charger question

[shaggybirdman]

i have a common sense lipo balancer, and love it, BUT it's really slow. 2 hours for a 3 cell 2200 pack. i have a triton charger, but it's not a balance charger. is there a addon that will make it balance the batteries, and charge faster?

[RC Accessory]

You can't make a charger go faster. For your Triton, you can add any external balancer. I personally like the Bantam e-Station PB-6 and the TME Balancer. Both have the highest bleed rates. 500 ma for the e-Station PB-6 and 450 ma for the TME. The e-Station PB-6 supports just about any battery out there (very few limitations) while the TME just has the pins sticking out like a Blinky, but is so much better. Both do Lithium Poly as well as A123.

[shaggybirdman]

i know they can't make the charge time go down, but i want the option of a balancer. do you have any links to good sellers?

[RC Accessory]

i know they can't make the charge time go down, but i want the option of a balancer. do you have any links to good sellers?


http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=335

http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=pb&Page=1

[shaggybirdman]

my triton charged my pack in roughly 50 min to a hour., but need a ballancing board to go in between the 2.

[shaggybirdman]

what li po charger is everyone using?

[kgfly]

There are lots of good options for lipo charging these days. From your signature it looks like you don't need really high-power charging so you might find this comparison useful:

Bantam BC6 vs MaxproX6 vs EOS0606iAD/MP860DS vs TP610 vs iCharger 106B
kgfly, 22 Apr 2008

Quality/reliability
The BC6 is the oldest of the group and has an excellent track record for simplicity, performance, reliability and quality. It has many features. The rest are too new to know yet although I have not seen any bad comments about quality or performance issues for any of the listed chargers.

Input power:
BC6 and 0606iAD/MP860DS have integrated ac/dc power supplies which is very convenient and saves the cost of a separate DC power supply.

X6/610C/106B require an external DC power supply of at least 125W/100W/230W respectively.

Output power:
BC6 = 50W/5A, 0606iAD/MP860DS = 50W/6A, TP610C = 80W/10A, X6/KP = 100W/5A, i106B = 180W/10A

If you are looking for higher power, the 100W/5A rating of the X6 is better for 5s/6s whereas the 80W/10A of the 610c is better for 4s and below but the 180W/10A of the i106 eclipses them both. The following table reveals the relative utility of these different output power ratings.
Charger Output Current Estimates v1.1
======================================

LiPo CC charge voltage 3.75
LiFe CC charge voltage 3.4

Charger output rating (max Watts and max Amps)
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
LiPo 50 100 150 80 180 200 220 250 300
no. of cells 5 5 7 10 10 10 10 10 10
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
2 5.0 5.0 7.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
3 4.4 5.0 7.0 7.1 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
4 3.3 5.0 7.0 5.3 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
5 2.7 5.0 7.0 4.3 9.6 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
6 2.2 4.4 6.7 3.6 8.0 8.9 9.8 10.0 10.0
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
7 1.9 3.8 5.7 3.0 6.9 7.6 8.4 9.5 10.0
8 1.7 3.3 5.0 2.7 6.0 6.7 7.3 8.3 10.0
9 1.5 3.0 4.4 2.4 5.3 5.9 6.5 7.4 8.9
10 1.3 2.7 4.0 2.1 4.8 5.3 5.9 6.7 8.0
11 1.2 2.4 3.6 1.9 4.4 4.8 5.3 6.1 7.3
12 1.1 2.2 3.3 1.9 4.0 4.4 4.9 5.6 6.7
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----


Charger output rating (max Watts and max Amps)
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
LiFe 50 100 150 80 180 200 220 250 300
no. of cells 5 5 7 10 10 10 10 10 10
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
2 5.0 5.0 7.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
3 4.9 5.0 7.0 7.8 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
4 3.7 5.0 7.0 5.9 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
5 2.9 5.0 7.0 4.7 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
6 2.5 4.9 7.0 3.9 8.8 9.8 10.0 10.0 10.0
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
7 2.1 4.2 6.3 3.4 7.6 8.4 9.2 10.0 10.0
8 1.8 3.7 5.5 2.9 6.6 7.4 8.1 9.2 10.0
9 1.6 3.3 4.9 2.6 5.9 6.5 7.2 8.2 9.8
10 1.5 2.9 4.4 2.4 5.3 5.9 6.5 7.4 8.8
11 1.3 2.7 4.0 2.1 4.8 5.3 5.9 6.7 8.0
12 1.2 2.5 3.7 2.0 4.4 4.9 5.4 6.1 7.4
------------ ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

LCD:
BC6, Maxpro, i106B = very clear from all angles
0606i (assuming it is the same as 0610i) = poor contrast and hard to read from off-perpendicular

Ease of learning/use
Of the ones I have tried, the BC6 and MaxproX6 are both very easy to learn and to use. The Hyperion is slightly harder to learn/remember but if it is your only charger you will get used to it quickly. I don't yet have hands-on experience with the TP610C or i106B.

The BC6 lets you turn off the various beeps and tones which is a feature I really like and is missing from the Maxpro. It is present on the i106B but not sure about beep/tone control on the others.

Feature summaries
Bantam eStation BC6 (~$150)
- ac/dc input
- Full multichemsitry LiXx/NiXx/Pb
- 2s-6s integrated balance charger
- 50W/5A output
- Balance current 300mA
- Normal, Fast, Balance and Storage LiXx cycles
- Discharge features (7W)
- 5 memories
- optional temperature probe
- optional PC interface (logging only)
- wide range of balance plug adapters

Hyperion 0606iAD (~$140)
Mega Power Poseidon-860DS (~$110)
- ac/dc input
- Full multichemsitry LiXx/NiXx/Pb
- 2s-6s integrated balance charger
- 50W/6A output
- Balance current 300mA
- Normal, Balance LiXx cycles (NO Storage feature)
- NO discharge
- NO memories
- NO PC interface
- NO temperature probe
- wide range of balance plug adapters

ThunderPower 610C (~$130)
- Requires DC power
- Full multichemsitry LiXx/NiXx/Pb
- Integrated 2S-6S balancer
- 80W/10A output
- Balance current ???mA
- Normal and ?? LiPo cycles
- Discharge features
- 25 memories
- ?? PC interface ??
- ?? temperature probe ??
- ?? Balance port adapters ??

Maxpro X6 (~$140)
- Requires DC power
- Full multichemsitry LiXx/NiXx/Pb
- 2s-6s integrated balance charger
- 100W/5A output
- Balance current 400mA
- Normal, Fast, Balance and Storage LiXx cycles
- Discharge features (12W)
- No memories
- included temperature probe
- included PC interface (logging and firmware upgrades)
- some balance plug adapters (JST-XH, TP/FP)

iCharger 106B (~$100)
- Requires DC power
- Full multichemsitry LiXx/NiXx/Pb
- 2s-6s integrated balance charger
- 180W/10A output
- Balance current 300mA
- Normal, Fast, Slow, Balance and Storage LiXx cycles
- Discharge features (20W)
- 10 memories
- optional temperature probe
- no PC interface
- some balance plug adapters


Conclusion
If you want the convenience of an integrated ac/dc power supply then the BC6 is the top offering. The extra features, simpler use model and better LCD (at a guess) more than make up for the small price difference from the 0606iAD. The emergence of the MP 860DS, which appears to be the same as the 0606iAD but at a bargain price, makes it the value leader.

If you want more than 50W output but don't want to spend more than $150 then the i106B is the clear value leader. On features and performance it competes against other high-power chargers like the BC6-10 (200W) and EOS0610i (250W) but on price it is down in this group. A new model from a new brand, it is a bit of an unknown quantity, but verypromising.

Otherwise it is a toss up between the MaxproX6/KP100W6 and the TP610. Both offer good value in terms of features and power. The ability for the user to install firmware updates on the Maxpro/KP is very appealing . In most cases in the US though, it is probably easier to get backup and support for the TP610C and it is bound to be popular.