need input on charger.
 

I've been outta the game for awhile now and i'm back. When i was out, there was no such thing as a lipo or life battery and i want to catch up so here's the scoop. I have a losi 8ight RR and i'm going to be running a lipo battery for that. I also have a xxxt that i plan on running a lipo in that as well, but i dont know what lipo battery to use for that. It needs to be able to charge nimh as well so I can still run my Tmaxx.

so with that being said, i need a charger that can handle lipo, life, and nimh and it doesnt have to be on the cheap side either. any info will be appreciated.

Unless your lipos are gong to be more than 2S, this will take care of them, LiFes abd NiMhs as well -

http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html

well i plan on going brushless soon as well so i'm prolly gonna need something that can handle up to 8s

Only 3 chargers that I'm aware of that handle 8S ansd higher cell counts -

iCharger 208b, iCharger 3010b and the FMA Powerlab 8. All can be found here -

http://www.progressiverc.com/index.p..._id=1&Itemid=1



You'll need at least a 350watt power supply for the 208b, either a 500 or 1000watt supply for the 3010b an the PL8. The 3010b and PL8 require power supply with voltage of 24v or more to reach their full 1000watt ratings.

how about if i just wanted to run 6s???

Expense in a charger is determined by the amount of charger output power required/needed. The Thunder AC-6 I linked earlier is rated to 6S, but depending on the capacity, it will take longer than the usual 1hr lipo charge when a lipo is charged at a 1C charge rate (capacity in mah/1000 = 1C charge rate). The AC-6 is a 50watt charger and could only charge a 6S at 50watts /25.2v = ~2amps. If the lipo capacity is below 2000mah, 50watts would be plenty. If, however, your lipo capacity is more like 5000mah, then the 50watt charger would take more than 2hours. This is where you need more charger output power and that costs money unless you don't care about long charging times.

You won't find AC/DC chargers much above 100watts and those are $140-180, but they don't need a separate power supply. DC powered chargers run the entire range from 50watts to 1000watts. Provide some details on how big your 6S lipos are going to be and if you require charging at higher than 1C charge rates and we'll suggest some possible chargers.

Hey Duster is this the same 106B you listed..I looks like they just private labeled it for them..if it's the same..

Would that be a good charger if i just want to charge a 5000 mah 4 cell lipo? How long would that take?

Sorry for all the questions but it looks like you know your stuff..

I listed a 208b since its capable of 8S, 106b is only rated to 6S. The 106b you linked is an iCharger made for AMain's house brand ProTek line.

As far as a 4S 5000mah charger is concerend as long as you're happy with either a 1C or 2C charge rate, it'll do a solid job. 1C charge rate dor that 4S is 5amps and 2C would be 10amps.

Charger has 250watts and a 1C charge of a 4S needs only 16.8v x 5a = 84watts, a 2C charge at 10amps would take 168watts. You are limited to 2C since the chargers max charge rate is 10amps.

106b+ is a great little charger packed with features, highly reccomended

Charge time will depend on how you have it setup

With the following settings

lipos balance charge mode
lipo balance speed - low
Lipo balance setting - storage
lipo trickle - off

It will take 80 mins or so to fully charge

Charging can be sped up by changing the above settings

For the fastest charge you would use

lipo balance speed - fast
lipo balance setting - cv phase

This would bring it down to 60 mins or so

Those times are at a 1c charge rate, would be faster if your batteries are capacle of higher


Those chargers can be found a little cheaper if you shop around

Try progressiverc.com or hobbyking

I suggest you get the balance breakout board as well as it makes connecting the packs a little easier than doing it directly on the unit itself

Cheers

Thanks alot guys...

would 2c make the charge time half? 60 min for a 5000mah @1C...30 Min @ 2c?

Lipo is a 2 step charging process, the constant current (CC) followed by a constant voltage (CV) portion. 2C vs 1C will cut the CC in half, but the CV portion will stay about the same.

You'll notice the time reduction, but it won't be cut in half.

is the lrp quadra pro 2 charger worth the money???

For a $170 charger, 5amps max charge rate is very low. I know its AC/DC, but I haven't seen anyone mention the charger's output power. With this low of a charge rate I suspect its low like 50watts on AC. That would make it a very overpriced charger.


Has only 3 presets where the norm is 10 or 20?? and its $170??

i use a venom pro charger. it is $150. it will charge ac/dc and has 5 amp cut off. though you can disable it. it is a great charger it will charge nimh nicad lipo life and pb (lead acid). i dont know how to post links so i cant point you to a web sit. being that you are hear i am guessing you have a computer the venom pro charger can be programed. if i had the spec chart i would post it too but there agin i dont have it eather. hope this helps

No offense, but the Venom charger is another overpriced charger. Its another 50watt output charger and for that same amount of money, you could have bought an AC/DC charger with 100watts output with a max charge rate of 8amps.

The Thunder AC-6 does all that the Venom charger does and is only $55. Unless I'm miostaken, the only thing you can do with the Venom as far as a PC is concerned is watch a battery charge graphically on the PC. You can't control the charger from the PC.

BTW, this PC connection capability is overhyped, its not that big of a deal and gets old having to fire up a PC and connect everything just to see a graph of volts vs time.