Battery Chargers

[jross]

Hi All. Looking to purchase a charger and dislike buying things twice. Wondering what others use and like and also, what charger would you get if you had to purchase a new one? I'm looking at the HiTec RCD X4 AC Pro. Out of stock everywhere now but likely available mid January. FT/Amain has them on backorder for $200, a fair price.

 

[sprzout]

Hi All. Looking to purchase a charger and dislike buying things twice. Wondering what others use and like and also, what charger would you get if you had to purchase a new one? I'm looking at the HiTec RCD X4 AC Pro. Out of stock everywhere now but likely available mid January. FT/Amain has them on backorder for $200, a fair price.

I LOVE my HiTec charger. I don't have the RCD X4, I've got the RDX1. But I absolutely LOVE it compared to my dad's Turnigy, which was only $10 cheaper. I'm seriously considering upgrading my charger soon just so I can have multiple batteries be able to be charged.

The newer chargers have Scan n' Go tech, so you can put a QR code on the battery, go into the HiTec app, find your charger, and then tell the port your battery is connected to. It then sets it all up for charge, and you just press start.

I think the reason the X4 that you're looking for is on backorder is that they're replacing it with the newer version that has Scan n' Go for all 4 ports, if I remember correctly.

One of the other things I like about HiTec is their lifetime warranty, that they're here in the United States, and more importantly, they're out of Poway, which is about 30 min. from where I live.

 

[Merv]

I use 8 of the IMAX B6, they do a great job and are cheap enough you can own several with out breaking the bank. I got the cheapest ones I could fine, mine are likely the knockoffs. I bought a 30A power supply, so I can charge 8 batteries at one time, each on it's own charger, pulling 2.2A each for a total of 17.6A. I've mounted them to two scraps of plywood, when one charger goes bad, I just replace it.

Now I don't have too spend all day charging.

 

[Bricks]

I have a Hyperion E0S0615I Duo3 I can charge up to 12 batteries or more with parallel charging boards and not take all day to do it. Before buying a charger you need to think how long you want to wait to charge your batteries, this will be the deciding factor at least it was for me. My 3s 450 mah batteries that I use in my 3D plane I can charge 6 batterie's in less then 15 minutes while on the other side of the charger I can charge 6 of my 4s 2200`s in about the same amount of time.

You can watch here for a good used charger once you decide what you want, I bought my Hyperion off of here for less then half of new, I have had it for three years now and not one hiccup. Even batteries I have purchased a bunch off of here.


https://www.rcgroups.com/aircraft-electric-batteries-and-chargers-fs-w-284/

 

[Merv]

Just a word of caution about parallel changing. If one pin on a balance lead doesn’t make contact. That celll will not balance, it may get over charged or under changed. You have no way of telling if all your balance lead pins of all your packs are connecting.

 

[Antioch]

Also curious on this topic.... on the other hand I am looking for simple easy to use ...without breaking the bank.

 

[jross]

Just a word of caution about parallel changing. If one pin on a balance lead doesn’t make contact. That celll will not balance, it may get over charged or under changed. You have no way of telling if all your balance lead pins of all your packs are connecting.

Hi Merv. For clarification, is parallel charging when multiple batteries are plugged into a charge board that is then plugged into the charger? It would seem that way when I read your first comment about parallel charging boards.

 

[jross]

I have a Hyperion E0S0615I Duo3 I can charge up to 12 batteries or more with parallel charging boards and not take all day to do it. Before buying a charger you need to think how long you want to wait to charge your batteries, this will be the deciding factor at least it was for me. My 3s 450 mah batteries that I use in my 3D plane I can charge 6 batterie's in less then 15 minutes while on the other side of the charger I can charge 6 of my 4s 2200`s in about the same amount of time.

You can watch here for a good used charger once you decide what you want, I bought my Hyperion off of here for less then half of new, I have had it for three years now and not one hiccup. Even batteries I have purchased a bunch off of here.


https://www.rcgroups.com/aircraft-electric-batteries-and-chargers-fs-w-284/

I checked out that charger. Looks like it runs 180 watts per channel for a total of 360. The Hitec I'm looking at is 200AC/300DC. In terms of wattage, some chargers have more watts. My assumption is more watts = faster charging. At what point do watts become extra watts that are unused. In other words, what is the max wattage a battery can be charged at. I'm also assuming a 1S battery takes less wattage than a 6S. I notice some chargers run up to 600 watts. Is that much wattage necessary? I know charging batteries quicker will reduce battery life. Where is the sweet spot?

I'm also assuming balance boards are required to balance charge on most chargers. Or is there a way to balance charge without a board? The balance port on the Hitec looks like you can plug your balance lead directly to the charger. I notice the port is numbered right to left from 1 - 6. Assuming this represents 1S - 6S and that you can plug any battery directly to the charger balance port, starting from the right and using more pins as your S rating increases. Do I understand this correctly?

Thanks for putting up with my noobie confusion and questions.

 

[Merv]

Hi Merv. For clarification, is parallel charging when multiple batteries are plugged into a charge board that is then plugged into the charger? It would seem that way when I read your first comment about parallel charging boards.

Yes, you can change multiple batteries at the same time using a parallel charging board & one changer. When it works it’s great but if a single pin on any balance lead fails to connect, that cell will not balance. It could over charge or under charge. I know of no way to be sure all pins are connected.


https://m.banggood.com/Amass-XT60-P...UtfD1Nx0o6cQgPeqZwhL28eGPntCUtjBoCqUYQAvD_BwE

 

[Bricks]

To me personally batteries are consumables just like running a gas or glow motor you are using fuel that is your consumable.

You are correct that Hytech charger the balance port is built into the unit.

My Hyperion is actually an old charger I picked it up used for$65 I would like to get a larger one but as long as this one is working, I will continue to use it..

Charger size is up to you or how many batteries you have, a couple of guys at my field only have 1 or 2 batteries they fly for 6 minutes then wait 45 minutes to an hour for there battery to charge, and they are happy doing it this way. On the other hand there are a few that when they hit the field the only time they quit flying is to change batteries. When getting into the bigger batteries 6s 5000MAH at $150 plus for one battery it`s not like most guy`s are going to have a bunch of these laying around so they need a charger that will not take all day to charge it.


Every time you charge a battery it is not necessary to balance charge the choice is up to you. With out balancing the charge takes less time. In the years I have been flying electric I have never had a problem using balance boards charging multiple batteries at the same time, as Merv said what can happen, just like a Lipo fire it can happen which I have not happen. Biggest thing to me is common sense, your hand is your best thing you have to detect problems, checking your batteries for heat while charging.

My balance boards have six ports I can plug any size say 3s batteries in whether they are 200mah or 6000mah as long as the cell count is the same MAH does not matter while charging.

 

[macnerd77]

I use 8 of the IMAX B6, they do a great job and are cheap enough you can own several with out breaking the bank. I got the cheapest ones I could fine, mine are likely the knockoffs. I bought a 30A power supply, so I can charge 8 batteries at one time, each on it's own charger, pulling 2.2A each for a total of 17.6A. I've mounted them to two scraps of plywood, when one charger goes bad, I just replace it.

Now I don't have too spend all day charging.

Do you have any pictures of this setup? I would like to see it. thanks