Fastsky

Hi, I am getting into an epowered glider and needed a Li PO charger. I found an B6AC charger on Ebay. It seemed to be working fine so I thought that I would try it on something less dangerous before charging my LI PO battery. I attached a 1500 MAH NICD battery and set the charger for 2 cycles at a low charge/discharge rate of .1 amp to try to give it a boost. It charged the battery fully and then went to the discharge part of the cycle. Every thing looked good. I went to check it a couple of hours after that and the the screen is off. I unplugged the battery and the charger. Plugged the charger back in and its still dead! Any idea what happened?? Did I do something wrong?? Is there a reset that I don't know about??

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

if this is the dual power charger...

are the DC inputs making contact?

if you are using AC power...and the DC inputs contact each other..the charger shuts down...

also make sure the AC power cord is properly seated in the charger itself

Fastsky

Yes this is the dual input charger and I made all the routine checks. I am really disappointed. This charger is $80.00 at my local hobby shop, not a cheapy! [>:]

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Did you take it back to the Hobby Shop where you bought it?

Is it rated for NiCd packs or is it LIPO only?

I know nothing about this charger.

Fastsky

Its actually a common brand but the version that runs on both AC/DC may be a newer model. Returning to the store is not that simple. Its an Ebay store located in China.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Well, having no specs, no tech info I really can't even begin to guess. It says it is a balance charger which usually indicates a Lipo only charger. Is it made for NiXXbatteries too?

If you buy directly from China rather than teh local hobby store, you have to go back to China for support.

I buy from LHS or US suppliers whenever possible. I pay a little more but get great support.

I do buy off brand stuff off e-bay from time to time but I look at those as throw aways. If they don't work, I toss them in the trash and writ off the purchase. I never buy off brand stuff for something that I need to depend upon, like a battery charger.

Sometimes what you buy on e-bay are the rejects, referbs. They may look like what you see in the LHS but the may not be. Sometimes these are the ones that did not pass inspection. I am not saying everything on e-bay is junk, it isn't. There are many reputable people on e-bay I buy there frequently. But there is a certain amount of risk buying anyting off the internet anwhere. And you give up any form of walk in personal service in most cases. You get what you pay for.

I use a FMA Direct CellPro 4S for Lipos and a Great Planes Triton for my NiXX and NiCd as well as lipos. Batteries are too valueable to put onto something I don't trust.

Let me know if China provides good support.

Fastsky

Hi, They responded positively once they found my paypal order #. They said to simply return the unit and then they would have it repaired, replace the unit, or refund the money, my option. Pretty fair except that to return the unit would cost be $20.00 for an item that I paid $36.00 shipping included! So, I had an idea and checked the unit out some more. It turns out that the unit is not 100 % dead. It still works off the DC input source. This means that the internal 120/12 volt source has failed. I removed the cover and discovered it is the same power supply inside the unit that you can buy for around $8.00 at the same web store. I contacted them and asked if they would send out the power supply as a compromise and gave them the store product #. They agreed and are sending the unit out. When it arrives, I will remove the old unit and install the new one. Then it should be back to normal. BTW, the store name is called Tomtop.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Well, that seems like a reasonable appraoch.

Yes, when you deal with these out of country providers, sending stuff back for warranty service can cost as much as the item itself.

Fastsky

I think that because the charger was bought with PayPal they are very careful to try and keep their customers happy. I wouldn't buy overseas any other way.[8D]

Fastsky

Hi AEAJR, sorry I missed your question about the charger. It actually charges pretty much all batterys. PB, NiCD, NiMT, Life, Li Ion, and of course LiPo which is what I bought it for. Its only a 50 watt charger but meets my requirements for now. I wanted to see if the charger will actually charge when run from a DC source and not just light the screen up so I fed it from my 12 volt 12 amp starter battery and hooked up the LiPo 3S 2200mah battery. I picked a mild 1 amp charge rate and set the charger for 3 cells. It made its check to see that my setting matched the battery. I pushed the confirm button. The charger started charging and ran properly. I pushed the 2 inside buttons and it showed the voltages of all 3 cells. At about the 45 minute mark, the charger reduced the charge rate to .2 amps. About 15 minutes later when I checked it, the charger was flashing that the battery was fully charged. Hey it works! I don't know if it beeps at the end of the charge cycle because I missed it. I have a new watt meter bought from a LHS so I hooked it up to the battery to see what voltage it read. It read 12.5 volts so it appears that the charger is doing its job. If the rest of the parts come in for my EPP Eagle and I get flying I can run the charger off battery power until the new power supply comes in. Cheers![8D]