Originally Posted by
Joel Lagace
My reasoning for asking is i just want to be sure that this charger will do that. I know that lipo are not nihm, but i do know that its impossible to say that 10 lipo packs will run the same voltage and capacity. So if was to get this charger i want to know for sure that i could do this.
I know you're stuck on NiMh care techniques, but all of the Orion reps have stated a couple of times in the LiPo threads that they ARE all the same. Any differences between packs are nominal, at best. They all have 8.4v when charged (give or take), and the capacity is WAY more than you need in a race.
I don't know if this charger will safely discharge a LiPo pack, because I never looked. You don't need to do it with LiPos, so it wasn't a feature I would ever have looked for. It does nicely cycle NiMh packs, though, as I have already done all of my remaining regular battery packs.
And the fact that you DON'T need 10 packs is important—more like one. So matching ONE pack to itself is done with it's own balancing port—which Orion has also said doesn't need to be done often, if at all. Capacity is great if you plan on taking it down to the voltage cutoff in one race, but again, you don't need to because the discharge rate is so flat on these packs.
I ran all day yesterday with two Platinum packs and one charger. Four straight practice sessions on one pack, consecutively. Pulled the car off, changed car settings and tires, and changed the pack to a charged one. Dropped the first one on the charger and got 4 more test sessions on the second pack. They both performed identically, and allowed literally back-to-back multiple runs with ZERO maintenance.
Again, get ALL of the things you think you know about regular battery maintenance out of your head. They DO NOT APPLY to LiPo battery packs. They are absolutely not the same things. You don't need dischargers, equalizers or any things you
needed for NiMh batteries. THAT'S WHY EVERYONE LOVES THEM SO MUCH! The best things about brushless systems and LiPo batteries is that you literally do not need to think about them at all.
I guess if people are hellbent on futzing and preening over their battery packs and motors, then they should keep their brushed and NIMh packs.
BTW, to keep this thread on topic, I used the Checkpoint charger yesterday on both Platinum packs and it performs flawlessly. I highly recommend this charger for anyone looking to charge and maintain both NiMh and LiPo packs. VERY nice setup.
