Dazzyst

Hi All,

Can Spektrum Smart batteries be charged on ISDT / normal Lipo chargers or MUST it be a Spektrum Smart charger?

Cheers
Daz

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Depends.

Gen1 Smart packs have a balance lead and can be charged conventionally.

Gen2 or G2 smart batteries have no balance lead and must be charged with a Smart charger.

If you're buying from Horizon you're most likely going to get G2, if you're buying old stock from a hobby shop or online retailer you need to be sure that what you're buying isn't G2 if you want to use a regular charger.
I have 24v icharger 308 and I love it, but i was sold on the S2200 smart charger once i tried it.

Edit for clarification: You can charge G2 smart batteries without a Smart charger (nobody is getting shafted) but you can't BALANCE charge them. It didn't occur to me to mention this because most people balance charge big lipos.

rgburrill

Seriously? I don't use the balance leads anyway so why can't this work? Horizon finding another way to shaft buyers?

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

You charge Lipos without balancing?

rgburrill

Not every time, no. I also don't run my batteries down to near the low voltage point. I'm not the kind of person who spends his entire time at the field flying - being social with the other fliers is important to me. I do occasionally use the balance lead, but I stay away from Horizon Hobby batteries, even most other Horizon items, so I won't ever see this issue.

Horizon lost me as a customer when they bought up the field and raised their profit level.

YellowBlueBird

my smart charger is marked for Li Pol but my smart batteries are Li ion. Does it make any difference?

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Probably not, if you have a spektrum smart charger and smart battery it detects the chemistry when you plug the battery in and activates the appropriate type and charge rate based on that information.

What battery do you have? I wasn't aware there were lithium Ion smart packs

YellowBlueBird

The smart battery is a 2200 ma 50c.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

I dont think they make any LiIon batteries, they have Life and Lipo in Smart packs.

Either way, if its a smart pack from Spektrum the charger will pick up the battery info and set the proper charge regime automatically

YellowBlueBird

Li ion battery

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Fascinating!

My money is on that being a misprinted label. Here's what i come up with running that part number on Horizon's web site.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...PMX224S50.html

YellowBlueBird

Li Ion is not noted for high discharge rate. The same thought had occurred to me.

Thanks for the research
Jerry