Charging 6S on Cellpro 4S Charger

[WhirlingBladesOfDeath]

I fully realize this probably isn't a good idea, and not recommended, BUT?

I have my new heli ready to go
I have my new FP 6S 3700 lipos
But
I don't have my 6S charger yet. boo hoo :(

Really, how bad would it be to charge my new 6S lipos on the Cellpro 4S? It appears there are two balance plugs, one which is 4S and one 2S. Couldn't I just charge each respectively and be OK? How far off could the 4 cells end up from the other 2 cells during the 2 separate charge cycles?? What if I only charged to each to 90%?

I'm not looking for full on, all out performance. I just want to put in a charge and do a couple test hovers for a few minutes and get the heli all dialed in. I'll wait to do my madz 3D until I can put a proper charge in with my charger on order.

Or am I just being way too impatient, and should just wait for the correct charger. I think I just answered my own question. lol But really, wouldn't it be possible?

Thanks,
Jason

[electricdurango]

Take your lipos to your LHS. Ask them if you can do a charge on one while you shop. Dont risk your equipment and well being. I know my LHS would be happy to charge my lipo for me its only once not like all the time.

[Pinecone]

I would email or call both Flight Power and FMA.

To me, it should work. But contact the manufacturers.

[th3tick]

This also begs the question: can I therefore charge 6S-8S packs using two of them? I seem to have two sitting right here...

John

[kamtsa]

If you will do it *correctly* it should work and the cells should be balanced (you can verify it with a voltmeter).

However, you will need to hack some adapters to connect your cells to the 4S (check the 4S manual, it shows all the configurations 2S, 3S and 4S, for example, you can charge 3S at a time).

I am not sure that it worth the risk and trouble though.

Kam

[E2C_Mech]

This also begs the question: can I therefore charge 6S-8S packs using two of them? I seem to have two sitting right here...

John

You have to be extremely careful not to create a common ground when doing this. You will damage your power supply and chargers if you do.

[Pinecone]

Yeah, there is that. So I would guess you would need separate power supplies.

[kaan.gok]

I think charging with the same charger in two passes (charging 3 cells first, and then charging the remaining 3 cells as 3s) would be safer than charging 6 cells at once (4s-2s)with two chargers. It's all about voltage differences, I think it should be pretty safe if you know what you are doing and do the connections correctly. This is the equivalent of charging two 3s packs separate and combining them in series to form a 6s pack to fly your heli, except that the packs are pre-combined for you :D
I don't think minor unbalancing issues between cells will be a problem if you do not let the pack drain, keep the fligt short.
But my final words will be : wait for the damn 6s charger :)

[WhirlingBladesOfDeath]

Yes, I agree, and am waiting patiently for my charger (well OK, I'm actually cursing under my breath, but waiting none the less :) )

Maybe I'm not understanding this correctly though. When I look at my FP battery, there are 2 totally separate balance plugs coming from it. One appears to be 4S, and the other 2S. I'm assuming if I hook up the 4S balance adapter to my Cellpro 4S, it will not even see the other 2 cells. And then later, when I hook it up to the 2S balance adapter, it won't see the other 4 cells it just finished charging.

I don't see how this could possibly harm the battery unless I didn't let the charger complete the full charge on both adapters? (ie, the 1st 4 cells charged only to 4v and the last 2 cells charged to a full 4.2)

In the end though, I don't really know, and everyone is correct that it's not worth the risk on a battery costing a couple 100 dollars.

Just
Can't
Wait
To Fly IT!!!! :)

Thanks,
Jason

[kgfly]

This also begs the question: can I therefore charge 6S-8S packs using two of them? I seem to have two sitting right here...

John
Be *very* careful. If the two chargers are connected to the same power supply you will short out your battery and probably start a fire.

[th3tick]

Be *very* careful. If the two chargers are connected to the same power supply you will short out your battery and probably start a fire.

Just the person I was waiting on a reply from ;)

Yeah, I don't think I'll be heading down that path. I have enough capacity with my other chargers to do the 6S, and I'm hoping to soon have the magical Cellpro 10s. It was just an idle thought.

Any answer that ends with "start a fire" is probably the one you want!

Thanks!
John

[rcboosted]

It should be rather simple, just make sure you understand how the wiring on the FP 6S pack is configured. Once you got the wiring verfied, just charge it as 4S first, then as 2S later, seperately. Don't charge 1 pack with 2 chargers. To charge them together at the same time is only possible if you physically seperate the connections between the 4S and 2S. Your cells will end up perfectly matched, since the charger is supposed to charge up to 4.2v no more no less. I plan to do this with my upcoming 5S A123 pack using my cellpro 4S charger. 3S, then 2S.