Charging MTH Ptotosound 1 Battery

If your tender has the center rail roller it should be able to charge without the engine.

HOW old is that battery?? This is most important, as a battery older then four years should be replaced or charged outside of the tender.

I have one PS-1 steam engine and had to replace it's battery, I charged the replacement battery for about 36 hours in a Radio Shack 9 volt battery charger and then installed it. With a digital volt meter you should get 8.4 volts or better, if less then 8.3 volts it's a weak battery.

Lee F.

noswad,

   I recommend the BCR, if you have to replace the battery.

PCRR/Dave

I agree. Change out the battery for a BCR. I am now doing that with all my PS-1 engines even before I try to run them out of the carton after sitting for long periods of time...........Paul

I have 2 Galloping Geese with PS1.

I finally changed out the 10 yr old battery in one when it started to fade last year.

From my experience, it will take me about 20 years of batteries to cover the cost of BCRs.

My second PS1 battery is still fine at pushing 12 years.

Just charge them fully at least once every 6 months.

Mine charge by sitting on a siding while I run the other trains.

Thanks to all.  I have long intervals between running my engines and have decided to try the BCR.  Appreciate all your inputs.

Gene

paul2 -

How  much does a BCS cost? Is it better to use then a NiMH rechargeable?

if you want to charge a battery, get yourself a wall charger. They cost about ten bucks at Radio Shack and you can charge two at a time. It is much easier than trying to charge on the track.

A BCR is a good alternative, although they cost $25 a piece. A good NiMH battery will run you about $12-$15. I have a BCR's in most of my PS1 stuff and can honestly sya that it is nice not to worry if a battery is charged or not.

 I buy BCR's from the source...JandWelectronics. When I do buy I check his website for deals. Because I have far too many PS-1 engines to keep messing around with getting at the batteries. I would rather just have to take the engine apart once so for me the price is worth it plus I watch his site for deals and buy more then one at a time and that lowers the price to around 21 to 22 dollars apiece. I have been completly satisfied with BCR's ........Paul

I would put the BCR in if you plan to keep it for a long time. If you plan to sell it some people may not want a BCR.( I don't know why, I like to use them)

Thanks - I may give them a try. Spent entire morning looking for NiMH 9 volts - no luck.

Harbor freight sells good 9v NIMH cells. Be sure to verify that they are in fact 8.4 volts - HF sells a couple of different battery brands and I'm not sure they are all 8.4 volts - the cheaper ones might be 7.2v. I have used their "Thunderbolt" brand batteries and they hold a charge well. The ones I use do have 8.4 volts marked on them and they check out to over 9 volts when fully charged. 

BCR.  Best option.  And I have several Protot 1s.

I let the engine 'warm up' for 1 minute at 10-12 volts and that's all that is needed. The BCR gets it charge right from the 3rd rail.  No cord, no fuss. 

If engine shuts all the way down, there is some period of time that the BCR will still be 'fresh';  THe manufacturer probably states that in its insturctions.  My persoal rule of thumb is if more than if 5 minutes or more since last run, I do the 1 minute warm up again.

BCRs usually cost about $25 each.

As I've posted in the past, I have two criteria to judge whether the battery or BCR route is best.

Batteries are fine if:
1. You have a limited number of engines that are run fairly frequently so you can keep track of battery life, last time run, etc.
AND
2. The battery is located in an easily accessible location such as in a tender.


The BCR is recommended if:
1. You have a large number of infrequently run engines. It can be frustrating trying to keep track of battery conditions in a large fleet.
OR
2. The engine has a battery buried beneath the electronics and a mass of wiring such as in many diesels and some electrics. Do it once for a BCR and be done with it in this case. Even replacing the shell on many engines is not for the faint of heart and is a task I would not want to do on a regular basis.

Jim

I agree totally!

Joe is right on.  I agree with his points. (see his posting 2 above this one).