Bantam BC6 gets extremely hot while charging a 6s 5000mA LiPo

[ryanc]

Hi,

I tried to use BC6 to charge my 6s 5000 FlightPower LiPo for the first time, and noticed that
the charger gets extremely hot while charging the battery. I do not know the temperature
of the aluminum case of the charger, but I cannot touch my finger for more than 3 seconds.
Also it could not complete charging the battery. When it puts back about 2900mA, it made one
beep sound, and stopped charging. It seemed like the charger cut off the power because of the heat.
Also, I could very slightly smell something. Similar to a smell of a toaster when it toasts...
This is the first time that I use BC6 to charge a 6s 5000mA LiPo.

Now the question is, have any of you experienced the similar problem? I will contact the seller, and
talk about the issues.

Thanks.

[felborn]

I use a BC6 for charging various 6S packs around 5000Mah, and my BC6 also gets VERY hot. It does the job tho, but I always charge my packs on 0,5C both the spare the BC6 from some heat and to be gentle with the packs. The heat is from the powersupply, not the charger itself. If you use a 12v PSU with it, it generates no heat at all really. I know thats not the point when you buy a bC6 tho, just mentioning it. I have a case where I have and old computer PSU connected to my BC6 and a Hyperion charger and often just use that when im charging.

[MrMel]

BC6 has a built in balancer right?

Probably out of balanced pack and it need to drain to balance (producing heat).

[kaan.gok]

What is the amperage rating you are using ? If I know correctly, bc6 is a 50W charger, which makes the charge rate for 6s packs around 2A. Practically it may a little smaller because of the losses.
I was trying to charge my 5s 4500 pack at 2A with my rcpower 601bc (Chinese copy of bc5), which has burned :) . Looks like the BC6 has a protection for cutoff, which is a good thing.

[RC Accessory]

Overall the BC-6 does not get that hot. One of the advantages of the AC power supply. Does it get hot with smaller packs? As Mel suggested, have you checked the voltages of the cells to see if they were out of balance?

One of the reasons that all Bantam chargers (except LP-6) use a metal case and not plastic as many otehrs do is to help disapate heat that is generated. More heat is generated when discharging than charging. Even the BC-8 and 902 unit that have fans, the fans do not come on often during the charging, but come on very quickly when any discharging is taking place.

If you feel that the heat is excessive, contact your dealer from whom you purchased the unit and you may want to have it checked out.

[ryanc]

Thanks everyone,

I was charging at 2.2A (the max rate as suggested in the manual), and the battery was balanced when I charged it. I contacted the seller, and eventually the manufacturer, and they confirmed that the charger was faulty, and offered me a replacement. Now this is the third time that I am sending the charger. The first two had the known voltage detection problems. Hope this one is ok...