Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ?  
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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Batteries & Chargers >> Common Sense RC Support >> Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ?
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Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/12/2007 6:34:49 PM   
PrkFlyrRic



Posts: 119
Joined: 4/14/2007
From: Killeen, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I'm tired of draging three or four different chargers to the field and having to change chargers on the work bench.

I'm looking for a charger that can;
peak charge 1-20 or so NiMH/NiCad batteries,
NiMH/NiCad sizes 1/2AAA - and larger, (small park flyers use small cells)
Full charge 1-5 cell LiPo's,
50mAh -and up, (single cell LiPo for indoor flyers),
temp probe and balancer for LiPo with auto cut off,
can charge at least two packs at the same time,
MUST be AC/DC.

Everytime I think I've found the charger I'm looking for, it won't charge AAA cells or charge below 200mAh.
Is there a charger out there I'm missing?
Ric
       Post #: 1

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 4:05:22 AM   
Tram



Posts: 548
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Florence, AL, USA
Status: online 		You may want to do a google search for the Bantam BC6 or BC8... The BC8 is DC only, however the BC6 is AC/DC..

It is a great charger...

Jeff
www.CommonSenseRC.com

_____________________________

Jeff Williams
www.CommonSenseRC.com

(in reply to PrkFlyrRic)
       Post #: 2

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 5:10:07 AM   
PrkFlyrRic



Posts: 119
Joined: 4/14/2007
From: Killeen, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Jeff,
Thanks for the lead, I'll see what I can find.
You'd think with all the different models, all using different batteries, there'd be more of a combination charger choice out there somewhere.
Considering my hanger includes everything from AH Havoc’s @ 50mAh to 4x ducted fan jets, I’ve got to many chargers. I’ve got planes that run on single cell NiMH to 9 cell and I’m just starting on LiPo’s.
There are just too many choices of power source and not a good charger to be found.
I get the feeling I’ll end up with at least three, maybe four chargers. One for small NiMH, one for NiMH packs, one for small LiPo’s and another for larger LiPo packs.

Ric

(in reply to Tram)
       Post #: 3

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 5:11:31 AM   
Tram



Posts: 548
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Florence, AL, USA
Status: online 		I love my BC8... It does it all..

_____________________________

Jeff Williams
www.CommonSenseRC.com

(in reply to PrkFlyrRic)
       Post #: 4

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 5:24:19 AM   
PrkFlyrRic



Posts: 119
Joined: 4/14/2007
From: Killeen, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I've got some more reading to do but the BC 6 looks like it'll do everything I want.
It only charges one battery at a time from what I can see, so I'd have to get two but I can deal with that.
Maybe add a laptop fan for cooling.....
But the price is right, better than I expected.
Thanks,
Ric

(in reply to Tram)
       Post #: 5

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 5:25:33 AM   
Tram



Posts: 548
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Florence, AL, USA
Status: online 		No Problem.

Evan at www.rcaccessory.com is a great guy and I highly reccomend ordering from him..

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Jeff Williams
www.CommonSenseRC.com

(in reply to PrkFlyrRic)
       Post #: 6

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/17/2007 5:46:01 AM   
PrkFlyrRic



Posts: 119
Joined: 4/14/2007
From: Killeen, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Jeff,
Yea, that looks good. Guess I'll be ordering at the end of the month.
I've spent several hours looking at chargers on-line and never saw those, even did a seach on the forums.
Thanks again,
Ric

(in reply to Tram)
       Post #: 7

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/24/2007 1:09:14 PM   
RC Accessory



Posts: 602
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: Tampa, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Hi Ric,

I would be happy to answer any questions you have on the e-Station line of chargers.

The BC-8 was just reviewed in the May Issue (current issue) of the Model Aviation Magazine and the BC-6 will be in the July issue. The BC-5 model was review in the Nov 2006 issue.

There is an upcoming online review of the BC-8 due to be released soon as well.

Regards,

Evan Chapkis
RC Accessory, Inc.
Auth US Bantam Importer

(in reply to PrkFlyrRic)
       Post #: 8

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/24/2007 3:07:11 PM   
PrkFlyrRic



Posts: 119
Joined: 4/14/2007
From: Killeen, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Evan,
Thanks for the offer.
I really like the BC-6 dual voltage. I fly a lot in my back yard and even put in a all weather AC plug out there for my chargers. I've found an old Bar-B-Que pit to be a great, (ie: safe), place to charge LiPo's...
So far my only question would be how low on the mAh auto charging either will go? I want to be able to charge small (100-150mAh Lipo), for AirHogs and some homebuilt planes using the Silverlit electronics & motors, and some indoor flyers that use 50mAh LiPos.
I also fly a couple of different parkflyers that run on AAA or sub-AAA cell packs and have had problems with some chargers going that low in the auto, (peak), setting. Yes, I could convert them to LiPo, but then I'd end up redesigning almost the entire plane so what's the point? Belly landing on an exposed LiPo probably isn't the best idea
I've read through the BC-6 & BC-8 manuals and neither say anything about the mAh rates, just the cell count and top amp ratings. That's how I got a SuperBrain 960 that reads and tries to auto charge my AAA's and sub-AAA's but doesn't full charge either unless I go back and reset the charge rates and that gets to be a pain when I'm trying to test fly three or four different planes before the evening calm winds go away or it gets dark.
Being in Central Texas I get one evening of calm wind, (maybe an hour, sometimes two), for every two weeks of building time.

Ric

(in reply to RC Accessory)
       Post #: 9

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/24/2007 4:47:48 PM   
RC Accessory



Posts: 602
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: Tampa, FL, USA
Status: offline 		The lowest charge rate on any of the e-Station chargers is 100 mah. The smallest of lipo's are probably best charged with a wall wart lipo charger where you can get some very low power output units. That is the only time I would ever recommend a wall wart charger for a lipo.

Evan

(in reply to PrkFlyrRic)
       Post #: 10

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/28/2007 3:10:57 AM   
Norton


 

Posts: 43
Joined: 9/3/2006
From: NY, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Evan,

This may be a dumb question. On the BC-6, when I balance charge, do I also hook up the main connectors to the pack as well?

The manuals for these chargers are not very good. As a tech writer, I cringe at the KorEnglish...

No step by step guide - assumes some familiartiy with balance charging. I like the unit though, solid and sexy!

(in reply to RC Accessory)
       Post #: 11

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 5/28/2007 4:06:25 AM   
RC Accessory



Posts: 602
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: Tampa, FL, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Norton

Evan,

This may be a dumb question. On the BC-6, when I balance charge, do I also hook up the main connectors to the pack as well?

The manuals for these chargers are not very good. As a tech writer, I cringe at the KorEnglish...

No step by step guide - assumes some familiartiy with balance charging. I like the unit though, solid and sexy!


Yes, for any balanc function you need the main leads connected as well as the balance connector.

(in reply to Norton)
       Post #: 12

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 6/13/2007 11:45:40 PM   
rick88ss


 

Posts: 61
Joined: 5/29/2007
From: MIAMI, FL, USA
Status: offline 		How long will it take to balance charge a 4s 14.8v 4000mAh lipo pack with the BC6? Can I charge 2 of those packs at the same time with the BC6 if I parallel them together?

(in reply to RC Accessory)
       Post #: 13

RE: Is there a do-it-all Charger for Aircraft ? - 6/14/2007 12:19:39 AM   
mrasmm


 

Posts: 4420
Joined: 1/9/2007
From: Sometown, Northern Utah, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: rick88ss

How long will it take to balance charge a 4s 14.8v 4000mAh lipo pack with the BC6? Can I charge 2 of those packs at the same time with the BC6 if I parallel them together?


balancing is always a question of how far out of balance is the pack. On most of the smaller packs the balance is done by the time the charger is done. On the bigger packs though you are going to have more factors, like how good are the cells and how consistant are they to each other. Usually the more expensive packs like TP have better balance readings from what I hear. That may also be true of the csrc and other packs, but I haven't heard anything that way.

Basically what you've got to figure is how many volts are they off, and how many mAh does that equate to, and how many mAh does the balancer sink. The BC6 might charge them though with an acutal balance charge instead of a balance discharge, so that may go faster.

About charging them in parallel, yeah you could do that I guess though it's probably not the best idea. They would also have to be basically the same brand, have close to the same actual mAh rating (not just the label rating), ect ect. If they are not in the same device when drained though you would have to hook the packs up to eachother and let them equalize voltage and capacity and then when you start charging them charge them at a slower rate and have a way to monitor the temps so you don't get a runaway cell =P

All in all though I really wouldn't say it is a good idea. That's just the way I feel about it, you might get different opinions.

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