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Author Topic: profoto 7b charger alternative  (Read 6758 times)

paul_jones

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« on: February 10, 2010, 05:37:17 am »

has anyone found a alternative charger for the 7b? its got a common old lead celled battery inside, and three stage chargers are easy to find, but i cant find the plug that goes from the charger to thepack/battery.
i have two 7bs, and just bought 2 new batteries, but one of my chargers has packed up, so i only have one charger between four batteries. i really need 4 chargers to keep them all on trickle charge, and that quite an expense with the original profoto chargers.

paul
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Imaginara

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2010, 07:42:07 am »

Quote from: paul_jones
has anyone found a alternative charger for the 7b? its got a common old lead celled battery inside, and three stage chargers are easy to find, but i cant find the plug that goes from the charger to thepack/battery.
i have two 7bs, and just bought 2 new batteries, but one of my chargers has packed up, so i only have one charger between four batteries. i really need 4 chargers to keep them all on trickle charge, and that quite an expense with the original profoto chargers.

paul

If you cant find any used chargers, an idea would be to use the connector from the dead charger and apply it to a normal stage charger. It should be a simple +/- connector anyway.

Depends on how experimental and DYI you want to be. =)
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UlfKrentz

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2010, 08:03:56 am »

Quote from: paul_jones
has anyone found a alternative charger for the 7b? its got a common old lead celled battery inside, and three stage chargers are easy to find, but i cant find the plug that goes from the charger to thepack/battery.
i have two 7bs, and just bought 2 new batteries, but one of my chargers has packed up, so i only have one charger between four batteries. i really need 4 chargers to keep them all on trickle charge, and that quite an expense with the original profoto chargers.

paul

Hi Paul,

Did you ask your Profoto Dealer? They should be able to provide the connector or cable with connector as spare part as well.

Cheers, Ulf

gwhitf

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2010, 08:43:48 am »

Krikey! This one's an offbrand but still pricey. Must be gold plated. http://tinyurl.com/yzg4yd4
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bcroslin

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2010, 11:00:08 am »

Quote from: gwhitf
Krikey! This one's an offbrand but still pricey. Must be gold plated. http://tinyurl.com/yzg4yd4

Insane price on the off-brand charger. You can source the parts for that charger for about $5.

My quick charger is dying (again) and I've rewired it a few times. I refuse to pay $250 for another new charger so I'd love to find an alternative.
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paul_jones

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2010, 08:35:12 pm »

Quote from: bcroslin
Insane price on the off-brand charger. You can source the parts for that charger for about $5.

My quick charger is dying (again) and I've rewired it a few times. I refuse to pay $250 for another new charger so I'd love to find an alternative.


do you know where you can get the small plug that goes from the adaptor into the pack?

cheers paul
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Bernhard

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2010, 07:14:02 am »

can this one be used or is there some special trickle charging in the profoto unit?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5747...r.html#features

Bernhard Kristinn

UlfKrentz

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2010, 11:08:44 am »

Quote from: Bernhard
can this one be used or is there some special trickle charging in the profoto unit?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5747...r.html#features

Bernhard Kristinn

Hi Paul, hi Bernard,

As far as I can see this is no proprietary plug and you should get it without any problems. The powersupply uses different adapters, one of those should fit.

Unless the charging electronics is not in the pack itself (which I don´t know for the Profoto) I would not recomment a powersupply instead of a charger. A battery charger will control the charing current and will stop charging when the battery has reached it´s capacity. Using a powersupply will probably kill the powersupply because the starting current with an empty battery is not limited, if not it might fry the battery because it doesn´t stop charging. If the tension is controlled to 12V you won´t charge the battery to it´s capacity. You´ll have to use a specific charger for the type of battery you are using. (Not saying it has to be the Profoto charger, but a charger that is for use with the type of battery) So be careful with that power supply.

Cheers, Ulf
« Last Edit: February 11, 2010, 10:02:25 pm by UlfKrentz »
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paul_jones

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profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #8 on: February 11, 2010, 11:36:10 pm »

Quote from: UlfKrentz
Hi Paul, hi Bernard,

As far as I can see this is no proprietary plug and you should get it without any problems. The powersupply uses different adapters, one of those should fit.

Unless the charging electronics is not in the pack itself (which I don´t know for the Profoto) I would not recomment a powersupply instead of a charger. A battery charger will control the charing current and will stop charging when the battery has reached it´s capacity. Using a powersupply will probably kill the powersupply because the starting current with an empty battery is not limited, if not it might fry the battery because it doesn´t stop charging. If the tension is controlled to 12V you won´t charge the battery to it´s capacity. You´ll have to use a specific charger for the type of battery you are using. (Not saying it has to be the Profoto charger, but a charger that is for use with the type of battery) So be careful with that power supply.

Cheers, Ulf


well i spent a bit chunk of today searching for the elusive plug. i ended getting put onto a small company who makes nothing but chargers, one offs and small runs. they had the plugs, and made lead acid specced chargers, all in a really tidy professional plastic box. so im getting one made, and will post what it turns out like in a week. its very cost effective, and i will get a few made up .

paul

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RickDahms

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Re: profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2013, 05:04:32 pm »

Hey Paul,
How did your charger experiment work out?
Rick
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bcroslin

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Re: profoto 7b charger alternative
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2013, 07:51:18 pm »

You can buy the plug end that attaches to the pack at Radioshack. It's sold in an adapter kit. I rewired my broken charger a year ago and it works perfectly.
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