Is iCharger really superior?
#31
Tech Champion
iTrader: (170)
Thanks. Man this helps a lot. So every time you use a pack, do you cycle (discharge/charge) it again? What voltage do you discharge it to? And if you know how long typically a cycle takes, would you want to finish charging the battery right before the race or does it not matter?
#32
When i had an Icharger i would discharge/charge everytime before a race (practice not so much). I would discharge the pack at 20amps to about 3.5v per cell then charge it at 30amps to 4.2 per cell. You would want it to finish as soon before your run as possible. Remember though, if you do any roar events then max charge rate is 1c according to their rules.
#33
As well as temps +- 5 deg. of ambient temps, no direct cooling devices aloud.
#34
The 308, 406 & 4010 allow you set per cell peak voltage. So I could set it at 4.22 or 4.23 etc per cell to get to 8.44 / 8.46 as a pack respectively. The high discharge rate is what creates the heat, the high charge rate keeps the heat in while ensuring your pack charges quick to be able to take advantage of the heat/lower ir. The more you cycle a pack this way on a race day the lower the ir becomes.
Never cycle a lipo packs it puts to much heat in the pack which Raises IR.
There is a temp range in which the lipo batteries responds to lower IR.
To cold or to hot HIGHER IR.
Use your Icharger with the wire balancer connected to it.
#35
Part of the reason that the iCharger is faster than most chargers is that the balance current is much higher than other brands. From what I remember, it can handle 1.2A for balancing, instead of < 300 mA for others. Plus, for the higher charge rates you must use one of the balance modes.
#36
Aw, sorry but what does that mean?? With my charger, regular charging mode is up to 6A and balance charge is also up to 6A. So 1.2A for balancing in iCHarger vs 6A in my charger, how is it different?? Sorry for my ignorance LOL
#38
Part of the reason that the iCharger is faster than most chargers is that the balance current is much higher than other brands. From what I remember, it can handle 1.2A for balancing, instead of < 300 mA for others. Plus, for the higher charge rates you must use one of the balance modes.
#40
R/C Tech Elite Member
iTrader: (40)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...gCnDaDkQ#t=155
*this is for the powerlab. I believe the icharger does something similar.
*this is for the powerlab. I believe the icharger does something similar.
#41
First of all guys, how often do you calibrated your ichargers and the other chargers you own ??? If you've never calibrated your chargers, and it reads a higher cell voltage than it should, then your packs will be undercharged all the time, costing you to lose a lot of punch on top of losing confidence on your charger... Is it really that the icharger is superior, or is it that it might be reading a lower voltage out of your packs compared to other chargers, causing it to charge your packs more than the other chargers... Calibrate your current charger first, before throwing it away to get an icharger !!! If the calibrated icharger still outperforms your other calibrated chargers, then switch.....
#42
R/C Tech Elite Member
iTrader: (40)
First of all guys, how often do you calibrated your ichargers and the other chargers you own ??? If you've never calibrated your chargers, and it reads a higher cell voltage than it should, then your packs will be undercharged all the time, costing you to lose a lot of punch on top of losing confidence on your charger... Is it really that the icharger is superior, or is it that it might be reading a lower voltage out of your packs compared to other chargers, causing it to charge your packs more than the other chargers... Calibrate your current charger first, before throwing it away to get an icharger !!! If the calibrated icharger still outperforms your other calibrated chargers, then switch.....
BTW, if anyone wants to know how to calibrate an iCharger:
http://www.icharger.co.nz/articles/A...-iCharger.aspx
Last edited by RCBuddha; 07-22-2014 at 06:51 PM.
#43
I use a thunderpower 1430C charger, and just wanted folks to know about calibration before rating a charger, since nobody ever mentioned it here... It is very important, and it's good to see the icharger calibration video here...
#44
R/C Tech Elite Member
iTrader: (40)
*If anyone wants a more advanced reading on iChargers and their capabilities, head over to rcgroups.
#45
The only thing that you would have to do to the Icharger is mess with the final charged voltage. To get a true 4.2v per cell just using a good volt meter to check it.