Wondercarrot

Hi guys,

Im running a xl-5 rustler for my little guywith 2 new packs of 4600 7 cell energ batts. (or will be)
i would think id want to a charger that can make use of both AC/DC , without an additional power supply. (is this a reasonable assumption? 90% of the time im sure i will be near an AC outlet and for the others the car charge DC would be useful etc)
down the road i may want to run LIPOs

could you steer me in the right direction for a charger?
gathered from other threads etc i have a shortish list but not sure really which will be suitable, overkill or not good enough.

Duratraxx Onyx 210,220,230 (prices are $49, $59, $79) I know the $79 one is AC/DC not sure about the others.
Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer/Charger w/ accessories$23
Turnigy Accucel-8 150W 7A Balancer/Charger$42
HobbyKing ECO6 50W 5A Balancer/Charger w/ accessories$19
HobbyKing ECO8 150W 7A 8S Bal/Dis/Cyc Charger w/ acc. $36
Thunder AC6 (inc AC adaptor) $54
Imax is another ive read about but i have no idea about them.


thanks again in advance. so far with your help ive picked up the rustler, and the enrg batteries and some key replacement or upgraded parts for the rusty. onemore step and Merry Christmas!!.

bkfamily1

My Feedback: (1)

If you ever plan to use lipo, (or even if you don't since you probably will anyway), I would stay away from the Onyx chargers. They are not balance chargers. To do lipos, you would need a separate balancer. That is a pain in the neck and generally restricts your charge rate (amps). I started with an Onyx 230, started using lipos, bought a balancer and recently gave up and bought a good balancing charger.

I have read lots of good comments about the Accucel 6. I have a Turnigy Quattro which is essentially (4) Accucel 6 chargers in one. I love it.

Allnighters

Thunder ac6 s what i use. I have nimh and lipos. The only drawback to it is the 5 amp out put may limit it a little. I am charging 2 ea 2s lipos as a 4s at 4 amps without a problem. It is easy to use and balances good. Try hobbypartz they have free shipping right now. If you plan on charging multiple packs then look else where for multi pack chargers. It will save you money in the long run. I am happy with the ac6 though. The Turnigy Quattro looks good too. Bkfamily1, did you have to purchase other items to balance 4 packs at a time?

Haddi Taha

i use the thunder ac6 and it's awesome

bkfamily1

My Feedback: (1)

Allnighters,

I use Deans connectors, so I had to make up some charging cables. You will probably have to do that no matter what you use as the Quattro only comes with one of each type of connector, and no Deans cables. The charger has 4mm female bullet connectors for the charging cables, so I had to get [link=http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=67]4mm male bullets[/link], [link=http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11981]Deans males[/link] and [link=http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062648]18ga 2 conductor wire[/link] and solder up 4 cables. Also, it only came with one [link=http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idproduct=10360]balancing board[/link], so I needed 3 more.

Finally, I converted a PC power supply for power. I originally started with a 550W power supply rated 25A on the 12V bus, but it did not have the oomph to handle the full capacity of the Quattro. It would start to lose voltage to the point that the charger would shut down around 19 to 20 amps. So I replaced it with a [link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200]630W power supply[/link] rated 50A on the 12V rail, and that did it. I did the conversion based on [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5680951/tm.htm]this thread[/link].

I really love that charger.

Allnighters

Bkfamily1,
Wow that is alot of power for a charger to use. How many batteries were you charging?

bkfamily1

My Feedback: (1)

I was charging (4) 5200 mah lipos at 5.2A (1C) each. And actually, that is not the top capacity of the charger. 5.2A at the starting voltage of 7.4V is only about 38W. Even at peak voltage of 8.4V right at the end of the charge cycle, it is still only about 43W. Each channel on the Quattro is rated for 50W with 200W overall capacity. I was only doing 5.2A because it was 1C. And at that rate, when the 4th one was started, the voltage would dip enough to shut down one of the 4 charging sections. If the 4th was started at 4A, it would stay on with the charger pulling about 19.6A total. I started with (1) 10 ohm resistor on the 5V rail per the typical setup drawing 0.5A and 2.5W. I added a network of 1 ohm resistors for an additional 5A and 25W, and the voltage stabilized and held at a higher current, but it would not quite support the full load of 4 lipos charging at the 5.2A rate. So I got the bigger power supply, and it has been working well.