Trend Airshield Battery Charger

[Jim Underwood]

Trend could improve their whole setup a good deal if you ask me.

As you point out, the charger is kinda stupid. And the battery doesn't last as long as it should. True it lasts better than the old unit did, but still.

And since buying a Bionix face shield yesterday, I also think that Trend could take a few cues from that company and make some positive detents in their helmet position so that it actually stayed up when you wanted it to.
IN addition, the adjustments are rather limited. Mine, no matter how tight I screw it down, pushes down on my glasses as soon as I tilt my head forward. ON the Bionix, there are plenty of adjustments to prevent such a thing.

Trend's customer service is really good, but I think they could make some tremendous improvements on their product.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I addressed the issue of battery overcharging by connecting a 24 hour timer to a receptacle. No matter what battery I am charging, I plug into that circuit and set the timer. The good part is it works for all my chargers.
faust

[Greg Ketell]

Great idea, Faust!

[kurt sligh]

Greg,

This will work great for me. I bought a Trend Airshield Pro for $49 off of Amazon. But it was missing the charger (and carrying bag). I'm building the cradle when I get home and hopefully the smart charger has arrived. A $25 solution that's much better than the $70 charger :-)

Thanks,
Kurt

[Ken Glass]

Greg,
I really like your idea. I used a Christmas lights timer plugged into a 120v outlet and set the battery to charge for only 14 hours and then it shuts off power. The only problem would be if I didn't go to the shop everyday to turn, which will only happen after the day I die, so I shouldn't be overcharging mine. lol I also figured, at $3.99 a battery, I can replace them every year if need be.

[kurt sligh]

I made mine last night and sat the battery on it. It charged up fine!!!

Has anyone heard of someone making a whole new battery pack. I'd like a spare, but don't want to buy one just to get the plastic molded outside part.

Thanks,
Kurt

[Ben Darrah]

Greg,

Is this still working well for you? I just bought a A S P and was thinking about doing this.

Thanks
Ben

[Greg Ketell]

Yes, still works great. And many others on SMC have followed suit and I've heard no complaints yet.

[Dick Mahany]

After reading Greg's original post, I made one last year. I have 2 battery packs and they're still going strong and give many hours of run time. Each battery has had many charges with no adverse affects. My original Trend charger went to the recycler!

[Ben Darrah]

Thanks, I ordered a smart charger.

[Mike Peace]

Thanks, Greg. I have not been using my Trend as much as I should partly due to charging issues.

[Mike Peace]

Ok, I made one and it charged up the batter back just fine. Is there a particular advantage of setting the Tenergy switch to .9A or 1.8A?

[Greg Ketell]

Ok, I made one and it charged up the batter back just fine. Is there a particular advantage of setting the Tenergy switch to .9A or 1.8A?

The instructions say to use 1.8A for battery packs greater than 2000MAh. Since ours are over 3000...

GK

[Darryl Hansen]

build one definitely. Less expensive and works like a charm. I don't know if the Trend charger will shut off. This one does. You can also charge directly into the helmet so a charger probably is not needed. When I charge in the helmet and then put in this built charger there is still some charging necessary after the helmet has been used for 12 hours or so.

[David G. Jones]

I just found a smart charger on Ebay that has a plug that connects directly to the Airshield Pro battery charger cradle. I'll post again if it works. Here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ni-MH-Ni-Cd-...MAAOSwNSxVIiTb