Should I or Do I really have to?

[bpd964]

I need a battery charger and balancer for charging 3-6s...

I was looking at the Thunder power TP210 and the Thunder power T1010 combo but, do I really need to pay that much for what I get or is there a more ECONOMICAL approach/option?

Any help would be appreciated..

[DebianDog]

Smoke one (1) 6S pack and How much $$$ did you save exactly? ;)

There are other good solutions out there but I choose the 1010 with 210 balancer.

[wren1702]

I would stick with the 1010 - 210 combo as well. But, take a look at the BC-6.

http://www.deeteeenterprises.com/NS.Bantam.BC-6.Charger.php

[bpd964]

That's funny you mentioned this unit because I decided to check out the BC8, but, this sounds even more appealing. Thank you very much for the info.. I could use the extra cash for some bling.. Thanks..

[huskynox]

Check on Support for the BC-6 and BC-8. Thunder Power support is A+ and you'll be supporting a U.S. company. The TP1010 combo is great!

[tppjr]

That's funny you mentioned this unit because I decided to check out the BC8, but, this sounds even more appealing. Thank you very much for the info.. I could use the extra cash for some bling.. Thanks..

If you truly intend to go to 6s then you need to look at the BC8 or 901 if you go the Bantam route. The BC6 will limit you in your charge rate for 6s making for some long charge times.

You can charge two 6s in series with the 901 up to 9.9 amps, nice charger.

Thomas

[RC Accessory]

We are the US Importer for the Bantam line, based in Tampa, FL and we are an American company. Bantam chargers, like the Thunderpower chargers are made in South Korea.

The BC-6 is an incredible charger. Its power output is 50 watts. While it can do a 6S pack, it's max charge rate would be 2.2 amps.

The BC-8 is my personal choice. Up to 8 cells/balancer, 150 watts of power, 7 amp max charge rate.

The 902 is 200 watts of power, up to 12S packs, uses external balancers for up to 12S balancing. 2 port charger, 2nd port is for nicad/nimh only to 8 cells and 2 amps.

In most cases, the BC-8 is the correct choice for a 6S pack. The HUGE advantage for the BC-6 is that it has its own AC power supply as well as can be run off DC.

Links:

BC-6: http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=241
BC-8:http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=203
BC-6 Review: http://www.rcaccessory.com/pdf/bc-6_review.pdf
BC-8 RC Groups in depth review: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666885

RC Groups will be releasing a BC-6 review very shortly.

Any questions, please let me know/

Evan Chapkis

[Big Fil]

I use both the BC-8 and the TP1010/210. Both are very nice units and do good jobs charging the batteries and have a ton of safety features. It'd be hard to choose one or the other. You can nitpick each one like, the BC-8 is easier to take to the field, the 1010 has nicer buttons and so on but in the end they are way more alike than different.

[Skiddz]

I like the TP1010/210 combo - so much so, that I now have two. :)

[Steel Butcher]

Evan:

One of the BC6 reviews stated that when plugged into a 120V outlet, that the 12V leads could be used to power another charger. Assuming that the BC6 is maxed out at 50 watts or so, how much power can it supply to the second unit? Is this a recommended practice?

[RC Accessory]

Evan:

One of the BC6 reviews stated that when plugged into a 120V outlet, that the 12V leads could be used to power another charger. Assuming that the BC6 is maxed out at 50 watts or so, how much power can it supply to the second unit? Is this a recommended practice?

Officially, Bantam says not to power a 2nd charger from the DC lines. But.... many people do and there has never been an issue brough to my attention to date.

I really do not know how much power it can put out, but most of the people using it to power a 2nd charger have been in 50watt charger limits.

[Pinecone]

I like the TP1010/210 combo - so much so, that I now have two. :)

Slacker. :)

I was at an EDF flyin in FL today. Bob Violett was there, their charging setup was 5 (yes FIVE) 1010C/210V setups. $1500 in chargers alone. :)

Some awesome aircraft also.

[Skiddz]

Man, you should see the charge table when we all get together at "the field".. 5 of us and 3 of us have doubles... We laugh at the $2000 in charging gear and the $3000 in batteries charging.

The generator holds up to the load no problem. (Honda EU2000i)

[kgfly]

These days there are many good choices. I rely prefer the convenience and safety of integrated balance chargers. Fewer boxes, fewer cables, simpler, safer and easier.

The BC6 and BC8 are excellent high quality chargers and have been standouts in their respective classes for some time. Definitely top candidates.

There are some new integrated balance chargers around that are worth a look, it depends what your needs might be.

The Hyperion EOS 610i is a good unit (although the LCD display is one of those trendy blue ones that lack good contrast). At 250W/10A it is more powerful than the BC8 but has fewer features. If you don't need the extra power (say for charging A123 packs) then I would go with the BC8 over the EOS610i.

The Maxpro 6X is a new entrant and yet to prove itself in users hands, but is well priced and includes some accessories (PC interface cable, temperature probe, multi-head charge lead etc) that are usually add-on options with most chargers. It is 2s-6s but only 100W/5A output which means a max of about 4.2A for 6S. That is below 1C for the typical packs used in a T600 but would be just OK for say a T500.

[kgfly]

One of the BC6 reviews stated that when plugged into a 120V outlet, that the 12V leads could be used to power another charger. Assuming that the BC6 is maxed out at 50 watts or so, how much power can it supply to the second unit? Is this a recommended practice?
I do it all the time with my BC6. I run my SwallowAdvance (multi-chemistry, 2s-5s lipo, 50W/5A output) connected to the BC6 DC leads. I simply aim to keep the total draw on the BC6 supply below 50W.

I use the BC6 to charge 3s 2200 lipos at 2.2A (approx 25W) and then at the same time the Swallow to:
* charge my Tx NiCd at 500mA (approx 5W) OR
* charge a 3s 2200 lipo at 1.1A (approx 13W)

Recently I have started charging my 3S 2200 KP packs at 4A (approx 45W) and found I cannot charge another lipo via the Swallow at a useful rate so I think the 50W rule applies.

The good news is that if you try to draw too much the power supply simply resets, stopping the charge on both the BC6 and the Swallow so other than losing the mAh figures, no harm done.

As Evan pointed out, this is not recommended by Bantam!

[Pinecone]

Man, you should see the charge table when we all get together at "the field".. 5 of us and 3 of us have doubles... We laugh at the $2000 in charging gear and the $3000 in batteries charging.

The generator holds up to the load no problem. (Honda EU2000i)

The difference is, this was for ONE PERSON. Oh, and he was running his EDFs on 12S 6400 FP setups, so something like $3500 of packs charging, plus another $2000+ in airplanes ready to fly.

There were probably another 6+ 1010C/210V setups there also, not including the other chargers.

[bpd964]

WOW..

I am basically new to the whole heli thing but I know from my previous hobbies that buying the best you can afford usually turns out really well if and when you decide to upgrade..

I guess the $300 will be well spent on the TP1010/210 combo.. Thank you all..

[bullaculla]

Meh, you can get the 1010/210 combo for about $250 these days. GrandRC has specials for members and Readyhelis price is lower when you add to cart. I may have to pick up a few more. Lots of lipos on a helicam setup... and you need atleast two of each. i'd have to spend most of the day charging lipos the day before a big shoot if I only had one charger.

[bpd964]

Does it really take that long to charge a 6 pack?

[Pinecone]

Basically it takes the same time to charge pretty much any size pack as long as the charger is up to it.

Lipos are charged at 1C (1 x mAH capacity) in a Constant Current - Constant Voltage setup. So it takes about 1 hour 10 minutes to charge a pack from 80% discharged (safe liit of discharge).

[bpd964]

Cool.. Thank you..

You guys are great... I have a feeling that this is going to be a fun journey..:noteworthy

Nothing is more expensive than my previous saltwater reef aquarium hobby so I am actually going to be saving money.. :thumbup:

[Pinecone]

Think again. :)

[bpd964]

I have servos and gyro / radio and everything needed for the 450 that's on the way and most of the parts for the 600E that my wife is buying me for Christmas.. My TP1010/210 charger combo was just ordered about 20 minutes ago as well as a few TP batteries and Gy611/9254 combo..:lol:

I don't even know how to fly that Cp pro that's been crashed 10 times already. I think it's time to finally setup the Sim that I have sitting there collecting dust. That's my old hobby sitting in the background that I am currently selling off.. Being a cop, I need a way to blow off steam after a long day so I think this will be the ticket..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/bpd964/setup1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v706/bpd964/setup2.jpg

[Pinecone]

You will find the 450 much easier to fly than the CP. I went the same route.

And BTW, since you have the servos, you should pick up a Hurricane 550. :)

The DS821s can be used on a 600 ELECTRIC< but I will not be using them. :)

[bpd964]

I don't have the DS821's.. I sold those and picked up 3 S3050's for the 600E. Is the Hurricane 550 a nice bird? If so, I will get that too..