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Kerrigan,

The upside is never having be concerned about a battery going bad, nor having to replace one again.

As always, it's cost vs. benefit.

 

With over 90 PS2 engines, at $20 each it would cost me about $1,800 to replace all of my engine's batteries with BCRs, along with the time it would take to do so, which at 15-20 minutes each is about 22.5-30 hours.

 

If I keep each engine an average of 8 years or so before selling it and assuming a 5 year battery life, the cost for 90 replacement batteries (at $9 each) is about $810 and the time to install them is the same 22.5-30 hours.

 

The net cost of BCRs for my roster would be about $990. I can buy 2-3 new PS3 engines for that money - and they won't need batteries!  

True.

In my case, I'm replacing the battery with a BCR2 on my Proto -> Proto2 conversions as I'm already into the locomotive and can eliminate the charging port drilling task.

 

Originally Posted by Barry Broskowitz:

Kerrigan,

The upside is never having be concerned about a battery going bad, nor having to replace one again.

As always, it's cost vs. benefit.

 

With over 90 PS2 engines, at $20 each it would cost me about $1,800 to replace all of my engine's batteries with BCRs, along with the time it would take to do so, which at 15-20 minutes each is about 22.5-30 hours.

 

If I keep each engine an average of 8 years or so before selling it and assuming a 5 year battery life, the cost for 90 replacement batteries (at $9 each) is about $810 and the time to install them is the same 22.5-30 hours.

 

The net cost of BCRs for my roster would be about $990. I can buy 2-3 new PS3 engines for that money - and they won't need batteries!  

NiMH batteries don't have a "memory effect", which means they'll endure far more partial charge/discharge cycles while retaining full capacity. The only downside is they'll self-discharge if left unused for extended periods of time (usually measured in weeks/months)

 

NiCd batteries hold onto their charge longer, but are less tolerant of partial discharge/charge cycles and will eventually charge only up to a certain point short of their rated capacity--meaning less runtime.

 

One practice I've heard is for engines that are run frequently get NiMH, and those that sit on a shelf for months at a time get NiCD. Either way, more MaH (milliamp-hours) is better. There are even LiPO (lithium polymer) 9V batteries with up to 520MaH, but those are expensive (over $20) and require special chargers to avoid blowing them up  

 

---PCJ

Well, if you do go to HF for that NiMH battery don't forget your coupons from the Sunday paper and many magazines. Another 20% off plus a free DMM so that you can measure the voltage on the battery.

 

HF

 

Their return policy is very good:

 

100% Satisfaction Guarantee! If for ANY reason you are not satisfied with this item, you may return it within 90 days for a full refund or replacement.

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  • HF

As an aside, I recommend getting a few of those HArbor Freight  test meters.  I got a few at $2.99 special.  Obviously, they don't have the accuracy of a Fluke, but it's close enough for model train work, or to keep in a toolbox aboard a boat, in a car, or elsewhere, or to test 1.5 or 9-volt batteries.  If it breaks, throw it out.  They don't measure AC amps, but do measure about anyting else you'll encounter on a layout.

 

I temporarily withdraw the above.  I checked 2 HF meters against two pricier meters I have, and they were unacceptably off on low AC voltages.  I'll have to do more tests when I get back to VA (I'm on SB AutoTrain).

Last edited by RJR
Originally Posted by Marty Fitzhenry:

That interest me.  Please let us know how that works.  Before you put it in the locomotive could you please put your volt meter on it with a load.  Good find, and thank you for sharing.

marty how do i check with volt meter with a load i will do that if you say how to do so i am not electronic smart so just explain

i have been running it for three or four days now blowing whistle playing sounds and all features and battery holding up just fine so its now how long will the battery going to last. I am hoping it gets as many charges that the package says, if so it should last a long time. Cost is less then mth battery so this is a +.

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