Charger - Battery question HELP I AM NEWBIE PILOT

Dougieee

New member
I bought a charger off amazon for my plane I am building (first ever) and I noticed the charger says
"5-10 cell universal charger" but my battery is a 7.4 2 cell Lipo. Can I get away from this with this or will it literally blow up in my face?

P.S. it's not that bad if I need to get another charger, I still have a bunch of amazon credit to blow.
 
Unless it's specifically designed to charge LiPos, this could cause you a lot of grief. (YouTube is loaded with many videos showing what happens to these batteries if improperly charged.

I have two like this: http://www.amazon.com/Original-1~15...id=1416597040&sr=1-4&keywords=b6+lipo+charger

I don't remember where I purchased them, but be aware of cheap knock-offs. They may work OK for you, or might have the wrong output voltages (QC is always an issue with the knock-offs). Also note that this one is not equipped with its own AC power supply -- you must supply a 12 volt DC input (not a problem for me since I collect old discarded electronics). Many folks convert discarded PC power supplies for this purpose (google this for more details). There are more expensive versions of this with the AC power supply built in.

Be sure you get a charger that does balance charging -- ensuring that each cell in the battery pack is charged equally and to the proper voltage.

One more word of caution... Charge your LiPos in a fire-proof location (charging them overnight on your dining room table is a bad idea). You want an area that will contain any flames if the battery should fail while charging (check the forums for battery charging bunkers) -- I use an old ammo can to charge my batteries in.

Battery charging is not quite "plug and play." Done wrong, it can (at best) decrease the lifetime of your batteries. At worse, a very expensive fire. Follow the directions with the charger... and peruse the forums for lots of helpful tips.

Good luck!
 
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