New HK Quattro Charger And My Custom Charger Box

sconner

Member
I've been using a standard el-cheapo Thunder Power AC6 battery charger for the last couple years. Although it has suited me fine I wanted the ability to charge (and discharge for storage) more batteries at a time. In preparation for FF2015, of course, I purchased the HK Quattro 4x6 Charger from hobbyking. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=70728

Note that it only comes with one break-out balance board and one battery connection. I made my own battery connections by ordering:
Bannana Plugs: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=64391
12 Guage Wire Black:http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=67150
12 Guage Wire Red: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=70225
EC3 Connectors: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=67130

And ordered 3 extra balance boards: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/...S_Charge_Balance_board.html?strSearch=quattro

For fused protection, 5V USB for a phone, and the ability for others to plug in to my supply for 12V DC I ordered this power strip:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=70727

To power the whole mess I dug an old PC power supply out of my closet (yes I'm a nerd) opened it up and unsoldered all unnecessary wires. I only left the 2 main 5V and 12V rails as well as the wires for the switch and one set of MOLEX connectors if for some reason I wanted to add some other sort of accessories. I unsoldered and pulled one heck of a lot of wire out of the PS! I also left a grey wire but for the life of me I can't remember what I hooked it to. If anything.

Here are a couple articles (there are many) with info on using a PC power supply:
http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...owersupply.htm
http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...SIGN_GUIDE.HTM

Here you can see it on it's first demo run just to make sure it could power the Quattro and all function the way I thought it would. Note that I have a rocker switch between the green (PS ON) and a ground hanging here. I decided not to have a switch on the setup once installed in the box as my PS has a power switch on the outside by the cord. Not to mention you could just unplug it. If I didn't have a switch on the outside of the PS by the cord though I would certainly install one. So the final configuration the "PS ON" wire and a ground are soldered and heat-shrink covered inside the case.
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The next two photos are just of me dry fitting the PS in the tool box to see how I wanted it. I'm proud to use this old tool box again. My parents got it for me when I was a teenager. I'm now 38. It's just housed some old electrical wire and things over the years and it's good to use it again.
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Here you can see the PS opening roughed out. I have since filed the edges a bit more to make them look a bit nicer.
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Here you can see how I bent the aluminum plate (also recycled) that will support the power strip and charger so that it could be mounted in the tool box.
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Several pictures of the drilling and cutting process for the plate. Notice the rectangle opening and the hexagonal opening. Those are to allow airflow under the charger and also fresh air to the PS underneath.
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Dry fit. It fits! Put a small bit of plywood on the left edge to support some velcro for the power strip later. It's screwed into the plate from below.
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Another dry fit picture.
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In the next three pictures you can see the verticle divider I installed on the right side of the plate. Essentially, this offers a fire block to protect the bottom of the charger and PS in case one of the batteries goes up in flames.
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Assembled with the plate and firebreak installed:
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Lid closes nicely! YAY! I measured this over and over again to make sure the PS had enough breathing room, and the charger was up high enough you could access everything but yet the lid still close. I had to "tune" it a bit by reducing a washer between the plate and charger. But now it fits perfectly. And of course the obligatory Flite Test sticker!
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Completed side view:
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Completed top view. Cord stored on the right side.
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Powered on and charging.
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Fused power strip that provides power to the charger. Notice the USB port! Perfect for those small Nano QX USB chargers or your cell phone! :D You can also see one of the drawbacks to the way I built it...don't drop anything in the fan! :eek:
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Overall I'm very pleased. Nice case to carry the power supply, charger and power strip. It's all mounted solidly inside the tool box for protection. It doesn't seal up very well so I'll bet you could even charge with the lid shut but I doubt I will just for ventilation sake. Sure beats having the charger sit up on something and the batteries hanging off in an old tin Christmas bucket.

Note, I don't store the batteries in the tool box. I have a metal ammo can I got from Rural King for $12 that I store batteries in.

Hope the post is useful to somebody. Love the forum! I just need to post more....
 

Gryf

Active member
Agreed. I've seen this box in operation, and can confirm that it's really a first-class rig. Great work!

Gryf
 

sconner

Member
I've been using the charger and box for several weeks now and the only thing I wish it had was an individual bunker for each battery. So if one goes up I don't have to worry about it catching one of the other batteries charging on fire. Secondly, I sort of wish the balance plugs and charge plugs were mounted on something solid. So they aren't just hanging. Other than that, I love it!

sconner