vasco

Hi.

I know that it's better to spend extra money on a good charger than expensive batteries.
And yes there are allot of previous (old) discussions about this. But i have hard time to decide.

So, which one would be best for ~ $150.
It is okay that it needs external power, i will use a computer PSU for that if so.

Batteries will be 5s or 6s. 40c+(to low for 5/6s?) 5000mah+
And it would be nice to charge 2 on the same time. With one duo, or two single chargers.

! Many say PowerLab 8 V2 = best but cost ~$300
! Powerlab 6 V2 = £245

I cannot afford them.
So maybe one of the other well mentioned?:

! Many say Onyx 245
! Icharger 206b
! iCharger 306B

Best Bang for the buck, 2014? =)

chuckk2

First, consider the cost of the typical battery that you intend to use.
Then what charge times are acceptable.
Finally, do you have a requirement to discharge Lipos to storage levels.
Battery charger prices are all over the place. It's more a matter of what you need and want.

trax de max

Compare ichargers and a couple of others.http://www.icharger.co.nz/articles/A...-Chargers.aspx.
Powerlab's are great chargers. I've heard of people using ichargers,hyperion, thunderpower chargers, which are all good and moved to powerlab8 charger. But i've never heard of people using powerlab8 charger going to any other charger.

vasco

* We will probably start with 6s 5000mAh 45C. Later buy something with higher C rate.
* There is no need for express 30minute charge time. 1-2hours and good quality charging would be better.
* Storage levels? I am skeptic that i will use it, but sounds good to have.


Perhaps the 306B... ~$150

trax de max

It's good to have power, with power comes comes parallel charging, if your using two same cell count batteries you can charge both up from storage @1C in 30-40minutes.

chuckk2

[QUOTE=vasco;11703427]* We will probably start with 6s 5000mAh 45C. Later buy something with higher C rate.
* There is no need for express 30minute charge time. 1-2hours and good quality charging would be better.
* Storage levels? I am skeptic that i will use it, but sounds good to have.
Some numbers - - -
6sx4v= 24
5000mah @ 1C = 5A (1C is a "normal" lipo charge rate
W=IE 24x5= 120W
Assume that the Lipo is at storage (3.85V per cell or so)
Expected charge time at ~ 1C is about 1/2 hour.
The caveats are - - -
The charge current reduces during charge, so that 4.2v per cell is never exceeded.
The time of the balance portion of the charge is dependent on how easily the Lipo balances.
A higher "C" rate battery makes little difference, unless you wish to charge at rates higher than 1C.
Discharge/charge to storage functions are necessary if you want to obtain maximum life and use
of lipos. Most of the typical chargers have a much lower discharge rate than charge rate.

Parts Express (web) sells 100W and 200W "audio load" resistors that can be used in conjunction
with a battery monitor to safely discharge Lipo's to storage within a reasonable time.

Flypaper 2

I have been running a pair of ECO 6-10 chargers from HK for many yrs with no problems. They would charge your 5000 ma batts in about 20 mins to 1/2 hr.