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Old 11-24-2023 | 05:49 AM
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Default Is 10A really enough

Is 10A charging output enough

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Old 11-24-2023 | 05:58 AM
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Enough for what? Over here most tracks and racing series nowadays have a limit of 12A - not all that much higher. IMO 10A is enough for most people.

If you're racing with folks who do the whole 40A+ thing and believe you're a good enough driver (being marshaled just once will cost you way more than you will ever gain by high amp charging) that it truly matters and are willing to replace your batteries accordingly, then no.
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Old 11-24-2023 | 06:14 AM
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Fast charging kills batteries fast.
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Old 11-24-2023 | 06:26 AM
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Originally Posted by 1995 Monster T
Fast charging kills batteries fast.
10A for an 8000mAh battery is just slight more than 1C, what fast charging??????
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Old 11-24-2023 | 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Roelof
10A for an 8000mAh battery is just slight more than 1C, what fast charging??????
Maybe they meant that going more than 10A is bad, so 10 is enough?
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Old 11-24-2023 | 02:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Cody_ferone
Is 10A charging output enough

and go
10A is the legal limit where I race, so yeah definitely "enough".
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Old 11-24-2023 | 04:43 PM
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It depends on what enough means. 10amp is is enough to go racing and be usable sure. But am I personally ok with only having 10amp is of power then the answer is no. I personally use a icharger 458 with a 24 volt power supply. The reason I have this charger is because I like charging at 45amps and I like have 1500+watts of available power. No it’s not necessarily but I like it.

it’s like saying is my 200hp civic enough. Sure it enough for basic commuting but I sure as hell won’t like it or enjoy it.

Last edited by riceball777; 11-25-2023 at 12:15 AM.
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Old 11-24-2023 | 06:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Cody_ferone
Is 10A charging output enough

and go

Yes. It's actually a bit too much. Lipo batteries like 1 to 1.5C charge rate. They're not NIMH batteries where you can charge at a billion amps to get a bit more punch.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 12:13 AM
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Originally Posted by riceball777
It depends on what enough means. 10am is is enough to go racing and be usable sure. But am I personally ok with only having 10amp is of power then the answer is no. I personally use a icharger 458 with a 24 volt power supply. The reason I have this charger is because I like charging at 45amps and I like have 1500+watts of available power. No it’s not necessarily but I like it.

it’s like saying is my 200hp civic enough. Sure it enough for basic commuting but I sure as hell won’t like it or enjoy it.
There is another reason why we have limited charging currents. It is to keep the mains fuse alive. Most normal clubs have a 35A fuse on the incoming 230v, that is 8000w. If you have a race with 100 drivers and everyone is charging at 40A (+/- 350 watt) then only 20 people can charge batteries before the fuse gets critical.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 12:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Sabin
Yes. It's actually a bit too much. Lipo batteries like 1 to 1.5C charge rate. They're not NIMH batteries where you can charge at a billion amps to get a bit more punch.
lipo’s can charge much much faster than 1c with out any problems. Now a days more of the fast stock 17.5 racers cycle the batteries at 40-45 amps. Even the basic 18650 and 21700 lithium ion cells in my tesla charge at over 3c on the super chargers and these basic 18650 cells can’t charge close to as fast as rc lipo’s. I generally charge at 15-20 amps when I’m not in a rush. But many time I just charge at 45 amps.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Roelof
There is another reason why we have limited charging currents. It is to keep the mains fuse alive. Most normal clubs have a 35A fuse on the incoming 230v, that is 8000w. If you have a race with 100 drivers and everyone is charging at 40A (+/- 350 watt) then only 20 people can charge batteries before the fuse gets critical.
absolutely if this is an issue then require everyone to charge at a much slower rate. I generally don’t run into this issue. Any where I go or if I’m at home.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 06:59 AM
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balance current will be far more important, I charge my packs at 20A with average charge time of 10-15 min, when a pack takes longer than 15 min to charge, the IR is fading at that point and it's time to replace the battery, more info here:
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Old 11-25-2023 | 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by billdelong
balance current will be far more important, I charge my packs at 20A with average charge time of 10-15 min, when a pack takes longer than 15 min to charge, the IR is fading at that point and it's time to replace the battery, more info here:
Balance current is irrelevant if your cells are closely matched. It only matters if the charger detects a voltage mismatch.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted by riceball777
lipo’s can charge much much faster than 1c with out any problems. Now a days more of the fast stock 17.5 racers cycle the batteries at 40-45 amps. Even the basic 18650 and 21700 lithium ion cells in my tesla charge at over 3c on the super chargers and these basic 18650 cells can’t charge close to as fast as rc lipo’s. I generally charge at 15-20 amps when I’m not in a rush. But many time I just charge at 45 amps.

Bad practice, reduces total mAh capacity, and kills the longevity of the lipo. Also, that risks a fire. Don't do it.
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Old 11-25-2023 | 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by gigaplex
Balance current is irrelevant if your cells are closely matched. It only matters if the charger detects a voltage mismatch.
Balance current is key, it will significantly improve charge times for a degrading pack that would otherwise need to be replaced far too soon with a charger with a poor balance current rating.

I once had a low quality charger that didn't provide any balance current rating and my battery took close to 45 min to charge at 10A and a buddy at the track put the battery on his iCharger to test the IR for me and showed how the IR was a little high but not bad and he charged it in 15 min at 10A and that's when I was convinced that balance current was the most important thing that mattered. I bought an iCharger the next day and never looked back at any of the budget chargers ever again
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