JBS Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Has anyone else had a speed controller from A1? I bought one a couple of weeks ago to go with my uksw lightweight magnet, first off it doesn't control the speed, it is either off, very slow, slightly faster or flat out, but it turned out that the slightly faster was an ok speed so I decided to keep my it, cursing myself for buying more tat from A1! On the second outing my magnet battery died after five minutes even though it was freshly charged, oh well I thought, I've had that battery a while time for a new one, I put my flapper battery on the magnet which kept me going for a while longer. Later that week I went to my local supplier (battery store) who do nothing but battery's and took my magnet and flapper battery for testing as I couldn't get either to hold a charge, I bought a brand new one of each and left the others with them to see if they could be recovered, the next week I used the brand new magnet battery for about two hours and the hard to find slightly faster setting on the controller and put the battery on my oxford charger ready for the next outing. So yesterday I get set up and guess what, five minutes in and the brand new battery fails, now this may be coincidence but I think not, not only is the controller useless I'm now convinced it has somehow ruined three battery's in succession, the new battery will go back this week and I'll see what they say, could be an expensive mistake and having never bought anything good from A1 it looks like I've been stung again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E.w. Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 That my friend does not sound good, however it would be a good idea to make contact with A1 and see what they come up with, you just never know without trying, best of luck to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 I haven't used speed controllers for years. For me, they are a waste of time. Not sure how a speed controller could ruin your batteries, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBS Posted August 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 I haven't used speed controllers for years. For me, they are a waste of time. Not sure how a speed controller could ruin your batteries, though. And this is the first one I've ever used, the uksw has extension arms that make each arm about 8 feet long, it looks great at this length but ridiculously fast, I'm not sure how either but seems very coincidental to me, three battery's, one brand new none of which ever showed a sign of being past their best before I used the controller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Have you checked the charger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBS Posted August 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Have you checked the charger? Just charged the new flapper battery and it tells me the battery is "good" this charger is however a good 15 or more years old so it's possible it could be that, will have to take the other new battery in for testing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A1Decoy Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) Has anyone else had a speed controller from A1? I bought one a couple of weeks ago to go with my uksw lightweight magnet, first off it doesn't control the speed, it is either off, very slow, slightly faster or flat out, but it turned out that the slightly faster was an ok speed so I decided to keep my it, cursing myself for buying more tat from A1! On the second outing my magnet battery died after five minutes even though it was freshly charged, oh well I thought, I've had that battery a while time for a new one, I put my flapper battery on the magnet which kept me going for a while longer. Later that week I went to my local supplier (battery store) who do nothing but battery's and took my magnet and flapper battery for testing as I couldn't get either to hold a charge, I bought a brand new one of each and left the others with them to see if they could be recovered, the next week I used the brand new magnet battery for about two hours and the hard to find slightly faster setting on the controller and put the battery on my oxford charger ready for the next outing. So yesterday I get set up and guess what, five minutes in and the brand new battery fails, now this may be coincidence but I think not, not only is the controller useless I'm now convinced it has somehow ruined three battery's in succession, the new battery will go back this week and I'll see what they say, could be an expensive mistake and having never bought anything good from A1 it looks like I've been stung again Hi JBS, We'd appreciate it if you contacted us before posting as we'd do our best to help you out. Are you using our magnet or another magnet? We do often get problems where old powerful motors draw to much power and cause the speed controllers to fuse out. A speed controller could not ruin a battery, it is designed so the fuse will blow on the speed controller, but not ruin the magnet or battery. We are sorry you feel that you've never bought anything good from us, i understand you weren't happy with a hide seat you bought in 2011 but you didn't contact us until 2017 so we could only offer a 15% off your next order as our system doesn't go back that far. We do get great comments on our products and service, and if there is a problem which is the small minority, we always get it sorted as soon as possible. If we get ongoing problems we do our best to redesign or change a product but customer service is always our priority. Please do give us a message with your post code and contact details we'll do our best to sort you out. Kind regards Aimee @ A1 Edited August 14, 2017 by A1Decoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 Can't see how even a faulty controller would ruin a battery. But surely it would have been better to speak to A1 who always seem helpful before putting up posts like this!! Batteries have a life span as do most electrical products like a 15 year old charger!! Jumping to conclusions at someone's expense doesn't bode well in my books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycho Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 A1 are a great company I have had one of there speed controllers for years and have had no problem with any of there kit And thats running the speed controller off my lithium ion or lead acid battery...I use a motor bike charger for small batteries..an intelligent one with reconditioning mode which keeps batteries up to the mark.. I again cannot see how the controller breaks down a battery..are you using cheap batteries or a bad charger ..or are you boiling the battery overnight this could cause batteries to fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellors Posted August 23, 2017 Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 Sounds like faulty charger regulator. Try different charger first. Had the same problem couple of years ago. I scrounge batterys from all over rejuvenates most of them. Bought a ctek 5amp charger does everything from 1amp to 60amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBS Posted August 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2017 So today I went back to Battery Store to see what they thought, firstly someone mistakenly scrapped the two old battery's I took for testing, they gave me two new ones for free as replacement so I have no idea what state of repair they were in! Secondly the other new battery's were tested and charged by them and they say they are fine although if they had been completely discharged it might just have been my charger taking its time to recover them. Thirdly they say my charger is working perfectly and they have charged numerous batteries with it and there charger testing equipment confirms this. They say the speed controller does nothing more than reduces voltage to the magnet (8v) and that there is no fuse in it as protection. They cannot say whether it is working correctly or not. All I can do now is try again and see what happens, only other culprit now is the magnet itself which is top of their range uk shootwarhouse lightweight model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 I haven't used a speed controller for a few years now , mine were from A 1 Decoys and if I remember rightly ,one I had got that hot it caused ripples in the plastic and distorted the box , I rang them up and they sent a new one f o c , as I managed alright without one , I never bothered to use it anymore and I sold it on here , also the ones I had at the time had a button for on / off and a fuse in it . P S ..... The service I got at the time from A 1 Decoys was second to none and I would certainly use them again . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent36 Posted December 22, 2017 Report Share Posted December 22, 2017 Just seen this, sounds like your magnets in the pigeon magnet motor are cracked if the batteries are ok. When they crack the motor will draw higher currents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aauser Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 You can buy 12v dc motor controller of e bay for very cheap prices and buy a small enclosure to fit it into I have had no problems at all with mine I have made just make sure you get one that can handle the correct amperage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkfanz Posted December 29, 2017 Report Share Posted December 29, 2017 i wouldn,t bother with speed controller just send it as fast as you can,,,,works better for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.