Twisterdave

I need to get a new charger, want a good one, what should I get? Thanks for your help, Dave.

rannblod

iTrader: (1)

maybe if you give a little bit more info on your intentions with your charger it would be easier to help you.

xterray

iTrader: (3)

The I charger 406duo is a great unit, ive been using one for a couple of months now and it balances within .001 a cell or most times the cells are even. Awesome discharging aswell when combined with the external discharge unit.

Twisterdave

I'm racing 2wd buggy, stock 17.5.

trigger

iTrader: (15)

Icharger 406 combined with a 40amp discharge bank is certainly a must for spec racing.

raved007

iTrader: (36)

+1 icharger406 been using for a year still great like a champ.

PerryCodes

I just bought the X1 Pro Combo from Tower for $100. Very happy with it.

Twisterdave

Thanks for all the help, I think I'll be going with the icharger.

rhodesengr

iTrader: (1)

I have been using an i106 for smaller batteries and an i306 1000W for like four years now. If I was buying a new I'd be getting the i406 Duo like other have suggested. A few years back I carefully compared icharger to similar model from FMA Powerlab. The icharger had way more balancing current. Balancing current is always much less that charging current. So you might charge u fast at 3C but then balancing can take a long time if one cell is off.

The i106 only balance at 100mA. The i306 is a bit better at 300mA. The Duo models balance at a whopping 2.4 amps or 1.2 amps per channel.

GuyIsDamGood

The Graupner Polaron EX Chargers are very good. It can do alot. You can get one from Tower Hobbies.

TimmE

iTrader: (2)

If you are racing somewhere that ignores ROAR that's great.

Riverbluff

+1. It can't charge at the same high amp as the iCharger but it has a lot of capabilities, and it capable of charging the new LiHV stuff without any problems.

trigger

iTrader: (15)

Believe me, the high rate charge doesn't give the Icharger the advantage. Its all in the high discharge rate with the discharge bank.

FreeBandz

can someone explain the advantage of chargers that need a power supply over the chargers that plug into a regular power socket?

rhodesengr

iTrader: (1)

The ichargers have a Discharge+ mode that works with an external load resistor. I have all that but rarely use that mode. I know you are not supposed to leave Lipos fully charge but I have never seen it actually harm a battery.

The ones with built in power supplies are very limited in power. The most I have seen is 80 Watts. So if you want more power to charge bigger batteries and/or higher S batteries at decent rate, you probably want at least 500 Watts.

Also make sure you match the power supply to the charger. ichargers will run pm 12V but the higher power ones need 24Volts to works at full power.