ron9844

My Feedback: (65)

speedy72vega

Ron, I generally try to keep at least 2 battery setups per plane, soI can fly while a battery is charging. The charger I use is the Triton EQ by Electrifly. It can charge up to 5 amps, has built in balancer, and built in AC converter with cord. It's a bit pricey at $129.00, but it's been a good charger for me so far. You can connect it to your car battery to charge at the field if there's no 120v plug in available.
It charges NiCads, NiMh, LiPo's, and Lion batteries. You can also discharge and cycle also.
As far as a source for batteries, I have been using Zippy LiPo's from Hobby King. They have been working perfectly for me so far, and the prices are very affordable.
As far as charge times, you can safely charge Zippy's at 2C, so you can expect 1/2 to 45 min recharge time on average, but it's going to depend on how low you discharge them. Might be longer, might be shorter.
Hopes this helps.

bobferguson

To charge a 3200mah 4s pack at 2C you need 6.4 amps and and at least 75 watts. At $79 it is a charger. You will need a 20 odd amp power supply.

Check out Turnigy Accucel-8 150W 7A Balancer/Charger
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...lancer/Charger

25A 14v DC Power Supply for Chargers (350W) or a 12.5 amp model at $29.95

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I come up with 50-60 watts for 1C and 100-120 watts for 2C charging. A triton2 would be perfect since it has 7 amp max and 90 watts max.

bobferguson

While the Triton 2 is a good charger it does not have a balancer and is $119 vs $79 for the Turnigy. Also you should NOT charge at 2C without a built in balancer that will monitor for a high voltage on one of the cells and stop the charge if needed. We have two Turnigy chargers at the field and their owners are very happy with them.

I am looking at buying two or three of the Turnigy 50w chargers for $39 to charge my small 2/3s 1320mah and less packs.

Mikel-t

My Feedback: (12)

Good info. I was about to post a similar question. My FMA Cell-Pro works great w/built in cell balancer. The 12 volt charger looks like it should replace those 12volt batteries that I keep for my Nitro planes as they wear out and cannot hold a charge for this type of use. !!!!

speedy72vega

bob, I just bought one of the 50w Accucel chargers you were talking about for $37.00. It is only capable of up to 5 amps charge, but has been working great so far. A very good value for the price if you ask me. I ended up buying one of the HK 5 amp power supplies also for under $10.00. In the description, it says you will need a power cord, but mine came with it. I charge my 3S 2650ma packs at 5 amps with no problems, and it only takes just over 1/2 hour. You will like these chargers.