fbords

Looking to get an opinion on a charger/balancer for my lipos. Anyone use this one before or know if it's any good? I like that it has a built in power adapter, and it's at the price point I want to spend. Are there any other brands I should look for to get more "bang for my buck"? I'm using stock chargers now so I know anything would be better, but I want something that will serve me well for a while and charge all of my different batteries so I can use the same charger.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...1%5F6%5FCells%


By the way, these are the types of batteries I'll need to charge.

3.7V 120mAh 1-Cell 14C,7.4V 1000mAh Li-Po(2 cell i believe),11.1V3200mAh 3S 15C

ncsky

I couldn't get a link to come up so I'm not sure which charger you are asking about.

I'm new to the hobby as well, but Ihave learned pretty quickly that you may want to purchase a good quality charger (same with radio) that if you have a problem you can get service for.

Iknow there are several threads on a couple of brands that seem to do well:

FMA

ICharger

Thunder Power

Hyperion

I also see that Dynamite has a 200watt 10 amp charger coming out (Ultra force) that is going to be $150, but that is with a built in 200W
power supply, most of the other models only have 50w built in.


It might cost a little more, but if you can spend extra get a good charger, highest amp charge rate you can afford if you plan on staying in the hobby.

Same with radio system.

Good Luck

bgosselin

I don't use that charger, but the link should be: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...rger_1_6_Cells

guver

My Feedback: (325)

That should work out fine for you as long as you don't need to charge your big battery real fast.

fbords

What do you mean by "fast"? My 3200mAh lipo takes just under an hour with the stock charger.

Goldenduff

That's charging at 1c so 3.2amps. Some lipos can be charge at 10C so take advantage of a 6min charge time you would need 32amps!

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Ah, good question. I meant an hr or less. With 50 watts and 12 volts you have around 4 amps or so and it might charge that 11.1V 3200mAh 3S 15C pack in less than an hr too. It seems it'll be close to what your used to. I just don't want to see someone expect a 10 minute charge and find out it is 50 minutes, right.

fbords

Lets not get ahead of ourselves now. Now that I know it could be faster than an hour I'm curious. So the more amps, the faster the charge?

johnfly

It's a function of output and voltage...... a 50 watt charger will charge your biggest pack on your list at 3.9 amps. 50 divided by 12.6 volts. So you will be able to charge that pack in a bit less than an hour with balancing. Follow the packs specs for charging...... safest is 1c or in this example 3.2 amps. This is what golden is talking about.... if you are planning on going bigger ...... then you would probably want a bigger charger !!!! if not. Then this one will be just fine.

fbords

Can you give me an example of how i could cut the time down to say half an hour? Would I need say a 100W charger? The specs for the battery says to charge no higher than 3 amps. How do i do this with a larger charger without damaging anything? What about something like this:http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=15167

trax de max

pushing it 80W could do 1/2 hour, but there is effieciencies lost which would push it up to about 40-45min.
100W would be better, but i'd look at the 150Wmin. Then you won't need to upgrade anytime soon and if you go for larger batteries it would still be good.
But i'd still charge for 1C.
I have 5C lipos and the very rare occasion I charge at 2C, Infact i could say I've done it twice since last summer.
With higher Watt charger you could pair matched lipos up and charge two at once. Which could save time.
But you maybe limited also by the Amp charge setting of the charger. It may only go to 7 Amps on the charger settings.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

This charging speed is just like asking about how to get from point A to point B faster. You just drive faster. But your battery specs say to drive no more than 3 mph and you have about 3.2 miles to go. If you obey the speed limit it will take an hr or so , maybe more if you have to charge a full 3200 mah. If you charge at 6.5 amps then you may get there twice as fast. Does that make sense?

If it was me just starting out buying a charger I think I'd just get the cheapest 50 watt charger I could find and set the rate to max of 5-6 amps for that 3sx3200 pack. The charger will only allow a max of 50 watts so the effective current is going to be only around 4 amps or so even though it is set to 5 or 6.

Goldenduff

If the 3200mah pack is rated at 1C for charging 4amps would be too much and could start a fire and will reduce cycles of the battery so probably not the best idea?

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Yes, it is best not to speed over the limit.

SamAlattar

Have anyone seen this charger , the specifications are great but I'm wondering about the quality and durability ! the price is reasonable , about 139 USD , it charges 1 to 14 cell Ni-MH , Ni-Cd ,as well as 1 - 6 SLi-ion ,Li-po , pb, and Li-fe. the charger is programmable so the charge rate can be selected in a 0.1 A increments ( 0.1 - 8 Amp ) . and can be operated on AC as well as DC 11 v - 18 v with all the leads included .
here is thelink :http://www.racers-edge.com/Racers_Ed.../rcesc2010.htm

Best regards ,