Ok here is the dumb question of the day. How many Amps do i set the charger to? 2200mah 3s 25c

The little parkzone charger has been working ok for me. For some reason it pops the fuse on my gf's F350 but it does not pop the fuse on my little silverado battery. That damn ford has 2 huge batteries and hooked to a 20amp fuse.

Read the manual several times now i think i can plug in the little while balance connector and hit the INCREASE button and it will give me an indivual cell count number.

Wanted to charge the batt and then it hit me. Do i set charger to 2.2 amps?

Thanks for all the help and participation everyone.

Yep to charge at 1C rate you charge a 2200 lipo at 2.2 amps. And make sure you have the correct cell count!

Don't forget, never leave the lipo alone while it's charging. IF something would happen, it will get real ugly real fast.




Keep asking before you do something if you are not sure. Much easier for us to tell you yes or no and explain why, then to explain why after the fact.

Cool deal. So what does charging at a 1C rating mean? I read the C rating is sorta like the "push".

Too much voltage surge. Your PKZ instruction manual says not to have the vehicle running when charging ... because when alternator kicks in with its extra voltage/amperage surge it will blow smaller rated fuse in PKZ charger. DON'T put put a higher rated fuse in your PKZ balance charger.


1C for 1350mAh = 1.35amps; 1C for 2000mAh = 2.00amps; etc .... It's a generally accepted safety guideline. HOWEVER, when charging (balance charging) only via the smaller multi-pin connector, 2.5-3 amps is the upper limit that the small wires of the balancing connector can handle with 2 amps being the preferred safety limit. That's because of the small wire size ... also reason why most upgrade to a balancer that charges through the discharge connector; while balancing through the multi-pin balancing connector.

So, for example if you were charging a 3S 11.1v 3300mAh LiPo pack with your PKZ balance charger you wouldn't be able to charge it at a 1C rate of 3.3amps, but rather 2.0amps or a charge rate of 0.61C. You possibly need to consider using an AC/DC balance charger that charges through the discharge connector, while montoring the balancing through the smaller white multi-pin connector.

Another option is putting in a plug jack and getting an AC wall adaptor. This is what I've done in the photo using an AC wall outlet adaptor rated at output of 12VDC and 1200mA. I am currently doing some experimenting with this PKZ balancing charger, with a 3S 2200 mAh 12C PKZ LiPo and E-flite Cell Checker to see if this PKZ balancing charger is capable of fully balance charging each cell to 4.2 resting volts and if not where it stops and how evenly balanced are the individual cell's resting voltages. The highest charge rate possible using an output of 1200ma(1.2amps) is 1200 divided by 2200 = a charging rate of 0.545. However, my topping off charge rate will be closer to 1.0 amps or a charge rate of 0.45C

Like guver, I’m also in the minority … it isn’t necessary to always balance charge if the 3S cells are relatively close in voltage (within 0.02 volts of each other) before recharging. Always check the resting recovery cell voltage differentials a few minutes after landing and again before recharging. As a general rule most parkflyers will always have to balance charge when they fly right up to the LVC of 9.0 volts for a 3S 11.1v LiPo. That is because the difference between individual cell voltages becomes more dramatic with a LVC of 9.0v (3S LiPo) as compared to say at 10.2 volts for a 3S LiPo.

Having a voltage cell checker (like E-flite photo) is kind of like the difference between night and day. You need to know what the individual cell’s resting voltages are after landing, even moreso if LVC (LowVoltageCutoff) is reached. As the individual cell resting voltages recover( bounce back) you can then determine which way is best for charging with your Accucel 8, or PKZ balance charger. As a general rule if the resting recovery cell voltages are within 0.05v of each other you wouldn’t need to balance charge until the last 15 minutes of charging. If there is a difference of say 0.05v-0.10v … balance charge the last half of charging cycle. If they are off by more than 0.10v from each other balance charge the entire time (just my 2 cents of LiPo balance charging experience).

The following refers just to your use of the PKZ 2-3 cell Balance Charger and a 2200mAh LiPo. I charged up one of my PKZ 2200mAh with the PKZ 2.3 Cell Balance Charger this morning using three different methods.

1. Charged for a while with AC wall charger (12VDC 1200mA). However, the highest setting I could use was 1.0amp. Also, the wall charger got quite warm so I stopped. Then I used a small 1.5amp battery trickle charger, but again I wasn’t able to charge higher than 1.0amp without the charging beeping after a few minutes and shutting down.

2. Used an older car battery I had in workshop, and was able to charge at 2.0amp setting. However, as the capacity filled I had to keep decreasing the setting as it would beep and then shut down charging. Even with car battery it would beep and shut down in 10-20 seconds at … 1.75amp dial setting, 1.50a setting, and 1.0a setting.

3. Then I moved outside to van and plugged into cigarette lighter. I also put in a 5 amp fuse to see if I could keep charging while driving to McDs for morning coffee. AGAIN, this was just an experiment as even my expensive Vision Peak Ultra AC/DC charger uses just a 2 amp fuse. Any way always start the engine first and then plug into cigarette lighter. It worked (no blown fuse). As the PKZ 2200mAh 12C finished the last 10-15 minutes of its charge cycle (some with engine running and some turned off ... I had to turn the dial all the way down from 0.50a to 0.30a. This seems to be the preferred way after a LiPo exceeds 4.05-4.10 volts. My Vision Peak Ultra does the same thing automatically dropping from 2.2amps/26watts down to just a trickle during the final charging (15 minutes) of the PKZ 2200 at charge rate of 1C.

Even though I kept recharging two and then *three times after the first supposedly full charge beeping shut down, I still wasn't able to fully charge each cell to 4.2 resting volts with the PKZ 2-3 Cell Balance Charger. But that may be because my PKZ 2200mAh LiPo is 4 years old. The most I got was 4.18v, 4.18v, 4.15v. The green blinking balancer light was blinking all the while during the *three attempts, but the Charger was not able to equally balance each cell to say ... 4.17v, 4.17v, 4.17v. Ideally, a pack should have equal resting cell voltages at the top-end. HOWEVER. It’s my opinion you get more life out of your lipos with a balanced charge of 4.15v per cell than 4.20v per cell, and can still manage to get 80% of a pack’s mAh capacity between 4.15v at top-end and terminate flying or LVC around 3.40v per cell (10.2v 3S LiPo) with conservative to moderate parkflying. That works out to at least 1760mAh from a 2200mAh 3S LiPo pack.

Ideally, every RTF ESC should have two LiPo LVCs. The first 3S LVC at 10.0-10.2 volts followed by the next 3S LVC at 9.6 volts at say 1/3-1/2 throttle for your approach landing. IMO, every RTF manufactured ESC should have these two sequential LVCs (10.2v and then 9.6v) The first noticeable drop-off in engine performance begins just after 3.4v per cell (10.2v for a 3S LiPo.)

Holy Moly Swift!!!! I need to read that all again.

Been using the Accucell Charger and new Turnigy Batteries. Lovin it!!! They are like little babies i dont want to hurt them!!

So with Lipos can you charge them and wait a few days before using? What about after i fly is it best to recharge the battery within a few hours? I read about "storage" voltage. How many days constitutes using my charger and putting the battery into storage mode?

The new charger is so much fun. This morning was the first time i got to fly 3 batteries in a row. Been recording my individual cells voltages right after landing and then 15 mins of rest.

I dont have the paper in front of me but after about 9 mins flying im in the 3.9 volt range

Yep Lipos have a very very low self discharge rate compared to regular cells like Nihm and Nicads.

You can go an easy couple of days after charging them, and still use em, they'll still be close to what they were when you took em off the charger.

If they are going to be sitting for say a week or more, it's best to drop em to storage value.


If you are 3.3 volts or better per cell you are golden!!!

Even if your 9v LVC has the resting recovery voltages of your 3S pack's cells at say, 3.17v, 3.13v, 3.03v = 9.33v after 15min. no need to fret ... just don't get in the habit of using 90%+ of your LiPo pack's rated mA/h capacity. The following is taken from the instruction manual of a TP Smart Balancer. So, in this case ... http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60738 ... B: would apply as 3.17v, 3.13v, 3.03v = an imbalance difference of 0.14v.

A: Imbalance under 0.03V: … Allows normal charging.

B: Imbalance 0.03 to 0.2V: Charge at 0.5A to condition/balance an 800mAh and larger pack. Charge at 0.3A to condition/balance a pack smaller 800mAh. Monitor the pack during charging, if the pack becomes balanced during charging, you may then charge with normal rate.

C Imbalance over 0.2V: Battery may require repair, please investigate battery pack or you may attempt to repair the pack by 300mAh balancing /conditioning charge (Please monitor throughout charging)