I need help choosing a lipo charger!

[GPACHECO]

I need help choosing a lipo charger!

I recently got a T-Rex 600 so I need to charge 6S lipos. I think would like to get a charger-balancer all in one box (or do I?). I have read many other posts, but I still don't know what to get.

Things I am considering are:

I may need to charge up to 10S at a later date....
I may need to charge NiCd or NiMh....
I have to have a balancer...
It would be nice if I could run it off of AC current...(internal power supply?)
Cost.. I would like spend $250 or less....
Speed of the charging cycle....
Quality of the balancing....

All comments will be appreciated. Thanks.

[cudaboy_71]

hard to beat the TP 1010/210 combo. but, that's gonna blow your budget. you get what you pay for in this hobby.

i have an astro 109 (~$100) and a blinky (~$23) that works great for charging 6s. but, the astro only goes to 9s. and the blinky only goes to 6s.

and, neither setup will handle nicd/nimh. for your price point i think you're going to have to trim back a few feature requests.

[Skiddz]

I really like the TP 1010/210 combo but it'd be nice if it charged NiCd/NiMh..

[Pinecone]

It will come later this month or next month. TP already announced that the next firmware upgrade will support NiMH/NiCd.

[bcane98]

Has anyone used the Duratrax Ice recharger? The only thing missing from it would be the internal power supply, but you can modify an old computer power supply to get the juice...

Good luck finding something that will do all you want...

[Skiddz]

It will come later this month or next month. TP already announced that the next firmware upgrade will support NiMH/NiCd.

I'd heard that here, but didn't see anything on the TP web site last night. I did see the A123 support in the latest firmware offering tho..

[kgfly]

I doubt you can get a one-box 10S solution and certainly not for $250. A decent 10S solution needs a high power DC supply and they simply don't come cheap so integrating it into the charger would make it too expensive for the market.

One box (AC/DC charger/balancer)
The eStation BC6 is a one-box solution:
* Integrated AC/DC power-supply
* Integrated balancer
* Support for NiCd/NiMH/Pb/LiIon/LiPo/LiFe(A123).
* up to 6S LiPo or LiFe
* 50W/5A max output

For a T600 the only weakness is that it is 50W output so for a 6S lipo it will only charge at 2A, probably too slow for you.

Two box (power-supply + charger/balancer)
The eStation BC8 is two-box solution as it requires a DC input:
* Integrated balancer
* Support for NiCd/NiMH/Pb/LiIon/LiPo/LiFe(A123).
* up to 8S LiPo or LiFe
* 150W/7A max output

An excellent solution for a T600. It will do 6S lipos at 6A, 8S lipos at 4.5A or 8S A123 (LiFe) at 5A. Doesn't match you potential future need for 10S.

Three box (power supply + charger + balancer)
If you really want 10S you will probably not find a decent solution under $250 (let us know if you do!). The two best alternatives in my opinion are the eStation 902 and the TP1010.

The TP1010 (10S, 220W/10A output, LiPo/LiFe) + 210 balancer is perhaps the best known for 10S solutions. One distinguishing feature is that you can buy a special PC-link cable that allows you to upgrade the on-board software. This is unusual.

The eStation 902 (12S, 200W/9.9A output, NiCd/NiMH/Pb/LiIon/LiPo/LiFe) + 2xPB6 balancers is an attractive solution. With the ability to go to 12S it provides more flexibility than the TP1010 for experimenting with emoli or A123 packs.

[RC Accessory]

The best of everything would be the e-Station 902 charger with the dual PB-6's for up to 12S. It is smart of you to try to anticipate your future needs. Your $$'s you're willing to spend is your issue.

Many people tell me they are abandoning the 10S packs for 2 5S packs. Easier to keep in balance. If that is the case the BC-8 is a great buy. For the same price as the 902, you get the balancer built in.

[GPACHECO]

Well, as many have suggested, I have reduced my requirments, I think I can do without the internal power supply, but I do want an internal balancer. As far as the need for 10S, I don't need 10S capability right now but I thought I might need it in the future. I did not think about charging a 10S separated into 2-5S packs. It looks like the e-Staion BC8 charger might be my best choice.
Thanks for the suggestions and comments

[maltydog]

Has anyone used the Duratrax Ice recharger? The only thing missing from it would be the internal power supply, but you can modify an old computer power supply to get the juice...

Good luck finding something that will do all you want...

yea, i have a ICE charger; works fine for LIPOs; i've had it about a year and originally bought it for use with my rc cars (Nimh). Good programability and show what you put in the pack and various other tidbits of info. i typically use the equinox balancer between the charger and battery. i bought a radio shack power supply (15amp); fairly compact and works fine. i think it was on sale for $59 but i don't remember since it was a year ago.

gw.

[DebianDog]

If you cannot hook up a balancer to the charger then forget it. I did not mind puffing $50 TREX450 pack every once in a while but I am not going to puff $300 Flightpower batteries to save a few bucks on a charger.

[johnnychimpo]

Get a shultze
http://www.icare-rc.com/chargers.htm
You can get a isl 6- 330d for 149 USD!!!
Charge 2 packs at the same time and up to 5amps each output.
You would need seperate balance chargers like a great planes equinox or hyperion lba10 as well.