Originally Posted by
Dave H
Well I'm certainly assuming the main leads are all attached, including the small pack. If so the current will mostly be on the main wires.
Are you thinking the current would be equally divided between the 4 packs, thus charging the small pack quicker? That can't happen due to the parallel connection, they will all be held to the same voltage by the parallel connection of the main wires. The current On the main wires will be divided appropriately during the charge.
Notice I mentioned the packs should be at a similar voltage before starting, as a practical matter it might be reasonable to speculate the smaller pack is used differently, and may not be at a similar state of discharge and thus voltage, if so that is a reasonable concern.
Also the packs should be in good condition and not have significant imbalance, otherwise that might cause some less than ideal results.
All of the main wires from a PowerLab are connected together unlike other chargers that have leads coming from separate places. This means that all of the power is coming equally to all connected packs and the parallel adapters spread the load as required, within reason. The difference in pack size is too much for the little wires to re-distribute.