I'm looking into Lipo's but have a few questions.

1) I'm looking at a SMC pack, 7.4v, 24c, 4100mah. It appears to come with a balance plug sticking out of it. Would a Team Checkpoint balancer work with the SMC balancer plug?

2) How long should I expect the pack to charge at 3amp and at 4.1 amp? Is there an equation to figure charge times?

3) Since the Lipo's don't seem to have quite as finicky a power curve as Nimh, would a cheaper charger get the job done? I'm looking at a $50 Ripmax Quattro that charges at 3a, the Onyx 230 $80, and the Team Checkpoint $130 (same as the ICE basically). Do I need the extra bells and whistles with a LiPo? Is getting a good balancer with a cheaper charger fine? I plan on racing so please let me know the scoop. I have a Nimh Ripmax charger and like it a lot, therefore I think I'd like the Lipo version.


Thanks!

Anyone?

1. If the charger has balancing plug, then it will work.

2. Charging at 3 amp would take a little over 1 hour. Charging at 4 amp should take about 1 hour.(some one correct me if wrong, but i think it should be correct)

3. Get a charger/balancer combo would be good enough. Also with Li-po,make sure your car can handle the extra if you go with brushless. I have a charger I bought from ebay from Hong Kong, it can charge Ni-mh, nicad and lipo and balancing too. Great for $60.. All my frds have been using it for over a year without any problem.

Hi
Charging a lipo at 1c will take more than an hr,as a lipo charger will drop the charge rate as it gets towards the end of the cycle tor prevent overcharging.
A 3S 2250 at 1 c (2.25amps) will take me around 70 to 80min but I only run em down to about 60 to 75%(swallow charger with a flightpower balancer)
cheers
Wozza

Thanks guys!

I am using the ICE charger with team checkpoint balancer on SMC 5200 mah 7.4v. If i run the pack down to 6.2v prior to charging, it takes 75mins to recharge. The balancer charger combo works great. I am getting around 30 -35min run time on stock slash exc / motor combo. Have the VXL BL setup, but not going to install it just yet.

I know the ICE charger is a bit pricey, but its excellent. Used the engine break in feature for the TITAN as well. Checking to see how long that lasts... The memory feature is also brilliant, as I have various heli's, buggies and the slash. All battery charge rates are programmed and easy to select, then its just press a button and start wrenching!!