A123 Cells can I charge them....

[Cryofix]

I have read alot about these cells and have 2 ordered and 1 already here, but my questions is this can I charge these cells with what I have:

TP1010C
Triton Jr
Electrifly 4 pack Li-Poly

I have read a ton of information on charging but all the posts I read leave me still asking questions, and a lot of holes are left to fill in.

Can anyone recommend to me what the best possible setup would be, either with what I have or purchasing a new charger.

[tcgliderguy]

Take a look at www.slkelectronics.com

Sid Kaufman ( the SLK) has a very thorough explanation of the differences between LiPo's, A123's, and eMoli'ss....

And for what its' worth.... his LiPoDapter has been doing a great job of charging all three types of cells for me... using a Robbe Infinity II charger to power it....

I bought the LiPoDapter for $40.... an AstroFlight Blinky balancer for $25.... and can charge anything (up to six cells...)

-TC

[askman]

depends. the a123 is normally charged to 3.6v, but they can handle bit higher. in fact, you can go to 4.2, but is hard on the cell. lipodapter charges to 3.7v, but shuts it off . (at least mine does) I have early tme charger, but I can usually find correct combination of voltage to get right setting to 3.6. (I charge 10S A123 using 9S 4.0v setting) I use lipodapter with my triton.

I know that gary charges them to 9cell setting for 10S a123 pack on 1010.

[dreslism]

I heard Charlie post that there will be a firmware update this or next month for the TP1010 to charge the A123's.

From RC groups:


[Charlie Wang]TP will add new firmware for A123 in December for free download.
Below is a discharge curve of TP extreme high discharge cell for you to compare with A123.
The extreme cell has energy density of 160Whr/Kg, the mid point voltage at 20C is 3.5V(much higher than A123)
The TP5000-6S is the proven choice for Trex 6000, sound like an promotion here, but it took TP more than 3 years since our Gen1 pack to achieve this kind of energy density and power density we promised to deliver.

Regards,
Charlie

[rerazor]

I charge a 10s a123 on my schulze as a 9s LiIon setting finishes up as 36.9v.

[GGoodrum]

Yep, I'm all over these a123 cells now. I use a 10-cell pack in my Logo 10, and two 10-cell packs, wired in parallel, in a 10s2p configuration in my eTitan conversion. I also use a 6-cell pack in my little stretched QJ-8.

I charge the 10-cell packs on my TP-1010C, set for 9 cells, and also on my Schulze isl6-636, also set for 9s. I'm happy to hear that TP will do a software upgrade for the TP-1010C chargers. Schulze just released a new update (version 8.41) that supports the a123 cells as well. I'm definitely going to update the 636 to the new software, as this one allows charging a 10-cell pack at a full 8A. The TP-1010Cs top out at 5.5A for 9/10 cells.

I also have a one of the TME Extrema chargers, which already has the ability to charge a123 cells because you can set the per cell charge voltage to whatever you want. I use this one to charge 6-cell and 5-cell packs. It will charge a 6-cell pack at 7.5A max rate.

After resisting for many years, I finally broke down and ordered an isl8-936, which cost more than my first car. :shock: The reason is that with it, I can charge a 10-cell pack at a full 10A rate. I plan on using this with my Logo 10. With a single 10-cell pack, I'm getting about 7-1/2 minutes with the 9-1/2 pound Pan-LG setup. With three inexpensive 10-cell packs and 15 minute charge times, I can fly all day. :)

-- Gary

[enigma]

My Pocketlader has a setting for "Li-Zelle" which is 3.6V standard. Would this be appropriate for A123"s?