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Unfortunately for me, I put maybe half of my MTH engines with a BCR instead of a battery.  My question is, since I do not want to undo the shells, would it hurt to take the engine off the track and use the MTH battery charger for 10-12 hours if has a BCR in it instead of a MTH battery?

Thanks a lot!!

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There is nothing to be gained.  Nothing would be accomplished.  A BCR, which is a supercapacitor, is at maximum charge in less than a minute, and will self-discharge far faster than a battery.

 

I have installed supercapacitors in some 1o of my locos, since the batteries are 8-10 years old.  On most, I have completely bypassed the charging port, but left the harness in in case in the future I or a future owner would want to revert to battery.

 

I don't know why you say "unfortunately," since the BCR does as advertised.

Last edited by RJR

The maximum voltage output, no load, of an MTH charger's output for a 3-volt system (2.4 volts), is 3.3 volts.  A BCR designed for the 3-volt system is rated to withstand more than that.  So it most probably (note I am waffling) would not harm the BCR.  But again, why do it?

 

Put loco on track, turn on power.  Wait a minute.  Now you've achieved the same result.

Originally Posted by George Harritos:

Unfortunately for me, I put maybe half of my MTH engines with a BCR instead of a battery.  My question is, since I do not want to undo the shells, would it hurt to take the engine off the track and use the MTH battery charger for 10-12 hours if has a BCR in it instead of a MTH battery?

 

Why "unfortunately" ?

I think he wants to make sure his batteries are charged. They could be "dead".

So, will he incur damage to a BCR should he put one on a charger by accident?

 I'd have to guess no unless the charger is rated higher than the BCR's rating.

So Id want say no to using quick chargers using a higher voltage in short controlled bursts, and auto shutoff for the charges end . Not without testing the chargers peak output anyhow. But a normal charger it should be fine. 

My reasoning is also that I've never heard of them limiting run times in anyway, and I think the plugs just disconnects the board so it doesn't "take off" out of the blue or wake us at 3am, while on a shelf just charging. Static is a sneaky, mischievous, traveling, devil, few items escape a little meddling magic their whole lives.

 

 

 While we don't do it often ourselves, somewhere there are lab rooms with things running non stop "till the wheels fall off". Having seen many places like that in other industries, Id travel and pay to see one, full of our trains, for an hour or two 

...um, and no tour guide. Not a good idea, I'd ask way too many questions 

 

 Between a dead loco, dying locos, and 15-30 charges, weeding them out sounds allot easier than my first thoughts.

Adriatic, on a 3-volt board unit, plugging in a charger does not disconnect the board.  If you look at the reverse of the charging port, you'll see both red wires (to board and to battery) are soldered to the same post & both black wires are soldered to the same post.

 

Pine Creek:  If as you say a BCR is discharged in a day, the test is easy.  CAREFULLY apply a voltmeter to the pins in the charge port.  A battery will read 2.3-2.7.  A BCR or supercap will be much less.  THen put a piece of tape over the charge port on BCR- or supercap-equipped locos so you can't forget.  I said CAREFULLY because if you accidentally (or intentionally) short the pins, you can damage a battery real fast.

Last edited by RJR

Just a thought:  BCR's are essentially battery replacements.  There are two ways to charge the battery internally and externally.  BCR's are designed to work with the engine internal charging system.  Likewise, BCR's should also be designed to handle connection to external engine charging without damage since this is a likely a common occurrence.   For any given engine the operator does not know if it contains a battery or a BCR.  The ultimate answer to the question at hand must come from the BCR manufacturer since it's a BCR design consideration. 

Originally Posted by RJR:

Adriatic, on a 3-volt board unit, plugging in a charger does not disconnect the board.  If you look at the reverse of the charging port, you'll see both red wires (to board and to battery) are soldered to the same post & both black wires are soldered to the same post.

 


Thanks, I find that unusual in comparison to other kinds of charging charge ports. They usually make use of a connection break on insertion. I cant think of an excepti ..oh yea single board & board mounted duh.

Yes, the 5V disconnects the lead to the board while retaining contact to the battery.  That would be for the PS-2 5V engines that use the 8.4V (9 Volt look alike) battery.

 

If these are PS-2 3V engines, I would not worry about it.  If 5V engines it would be best to confirm which have batteries and which have BCR before powering engines if you believe the batteries are drained.   G

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