Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

It's such an amazing thing to take four 3S 2600mAh lipos and bring 'em from storage charge to full in 8 minutes!! Just makes me giggle with glee

Powerlab8 v2 + Junsi 1200w 24v supply + FMA MPA board = WIN! haha

trax de max

One of them things you wish you done years ago. I wish i bought my pl8 as my first charger.

Hpi-Guy

Thats pretty rad looking. IS that built or can you buy this set up?

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

All I did was by the separate components, and hook it all up. The things a monster!

It's not my first charger but it certainly feels like my first real charger! My Triton 2 EQ just sits and sulks

chuckk2

DPL-8, 2 MPA boards, two Opto isolated USB adapters, One or two TDL Lambda 1500 18-28Vadjustable, 24v normal 65A DC supplies.
4 4S 3300mah on one MPA and one channel, 2 6S 5000s and two 6S 4400s on the other.
I'm still trying to optimize various settings that impact final balance and storage voltage, as well as generate "custom"
user presets.

Older Chargers
Vista four port, 80W per port, AC/DC input charger
Bantam BC6 DXII 50w single port.

Problems and annoyances
The "netbook" I was using with other chargers does not have enough vertical resolution to display the CCS cell window,
resulting in it being useful only for monitoring. Scrolling within the CCS cell window does not function such that I can show and use
"buttons" in the lower part of the window.
The replacement, an "ultrabook', has what's termed a 4k display, with higher vertical resolution than the usual LCD monitor.
Since it runs windows 8.1, I end up reducing the display resolution to 1920x1080 to be able to see the CCS cell "window"
in a reasonable size. Seems there is no easy way at present to automatically change display resolution to fit the application.

The Lambdas were picked based upon floating DC outputs, voltage range, current capability, and 120-240VAC input capability.
One is sufficient for 90% of my charging needs, and two gives me a 36-58VDC output capability.

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

Wow, Chuck- your neighborhood must suffer from brownouts if you turn your rig up too high

hookedonrc

LOL... he is incognito really. His real name is Clark Griswold.

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Safety precautions? Ammo cans, Lipo bags, anything?

Tombsy

Ammo cans to transport maybe but lipo bags are for people with cheap chargers.

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

There are lots of folks who thought that way until the fire started.

About a year ago a fire started on a new Boeing 787 with a piece of safety equipment powered by a Lipo battery. Grounded the fleet for quite a while. How cheap do you think that charger was? I'm thinking it was WAY better than anything any of us can afford.

Ignore the risks of Lipo batteries at your and your families peril.

chuckk2

Not hardly!
My shed/shop has 240v service. The 240V was originally intended for a window A/C with a heat pump and electric heat.
The window was too narrow by one inch for the smallest unit I could easily get my hands on. Rather than continuing to futz around,
a smaller conventional window A/C was installed. (less than 1/2 the price!) and I use an oil filled electric radiator for heat.
It usually doesn't get awful cold in the winters here, so that's adequate to keep the shop at a reasonable temperature.
A really really cold day might cause me to plug in an additional small forced air heater to warm things up in the morning.
Overall shop current availability, due to the underground feeder wire size and run, is 50-60A.
If I really need serious power, there is an 18/15KW 240/120 "portable" generator stored at one end of the shop.
It's enough to power my whole house, including 4 ton central A/C. One limitation is to turn off the A/C while the electric dryer
is used.

Who is Clark Griswold? Not me!
Maybe he's the guy down the street with a backyard full of large sun tracking solar panels!
(Heated swimming pool and party area)

chuckk2

Safe Containers, etc.
Large clay flower pot with lid (Outside, currently has a deceased 6S5000mah lipo and a defective single cell enloop inside)
Steel Pistol cabinet, waiting for a place to mount, and metal instead of plastic shelves. I may make something out of scrap ceramic tile
to use for shelves and a protective barrier. Also thinking about metalized fiberglass automotive insulation between the cabinet and the wall.
My current charging surface is the top of a HF black metal roll around cart.
The top is hinged, and there is storage space beneath it for the DPL-8 charger, MPA boards, and such.
Lipos can be stored in the cart's drawers.
The Lambdas can be stored on or used from the cart's bottom shelf.

Tombsy

Not the same kind of lithium batteries even, I guess their lipo bag wasn't very good. There are warehouses and stores full of Lipo batteries all over the world. I'll take my chances storing a dozen without burying them in the backyard and oh I do use the safest computer chargers and MPA boards available. I think it's better to see what's going on with the battery while it's charging than in a bag.

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

^ I agree with this. The key is to monitor the packs diligently

I say this because I have a lot of confidence in my equipment.

I store my lipos in an ammo can.

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

No worries. Be safe and don't let the magic smoke out of your stuff.

Captain Terrific

My Feedback: (2)

Is the FMA MPA board compatible with the Hyperion EOS0720I Net 3 AD?

Dave

LarsL

The battery in the Boeing wasn't in a lipo bag. Using good equipment is certainly a great idea for a number of reasons including safety. As for seeing what is going on with the battery while charging, I have both a lipo sack and an ammo can and I don't have any issues monitoring them. If they are going to puff or run away and combust, they are going to do so and I would rather they do so there than in an uncontained manner. I'll see it and take appropriate action.

Lars

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

^ Fair enough. We're all adults, the responsibility rests on our individual shoulders

bchapman

I hope you don't burn the house down!

oliveDrab

Isn't it true that charging Lipo's at a high rate shortens the life of batteries? Apparently the Lipo's you're charging are capable of being charged as you're doing.

Rv7garage

My Feedback: (10)

It *can* shorten the life if you

1) allow the cells to become unbalanced
2) if the packs aren't rated for high-C charging.

Mine are all 5C charge rated, and I never go over 4C. And then, I only do this when the packs are parallel, which is easier on them.

I do love my Glacier packs!

oliveDrab

Thanks for sharing - I'll check those out.

chuckk2

The FMA MPA board is compatible with chargers that:
Use separate balance and charging leads, (BC6 style, among others)
Different adapter cables are available to go between the MPA and the chargers,
Including pigtails. The MPA uses the XH balance scheme/wiring, not the Cellpro/FMA balance .

There are simpler, less protected, and less expensive parallel capable adapters as well.

hookedonrc

Doesn't it seem strange that here we are talking about a piece of our equipment that can literally catch fire and burn down the house. Yes, there are a lot of other things that can. Yet we talk about using ammo cans, charging bags, and I have even seen charging bunkers. Sometimes I miss just having to remember to recycle once a month.

trax de max

What i find strange is people think lipo bags will save them from a fire, They only contain a fire for a short time. Has anyone seen a fire rating on a lipo bag or read any fire ratings about the bags before they buy them.