Charger Suggestions
02-12-2017 | 07:44 AM
#16
Tech Regular
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 371
From: Framingham, MA
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I went with the Ultra Power up120ac duo. It's supposed to be the generic of the Reedy 1216c2. I have not yet used the fast charge or a full charge, only a partial charge on one battery so far. It worked perfectly fine. The 2 LCD screens were easy to read everything, and it was easy to use. It also does LIHV. I saw it on Amazon for $107, and then price dropped to $99.99, so I bought it. My other choices in that price range were the Hitec X2, and the Dynamite Passport. Both of those were highly touted on the RC Driver website article. The Ultra Power is more powerful , does LIHV, and the leads that came with it were already set up for what I needed. When I do a full charge, I will update on its performance. For my needs it seemed the most practical.
I went with the Ultra Power up120ac duo. It's supposed to be the generic of the Reedy 1216c2. I have not yet used the fast charge or a full charge, only a partial charge on one battery so far. It worked perfectly fine. The 2 LCD screens were easy to read everything, and it was easy to use. It also does LIHV. I saw it on Amazon for $107, and then price dropped to $99.99, so I bought it. My other choices in that price range were the Hitec X2, and the Dynamite Passport. Both of those were highly touted on the RC Driver website article. The Ultra Power is more powerful , does LIHV, and the leads that came with it were already set up for what I needed. When I do a full charge, I will update on its performance. For my needs it seemed the most practical.
The Reedy is great, but the LiHV is limited to a max of 4.22V per cell. It should be 4.35V
02-12-2017 | 07:59 AM
#17
Tech Addict
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 601
I haven't been able to get a clear answer on a good charger for me. I just need a charger that's going to be able to charge a 4s starter battery and my 2s lipo batteries for my transmitter and receiver. I'm not going to be racing right now so I don't need anything too crazy.
02-12-2017 | 08:59 AM
#18
Tech Adept
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 142
just a quick note on chargers, without mention of brand names. I have a charger which was around $200 when I bought it. Recently I bought 3 new shorty packs one of which was always had a little split in cell voltage but would balance when I brought it out of storage. Yesterday I proceeded to charge it and the cells went 4.10 and 4.23 and wouldn't budge. So I tried going back into storage and one cell went 3.85 and the other to 3.95. In two hours the 3.95 went to 3.92 and again wouldn't budge.
A buddy of mine has a charger that's in the $600 range and we hooked it up to my battery. His charger charged it,balanced it and then we put it into storage and charged it again with no hesitation. I then ran the battery to just below storage and it now seems fine even on my charger. I don't think my charger would have been able to do anything with the battery. So this has got me thinking about the quality of tools you use always makes a huge difference and a good charger could (will) make the difference in care of your expensive batteries. I'm not sure if you need to spend 600 but I know I'm going to be looking at an upgrade. I'm definitely no expert with lipos and others may have tricks to remedy the problem I had.
A buddy of mine has a charger that's in the $600 range and we hooked it up to my battery. His charger charged it,balanced it and then we put it into storage and charged it again with no hesitation. I then ran the battery to just below storage and it now seems fine even on my charger. I don't think my charger would have been able to do anything with the battery. So this has got me thinking about the quality of tools you use always makes a huge difference and a good charger could (will) make the difference in care of your expensive batteries. I'm not sure if you need to spend 600 but I know I'm going to be looking at an upgrade. I'm definitely no expert with lipos and others may have tricks to remedy the problem I had.
02-14-2017 | 09:17 AM
#20
Tech Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 90
From: Rancho Cordova
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I went with the Ultra Power up120ac duo. It's supposed to be the generic of the Reedy 1216c2. I have not yet used the fast charge or a full charge, only a partial charge on one battery so far. It worked perfectly fine. The 2 LCD screens were easy to read everything, and it was easy to use. It also does LIHV. I saw it on Amazon for $107, and then price dropped to $99.99, so I bought it. My other choices in that price range were the Hitec X2, and the Dynamite Passport. Both of those were highly touted on the RC Driver website article. The Ultra Power is more powerful , does LIHV, and the leads that came with it were already set up for what I needed. When I do a full charge, I will update on its performance. For my needs it seemed the most practical.
I went with the Ultra Power up120ac duo. It's supposed to be the generic of the Reedy 1216c2. I have not yet used the fast charge or a full charge, only a partial charge on one battery so far. It worked perfectly fine. The 2 LCD screens were easy to read everything, and it was easy to use. It also does LIHV. I saw it on Amazon for $107, and then price dropped to $99.99, so I bought it. My other choices in that price range were the Hitec X2, and the Dynamite Passport. Both of those were highly touted on the RC Driver website article. The Ultra Power is more powerful , does LIHV, and the leads that came with it were already set up for what I needed. When I do a full charge, I will update on its performance. For my needs it seemed the most practical.
Let us know how it works out!
02-14-2017 | 11:07 AM
#21
Tech Master
iTrader: (52)
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,455
From: Spokane, WA
Perhaps you could start your own thread with specifics about what you need:
single port or multi port charger - do you need to charge multiple batteries at once?
How big are the batteries you are charging - both voltage and capacity.
What's your budget?
Do you need an AC capable charger or is a DC-only charger okay?
single port or multi port charger - do you need to charge multiple batteries at once?
How big are the batteries you are charging - both voltage and capacity.
What's your budget?
Do you need an AC capable charger or is a DC-only charger okay?
02-14-2017 | 12:19 PM
#22
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (13)
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 908
As biz said, your post lacks specifics. If all you need is the ability to charge some ancillary lipos up to 4S, you can pretty much take your pick. You just need to decide what your budget is and whether you want AC/DC only.
Without knowing your budget, I would strongly recommend the Turnigy Reaktor. It will let you charge your 4S at a pretty good clip, but it might be a bit overkill for what you need. If your budget is less and you don't care about how quickly you can charge your 4S, there's the Hitec X1.
Neither charger requires a power supply.
Without knowing your budget, I would strongly recommend the Turnigy Reaktor. It will let you charge your 4S at a pretty good clip, but it might be a bit overkill for what you need. If your budget is less and you don't care about how quickly you can charge your 4S, there's the Hitec X1.
Neither charger requires a power supply.
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