New owner - help required

[waveneygnome]

I have been eyeing Toylanders up for the past three years but never been in a position to afford to build/buy one.

However Father Christmas has subbed me some money and I was able to pick an old geepstar model up from ebay tonight.

I have read over the 'buying secondhand' section on the website, and this ebay one is MDF, but looks and feels great.  I was unable to test drive though as no battery.
 
So any help greatly appreciated:

a)  What type of battery & charger do you all recommend?  (my boss has agreed to pay for the battery as I did him a big favour last weekend - so without taking liberties, money is not a limiting factor)

b)  The engine has these markings:  2V DC 20 AMps RPM150. Type PM50/63-VS-12-GB4-25:1. Code 50693B Watts Output 180. Ins Class F Rating C. WOP616929 010.  Is this an OK engine?

c)  The bodywork is painted red......which I don't particularly like.  I would like to paint it US army green.  Can anyone recommend what the RAL colour is?  How long would it take approx to repaint over the red?  (I am conscious of Dec 25th)

Many Thanks in advance

[Richard]

Battery 12 GEL 33 or 34 or 35 Amp hour
Charger Halfords 12volt suitable GEL chargers £35 ish Ours are 12 and 24 and if it were 24volt needed I would recommend ours.
The motor is one of ours and a 1 is missing as it is not 2v; if you can see a label where the month letter and a number have been picked out that will tell you how old it is. Did they show it running on a borrowed battery?
A couple of days to repaint but in this weather you are going to have difficulty with drying so you may need to paint it somewhere warm. go to a Dulux mixing shop and get the colours you like. Or get Nato green and either black or brown to contrast.
Welcome to the club
Best wishes
Richard

[waveneygnome]

Thanks Richard.  New Gel battery ordered.

The garage has lent me a spare battery to try out the vehicle and it all works!

Lights, horn, forward.  Yipee.

Currently rubbing it down (it was red) to repaint olive green.

I have noticed though that the horn is not particularly load.

Is there an alternative horn I can fit?

[Richard]

A moped one should do it or a mega horn from a bicycle shop. I am getting one to try. All these will be OK with non electronic systems ie Direct drive any other system a horn will take so much everything will stop.
BW's
Richard

[paulr]

Hi there Waveneygnome, the charger we use for our batteries is a Ctek Multi xs 3600 possibly a bit hi tech for the T/L batteries but its what we have available . We use it for charging those as well as a moped,car and motorhome battery.  It has also been used on a tractor battery also not Toylander size either.  It does gel and lead acid ones.  Think its available from most motorist shops Halfords etc or caravan accessory places. Has pretty lights on it to let you know what it is doing.  Pity though it doesn't make cups of tea.

Happy painting. Feel free to ask any questions. 
BW PaulR and MrsR

[MowerMan]

Hi,

Richard sells a charger that matches the GEL batteries that he supplies, but if you're NOT using GEL batteries, there are alternatives.

I use a Tecmate 'Optimate 4' it does ALL type of lead/acid batteries (including gel), with auto detect. Better - it's DESIGNED to be left permanently connected without damaging the battery, so your Toylander is always ready to go. It is an intelligent device, and will in many cases recover previously 'abused' batteries. I use this for topping up garden tractor batteries - that's about the toughest use imaginable for a battery - and I get about 5 year's service from a battery.

These are the chargers that the 'classic car' people use to keep the batteries in their 'summer only' vehicles conditioned.

Available at about £40 retail. There IS a 24V version, but it's designed for industrial use, and is MUCH more expensive. If you want a 24V charger, go for Richard's item.

Phil