aviator24

I have a Vision Peak Ultra Charger. It will charge Ni-Cads, Ni-MH and Li-Po batteries. It is rated for 1 to 3 cell Li-Po's and I can vary the Amp rate when the battery is charging. I just got a Blade VX2 that came with a 7.4 V, 800mah Li-Po battery. This is my first experience with Li-Po's. Can I charge this battery with my Vision Charger?? If so, what is the maximum Amps I can charge the Li-Po battery??
The manual says to use the included Balancing Charger ONLY? It goes on to say the 2 cell Li-Po that I have features Charge Protection Circuitry???
Is this some kind of special Li-Po or can I use my Vision charger?? The stock charger takes 90 minutes to charge!!
Thank You for any and all replies...

Dorsal

My Feedback: (17)

Yes, you can use that charger. Set it for a 2-cell Lipo (each cell = 3.7 Volts, 3.7V X 2 = 7.4V) and the MAXIMUM amperage you want to use for that battery is 0.8 Amps. That is because 800 milli Amp Hours = 800 / 1000 Amp hours = 0.8 Amps for 1 hour (to charge it). That is called a "1C" charge and it will take 1 hour.
Many people insist that charging at 1C will shorten the life of your LiPo and suggest using less. A "0.8C" charge rate would be at about 0.6 Amps for your battery.
If the balancing plug on your battery fits the balancing connector on the battery, use it. Do not connect the other leads to the charger if you are using the balancing connector to charge the battery.
Hope that helps, but if not, just try reading the users manual thoroughly. It probably explains it pretty well.

aviator24

Thank You.
The battery had two leads coming from it. One is a balancing lead and DOES NOT fit my Vision Charger. The other lead does fit. Can I still use my Vision charger???

Swift427

Some LiPo instructions say you should never charge a Lipo through the larger discharge connector. However, with the Vision Peak the only way to charge a LiPo is through the larger discharge connector (e.g. Deans connector). It is generally recommended that you then connect a Astro Blinky Balancer or CSRC Ultra Balancer to the 4-pin balancing connector during charging to ensure that the cells are equally balanced.

The following link shows the latest Pro-Ultra Balancer with individual cell voltage readouts.
It is lightweight and useful in the field to check for any discharge imbalance between cells after the low voltage cutoff, compare the bounceback voltage of each cell before recharging and to ensure that the cells are equally balanced when fully charged.

Your question is not an easy one to answer because the vast majority of LiPo balance/chargers charge through the smaller 4-pin balancing connector and not the larger discharge connector.

I have never seen any article that claims it is better to charge through the 4-pin connector than the larger discharge connector. What is important is that you use a Astro Blinky Balancer or CSRC Ultra Balancer or Pro-Ultra Balancer.

If this isn't confusing already their is a very respectable member on this board by the name of Leo L. He has a Vision Peak, buys some of his LiPos from ebay and claims he has never used a balancer when charging his LiPos. There is also a few knowledgeable experts that claim you don't even need to balance LiPos that have equally matched cells or at most only every 5-10 charge/discharge cycles. These same experts will tell you that balancing is a necessary because many of the less expensive LiPos on the market are made up of cells that are not equally matched.

So, the reason Kokam and Enerland cost so much is because the quality control and individual hand-testing takes more time. They are custom packs made up of equally matched cells so that theoretically they would never need to be balance charged.

But even if you only use Enerland I would still recommend using a Blinky type balancer. The latest version with individual cell voltage readouts just came on the market in June.

http://www.commonsenserc.com/product...jive879sdt2vt0

aviator24

WOW! I never knew the importance of balancing a Lipo battery during charging. This is a serious issue. I will no longer use a different charger other than the balancing charger that came with my heli. That is until I can get a balancer for my Vision charger.
THANK YOU for taking the time to educate me on this issue!!!!!!!

Ishknish

I have a Vision Peak Ultra charger and use it to charge 2 and 3-cell Lipos. I also have an Astro Flight Blinky balancer. I believe the Vision Peak Ultra charger senses the voltage drop caused by the balancer and shuts down the charge prematurely. Not suspecting this, I ended up discharging a battery pack too far and killed it. Charge Lipos at no more than 1C, and supervise the entire charge cycle in person. Charge without the Blinky. You'll note that the charger senses the cell count then charges to a certain voltage - a 3-cell Lipo goes to about 12.4 volts. Once the charge is complete and you've disconnected the battery pack from the charger, you can plug your Blinky into the balance plug and let it do it's thing. If you're concerned that your pack is 'way out of balance you can stop the charge at a lower voltage, disconnect the charger and plug in the Blinky. Once balanced, you can complete the charge. A digital electrical meter is helpful - you can measure the actual voltage of each cell via the balance plug to check. 'Hope this helps.

aviator24

Picked up an Equinox Li-Po Balancer and a couple of the Common Sense RC Li-Po batteries for my CX2 at the hobby store today. Of course the wind is too strong to have any fun. Time to start upgrading the CX2 to handle the wind better. I have seen some YouTube posts of people flying em in some serious wind with some upgrades...