R/C Tech Forums - Looking for Charger Knowledge

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Looking for Charger Knowledge

Trying to learn and better understand the hobby.

I currently have a IMAX B6AC v2 charger I use for 2S batteries for a monster truck. I understand that I need to balance charge them at an amp relative to their mAh rating. For example my 5000 mAh battery I charge at 5.0 amps.

I am planning on buying a new truck that will require two 3S batteries and I want to purchase a new charger to charge two batteries at once.

My question is there something I should look for in my new charger to ensure I am buying the one that will charge the batteries as quick as possible? My current charger will charge a battery in about an hour and twenty minutes. Being new to the hobby I don't know if that is quick, slow, or about right to how long it takes to charge a battery.

Right now I am leaning towards the Hitec X2 AC Plus Black Edition.

Appreciate any and all feedback.

Hitec and orion both have budget friendly DUO chargers. I have both and the software and user experience on the orion is much easier to use imo. My son uses the orion due to the ease of use. It is a touch screen.
as for quicker the higher capicity the more time. Always charge at the 1c rate( exactly what you are doing now). the hitec does have a fast charge feature but the charge stops at about 85% capacity so I just use the reg. charge.
good luck:nod:

Pick up a Reaktor 250 charger from HK, and a HP 750 power supply from ebay. Both will be under $100 easily. That power supply can run three of those chargers if wanted. I would get two 250 chargers and that power supply. It will charge those batteries in 10-15 minutes.

You can also use a parallel board to charge multiple batteries at the same time.. they only need to share the same cell count:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Paraboard-Par...0484618&chn=ps

I'm in a similar boat. I want to be able to charge four batteries at a time. Does anyone have any experience with the Ultra Power chargers?

amazon.com/dp/B01IO5XK0E/?coliid=IDIFPMSSFEEJU&colid=K6MCP2Y0YIYV&psc=0&ref _=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

It certainly gets good reviews and costs less than comparable 4X chargers.

[QUOTE=billdelong;15222803]You can also use a parallel board to charge multiple batteries at the same time.. they only need to share the same cell count [\QUOTE]

I need to better understand this method. If anyone can point me in a direction to learn more about it I would appreciate it.

I am wondering if the batteries need to be the same mah, how do I know when they are done, does this cause the charge time to be longer, etc.

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

JamesBea, you are basically looking for the output numbers. Take a look here at your charger:

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6a...___store=en_us

Max Charge: 50W
Max Discharge 5W
Charge Current Range: 0.1 ~ 6.0A
Discharge Current Range: 0.1 ~ 1.0A

Compare that with something more expensive (I'm not recommending this one):
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/0620ac-u...___store=en_us

Maximum Charge Capacity: 300W
Maximum Discharge Capacity: 20W
Maximum Power Capacity: 300W
Charge Current: 0.05 ~ 20A
Discharge Current: 0.05 ~ 20A

That's how you can tell what you are getting for your money with the charger differences. Now, how do those differences help? Mostly by calculating what your charging needs are by using a charging requirements calculator:

Charger and PSU calculator

Amps are what you want to focus on for a single battery charge. The normal charge rate is mAh/100. If you have a 4600mAh battery, the desired amps for charging is 4.6 amps. If you have a charger that cannot do 4.6amps, then your charging will take longer (and will not be as effective). You can crank up the amps over the recommended for faster charging but at risk to damaging the battery over time. The more amps you use, the more power (watts) the battery needs to support it. Wattage also is what helps when charging more than one battery at a time (since you need double the charging capacity).

There is a lot more to it, but hopefully that helps get you started.

Hitec x2 is probably the most budget-friendly decent dual charger. Hitec also makes a 4 port charger as well that isn't bad for people who want to charge 4 at a time.