adamge

iTrader: (1)

I vote Thunder Power 1010C as the best lipo charger.

Darkseid

iTrader: (9)

-NO, NEVER discharge your LiPo packs. It won't help them and will likely hurt them!

-Equalizing is up to you. Orion says that you can, but don't have to...

-When your done racing you have a choice, charge them up then and let them sit till your ready to race again, or...let them sit till you get ready to race again and charge them up then. Either way won't hurt the pack unless your last race really drained the pack nearly completely. Then I would say charge the pack up.

-If you only race once a week...bi weekly...or once a month, doesn't matter. You can just charge your pack up and it will be ready when you get ready to use it. I charged mine up once, waited 3 1/2 weeks, then went back to use it and decided to charge it up before using it. In the 3 1/2 weeks of sitting, it dropped a whopping 86mah! So don't worry about letting it sit between races. If you charged it up, it will be ready to use.

GSP

iTrader: (1)

How many packs do most of you own? Can you re-charge them and use them the same day again? Is there any special instructions for safety while charging theses packs? I have read that some of them have over heated or something to that effect. Is there a negative side to the Lipo packs? I can not thank all of you enough for all the info. I wish some of the LHS around here would give me this much info. Thank you all!!!!!!

UN4RACING

iTrader: (22)

I use 2 packs. Theres Lot of safety things to do like charge at a 1c rating, Example: A 4800 mah should be charged at 4.8 amps and no higher.
I charged mine at 4.0.
Make sure when you charge its on the lipo setting. Other wise the packs can over charge and burst. Keep a close eye on them while charging you can buy a temp temp off probe to use with the Duratrax ice charger. That really is the best charger,that or the checkpoint.
Oh and the sweetest thing is run them and recharge them as much as you like all day just don't over dicharge or run them I think over 170 degrees? I think?
Mine have never gotten hotter than 106.
I'll see if I can find a link to the temp sensor.?
http://www.duratrax.com/caraccys/dtxp4170.html
Part # DTXP4171.
GO FAST AND TRY NOT TO CRASH!

Wild Cherry

I suggest a Orion Avionic if your on a budget , or the Orion Advantage.


Advantage does cost more, but its the best of the best .....

Darkseid

iTrader: (9)

I own 2 packs. One 4800 and one 3200. I only own 2 because I got another car that the 3200 fits better in than the 4800. But for quite a while, the 4800 was the only pack that I ran at all.

You can run the same pack all day. Just run it, recharge it, run it, recharge it...

As for safety, I would say just do what the pack and charger directions tell you to. Simple. If you follow all those instructions, don't try to get around the chargers safety features or anything like that, then you'll be fine. And if you follow all the directions and still have a problem, and were smart enough to buy one of Orion's packs, then they'll take care of you in the replace/repair department.

The only downside that LiPo is presenting right now is sanctioning body legalization. Me personally, I'm more than fine with them never legalizing the LiPo packs because it will mean slower developement, less pushing the limit of safety, and less advertising BS like "buy or super pump matched LiPo". So as long as I can run them at the club level, as far as I'm concerned Roar or Ifmar or who ever, can never legalize them and I'd be fine.

Oh, there is one other downside. Because the LiPo packs are significantly lighter than their Nimh conterparts, cars that have the battery off to one side will need additional weight added to the battery side. This is only made worse if you run in a class that has a weight minimum. Orion is currently working on a "weighted" Lipo that will eliminate the need to add weights to the car or pack.

Lastly...Not to knock the LHS, but the fact is that many LHS personel don't stay up on the latest tech. So they may just not know the answers you needed. On the more shady side, some LHS know that selling a pack that will last 2+ years isn't great for business, so they may not want to give the answers you need. I'm sure you know your LHS better than me, so you know which is more likely, but both happen.

wallyedmonds

no dont discharge them
when they are cool charge them
the orion sheet said to do this.

c1 racin

iTrader: (8)

Best Charger IMO is the Multiplex LN-5014 same specs as the Team Orion Avionics Advantage

As for as the LiPo packs go, I've only used the Team Orion and Peak 3200's.

TheBackmarker

I vote for the Multiplex LN 5014, also. I've used this charger for over a year on my Lipo's, Rx packs, Nimh packs and even the lead batteries in my field box and starter boxes. I run gas and electric in both cars and airplanes and it's incredibly versatile and super simple to use. Best of all it's fairly inexpensive. I sell them for 79.99 in my Hobby Shop

ImGoinRCn

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, what he said!

Nexus Racing

I've used a lot of the chargers mentioned here - here is my take:

The best of the best Lipo chargers IMO are the Checkpoint TC1030 and the Orion Advantage Carbon. Both of these can go up to 10A on charge, so they can 1C charge batteries up to 10000mah and 2C charge up to 5000mah (2C is great to have if you have Orion packs ).
I give the Checkpoint the slight edge since it can charge my 3-cell Lipo transmitter pack as well .

I didn't mention the ICE because the new Checkpoint is a little better than the ICE for Lipo - it allows you to set up a 2C charge without lying about the capacity and it can go up to 10A instead of 8A for 1C or 2C charging.

The Orion Avionics Advantage and Multiplex LN-5014 are GREAT chargers for the money. You'll get the same battery performance as with the other chargers above. The only disadvantages are that you are limited to 5000mah batteries and 1C charging. This is not really a big deal, but if you plan to buy a 6000mah Lipo any time soon (and you are impatient like me ), then you might want to step it up a little.

sportpak

iTrader: (26)

I run the Peak/Orion Carbon 3200s and I have an ICE and a Orion Avionics Advantage chargers. The ICE is a little bulky, but the motor run and dozens of charge options make it nice. If I'm only running buggy or TC, the ICE stays in the bag. The Orion charger with my little 10A Integy power supply make for a very neat and tidy bench and pit area. Read the the Orion 3200 Lipo thread for homework. You can't go wrong with these batteries if you can follow a few simple rules for charging/discharging and handling. AWESOME batteries.

adamge

iTrader: (1)

LN5014 is definitely a good charger. Of the four chargers that I've used and others here might be interested in (i.e. Schulzes aren't included because no here will buy one), here's how I rank them.

Triton < Ln5014 < Ice < 1010C

And the Checkpoint is definitely better than the Ice, but at what cost?

gezer2u

iTrader: (4)

I don't care what anyone says, your packs will go out of balance. I have seen 3 Orions that were out of balance. How do I know this. because I have this balancing charger. This charger can be hooked up to your computer and the charge info can be viewed. Two of the packs were 500mah out of balance. The other was only 100mah after only a couple of dozen cycles. You don't need a balance charger to balance your pack but it will take twice as long to balance them without one. I'm not saying that you need to balance them every time, but they do need to be balanced.