Cellpro 4s and Flightpower V balancer

[dukesy]

Has anybody used both of these together is it possible and how much faster can you charge your lipo's. Thanks :thumbup:

[kgfly]

NO it certainly is not possible. The CellPro4S is an integrated true balance charger. It charges each cell separately and cannot be used with external balancers AFAIK. It will charge a lipo at up to 3A, what brand/model/size packs are you trying to fast-charge ?

[dukesy]

I had a feeling that would be the case since it has its own balancing system i just wasnt sure if it would by pass it when fitting the v balancer. Im using Flightpower and extreme power packs. I can charge each pack in roughly 50mins at the 1.4c setting on the cellpro. Guess i'll have to look at getting a better charger for fast charging :dontknow

Thanks for the reply :thumbup: Dont really wana be burning my house down :flamesuit

It says here that it will work with all lithium polymer chargers :dontknow
http://fast-lad.co.uk/store/product_info.php?products_id=845&osCsid=f779a64d3f30a73169d1978c4aec91c5

[kgfly]

AFAIK the CellPro doesn't have a two-wire output like most simple chargers, it only has the balance port connection as it charges each cell independently. Hence there is no sensible way to connect the V-balancer.

What size packs are you trying to charge at 1.3C ? Take a look at the eStation BC6 or eStation BC8 as excellent alternatives. Use the temperature probe when charging above 1C for maximum safety.

[dukesy]

Thanks for the replies Kgfly
I shouldve noticed the cellpro doesnt have a two wire output and im gona have to look into getting a new charger now because it just packed up. It says in the instructions that you can charge at 1.4c with no problems.

Since getting my trex450se its kicked off the hobby again ive already got a combat wing and a profile plane in the post so i'll be needing a decent charger that will charge lipos fast.
Im currently charging FP 2170mah 3s1p 11.1v and Xtreme power 3s 2200mah 11.1v
soon to be adding thunder power 1320mah 3s 11.1v and fp 3300mah 3s 11.1v
I wouldnt mind buying two chargers and two v balancers or just one decent charger all in all im gona need to be charging around 12lipos(my Dad and Brothers included) I already have mains power supply and would like if possible to order from the uk any ideas would be fantastic :thumbup: sorry if this all sounds a bit complicated im well tired and still new to charging lipo's

[kgfly]

Sounds like it's all 3S and under 5000mAh. A BC8 will charge a 3S lipo at up to 7A which plenty for what you have described. Another alternative for more parallel charging with minimum fuss would be two eStation BC5. The BC5 has a 50W/5A output so will do a 3S lipo at over 4A which is still plenty. It has an optional temperature sensor which again, I would recommend if you want to charge above 1C. The BC5 doesn't do LiFe but is otherwise a very nice integrated balance charger.

[dukesy]

Big thanks for your replies once again Ken :thumbup:
Ive searched all uk stores looking for the chargers you have recommended and the closest thing i can find is this one:

http://fast-lad.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=45_85&products_id=964&osCsid=e891fdd7ba50acfdb71a9d4555f4e575

If i was to purchase two of these and two V balance modules could i run them both off my 13.8volt 0-20amp DC power supply :dontknow and be able to charge all of the packs mentioned in a reasonable time :dontknow :OMG

Once again many thanks for your time and information i would honestly be doomed with out it :mrgreen:

Hope your not too :arggg: :bomb: :computertrash

[kgfly]

Dukesy,

Happy to help. There is sooo much to learn in this hobby. I have spent many hundreds of hours researching, studying, asking questions and even some time building/tuning/flying my helis. I got a lot of help from generous folk on this and other forums and am pleased to be able to 'pay forward' and help others out where I can.

I believe that the 301DX is the same as the BC5 without the integrated balancer.

Your life would be simpler with the BC5 (one box instead of two) but yes, I think two of those plus two V-balancers ought to do the job nicely.

You might need some adapter leads for batteries other than FP (sadly not all brands use the same balance port connectors) but they should be easy to find.

Note that how long it takes to balance charge a battery depends somewhat on the degree of imbalance between the cells. Assuming perfect balance, the CCCV lipo charging algorithm will usually take about an hour to charge a battery that was 70-80% discharged (never discharge by more than 80%!). The way the balancer works is by bleeding charge of the higher cells allowing the lower ones to catch up. This process is iterative and can take some time but is very important for the safety and lifetime of your batteries. For example I have some batteries that have poorly matched cells so always go out of balance. Balance charging them can take over 80 minutes.

Broken record: Don't forget to get the optional temperature sensor if you really want to charge above 1C.

Post back once you have made your decision/purchase and let us know how the solution works out.

[dukesy]

:thumbup: Thanks ken
It dont help staying up until stupid '0' clock trying to figure everything out and get in some good practice on the sim too :D

When i used to fly eveything was ni cad and ni mh not that im complaining lipo's are definetly the way forward.

I figured it would be easier to have two chargers charging two batteries at a time. The cellpro took around 50mins to charge one fp 2170 hopefully with this set up i could charge 3-4 packs in that time. On the site from the link with the charger they say theyve been charging 2150 fp at 4.5 amps and getting charge times as low as 20mins using the v balance module.

I need to be able to charge all the packs before my Dad,Bro and i go and fly if we all club together the cost of two chargers plus v balancers isnt to bad and we would have a good two hours flying per outing.

Ive got a spartan lipo guard on my trex set to 9.9volts i'l make sure im not discharging lower 80% using this next time i get to charge a pack and set timers for all the other aircraft once built and flying.

I dont want to sound ignorant nor take these excellent batteries for granted but at the end of the day i just want them all charged so we can go and have some fun flying :D