Thoughts on iCharger brand chargers?

[SkinnyDave]

Hey All,

Well, suprise suprise my Turnigy mega 400w charger is a bit of a let down. It's fairly innacurate, the balance discharge rate is a measley 250mw...and it suffers from weird glitches if I try to charge over 17amps! I know I can get a replacement fine, but I might just suck it up and get a better charger. I'm looking at iCharger 208b as a close replacement as far as wattage goes and has much better features...but I see mixed reviews online. Anyone have any experience with them here? Or offer any other similar priced chargers? I'd like to keep it under $150...I'm only charging 4S right now...parallel 4 at a time so I'd like something with a decent output!

 

[bstanley72]

The iCharger or PowerLab are the cream of the crop right now. Can't go wrong with either. I've had the 206b for years and it has been good to me.

 

[stay-fun]

I'm a big fan of the iChargers. I've had a hyperion charger and it blew... and it also had weird charge characteristics (stop charging, and restart, with such a power surge that my power supply couldn't take it).

iCharter ftw! And nice features like measuring internal resistance, storage charge, regenerative charging... It's awesome! I'd go for the 206b, if you're only charging 4s. Unless you plan charging more than 6s packs, you don't need the 208b.

 

[SkinnyDave]

Yeah - I do like the added features (really the measuring of internal resistance!) and a little bit better of a reputation (so it seems) then turnigy. This is my first return with *obby*ing - so we'll see how it goes! At least it is a well documented problem with the charger, so seems like they should take it back without any issues.

I'll probably stick with the 208...if the last year or so of my "hobby life" is any indication of how my needs for power, batteries, and charging change exponentially...then 208 might just be able to hold me off from explaining to my wife why I need "just one more thing..."

Thanks for the insight guys!

 

[bstanley72]

Yeah - I do like the added features (really the measuring of internal resistance!) and a little bit better of a reputation (so it seems) then turnigy. This is my first return with *obby*ing - so we'll see how it goes! At least it is a well documented problem with the charger, so seems like they should take it back without any issues.

I'll probably stick with the 208...if the last year or so of my "hobby life" is any indication of how my needs for power, batteries, and charging change exponentially...then 208 might just be able to hold me off from explaining to my wife why I need "just one more thing..."

Thanks for the insight guys!

I know it blows the budget, but you might consider getting one of the iCharger duo models. If you start parallel charging 6s batteries you might find the 208b a bit lacking (I did with the 206b). One of the duos would serve you well for years to come. Another big bonus is you can charge different cell counts at the same time. I have the 206b and 4010 duo all hooked into a 1200 power supply. This way I can charge my 3s, 4s and 6s batteries all at the same time!

 

[SkinnyDave]

Yeah - I think that would be my "next" purchase - I was also eyeing up some others at that price range, but I'm sure it will all change in a year anyway, right?