, I know lithiums don't discharge themselves like other batteries. The RX light will only flash for a moment. AT any rate I’ll run a few more tests and run them past jack before I post the results. I don't thing this is a serious problem. It’s OK if they all work that way, but if only a few are doing it then a little more explaining is in order.

[Clintstone]

As far as discharging over night that is true to a point. There is a balancing circuit and while charging the cells peak and the balancer levels the pack so if you plug it back in it will peak again. Basically these are plug and play packs and all you have to do is a load test before you fly. I check before and after . I have been fly Duralite for some time now and they just work. The static thing is wierd but as Jack said it is not affecting the packs. I chrge mine until al the lights go out and then I turn off the power supply and unplug the packs. When the lights go out the charger goes into a trickle and yes the balacer is still working also. I hope this helps

[Brady Longmore]

I might be a little late asking, but besides the static, and the light coming on....how have the batteries actually performed for you as far as lasting while you are flying?

[Clintstone]

I give out long before my packs do. I can fly atleast 10 flights before chrging.

[bkervaski]

I love the Duralite products, but they need to have an extra step in there QA process to check connections. I had a battery pack cost me $500.00 in repairs trying to hunt down the 'ghost' that ended up being a loose connection that only caused problems under heavy load, i.e., flying. I recently just sent back a reg that had a loose connection. If I hadn't check it first, it would have probably resulted in a crash.

[Clintstone]

Bill, glad to see you post this. Duralite responds very well to suggestions as they are very interested in seeing all of us enjoy this great hobby to the fullest extent. You should email Jack thru the Duralite website and I bet your findings could save someone alot of trouble down the road. Thanks for being constructive, it just shows class.

[bkervaski]

I get 11 flights on my Evo 90. I'm doing very light 3D and FAI style loops, rolls, etc. I'm running 9252's at 5.1v.

On my Stratus, I'll guess the flights will be closer to 8 using 9255's at 5.3v. The tank holds less so that may give me an extra flight as my actual flight times are down to 8 minutes or so vs 11 with my Evo.

@Clint -- I did talk to them and voiced my concerns. They were very receptive. Duralite customer service is outstanding.

[lennydude]

Well ..........

I just switched all my stuff to Duralites and had a problem with my RX battery. Same thing as above.......................light on 3 in 1 charger would not light. I went through all my connections and finally saw the charger light glow very bright AFTER I squeezed the RX pack.

To say the least, this has caused me to have no faith in these batteries. I was talked into them because they were the "written gospel" and I could have easily lost my heli !!

BTW..........................the battery would accept a charge when it was squeezed AND when plugged into a digital tester, not squeezed = 7.25 volts, squeezed = 7.89 volts.

Not sure what you folks did, but I took all the Duralite stuff back and now have NiMH batteries in my heli.

Jack answered my e-mail VERY quickly and asked me to call him to arrive at a solution but I had already lost any faith in the batteries.

Lenny

[WayneBrown]

Sorry to hear that you gave up so quick Lenny. If you have a problem such as this Duralite will fix it pretty fast.
One day maybe You'll decide to try them again, Once you have them, they are very worth it!