thunder power 210 balancer Question

[CC RIDER]

I have a 109 lithium charger by astroflight and it works great. I need a balancer and was thinking about the 210 tp. My question is can I use the 210 and the astroflight charger ( not at the same time of course ) or would it be better to buy the 1010 TP charger and use it in conjunction with the 210 balancer? hope that makes sence just dont want to spend the $200 if I can get the same results with the astroflight.






Thankyou
CC

[jrohland]

You can use the TP 210 balancer stand alone or with the 109 at the same time. However, if you are charging 6 or fewer cell packs, the Astro Flight Blinky (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMRZ9) is much less expensive.

The 210 is nice if you have certain Thunder Power chargers, such as the TP1010c, because they can communicate with each other. This allows the charger to better adjust to the needs of the pack. Also, the balancer can tell the charger when the charge is complete.

Since your Astro Flight 109 does not use the communications capability of the 210, you can use a less expensive balancer.

There is no problem with using a balancer while charging. In fact, I think you should. The only problem is, if the balancer is trying to keep the cell volts lower than the charger, they get into a situatuion where the charge never completes because the balancer keeps reducing the voltage. You can see that happen when the balancer keeps blinking the light for ALL cells. If that happens, just unplug the balancer and let the charge finish.

jrohland

P.S. At the risk of sounding like a sleeze, I have two TP1010c chargers for sale. If you are interested, PM me for details.

[BigEdge]

I use my 210 with Triton and Hobbico MK II chargers...

[cudaboy_71]

i use the vbalance with my 109. it gives a little more feedback than the blinky (though not much). the blinky never seemed to finish balancing. the instructions simply say (and i paraphrase) "when the blinky stops flashing for longer than a few seconds, it's done"...well, i'd wait and just when i thought it'd be done, some lights would start blinking again.

with the vbalance when it's done, the thing turns off.

probably not critical to balancing in the long run. but, a little more piece of mind.

FWIW, when i got another charger i went with the bantam BC-8 (the bc-6 is its 1-6cell little brother). i still use the 109/vbalance combo daily. but, the bantams are awsome chargers. balancer is built right in, and lots of info about pack status. if i'm ever concerned about a pack's health i make sure it goes on the bantam instead of the 109.

[Pinecone]

I would look at the Flight Power V Balancer.

[Ace Dude]

As far as separate balancers the TP would be my top choice. If you're using 5S or less you can get the TP-205V. 5S-10S you need the TP-210.

Others have reported good results with the Hyperion balancer.

[Pinecone]

THe V Balancer goes inline between the charger and the pack, so it controls the charge and can shut things off if the pack gets out of whack. The TP can't (unless attached to a TP charger).

The Hyperion/Great Planes also works between the charger and controls the pack charge.

I have all three (210V connected to 1010C, Great Plane Equinox = Hyperion LBA6 IIRC, and the V Balancer). For use with a "standard" charger, I would go V Balancer or Hyperion.

[Ace Dude]

The best solution is an active (communicating) balancer (e.g., TP-1010C connected a TP balancer) versus a passive balancer.

In addition to the ability to the automatically stop the charger, the integrated TP system can display the individual cell voltage for every cell in the pack(s), display the balance difference between the highest and lowest cell in the pack, verify the number of cells in the pack (an important safety feature).

That said, a passive external balancer can still work with a non-communicating charger. All the balancer work by bleeding current. I believe the TP balancers can bleed 0.4Ah. I'm not sure about the others so look into to that. Anyone know how much current the V-balancer can bleed? I believe the blinky can only bleed 0.025Ah so that's one reason it can take forever to balance a pack.

[Pinecone]

Equinox/Hyperion and FP V Balancer are charge through, so they are active, but not the same way the TP combo or a built in system are. The V Balancer cana nd will stop the charge if the cells get too far out or one cell gets overcharged.

The Cell Pro line are not discharging balancers. So not ALL are discharging type.

[Ace Dude]

The Cell Pro line are not discharging balancers. So not ALL are discharging type.

The Cellpro line are chargers, not traditional stand-alone balancers in the traditional sense in which I was referring to.

[Pinecone]

The FP V Balancer, TP 210V, and Equinox are not really stand alone balancers, although they can be used that way,

Although the 210V is a standaalone when not used with a TP charger. The other two still have control over the charge, when used in charge through mode.

[Ace Dude]

Thus, for anyone considering the purchase of a TP-1010C or TP-535 charger in the future it only makes sense to purchase a TP balancer. Last I heard there were some issues with the Flightpower balancer.