What charger should I buy?

[misterg74]

Looking to buy a GOOD charger ........... Any recommendations?

[sparx-]

IMHO, the best charging setup you could get is........

PolyCharge4, Equinox Balancer, WattsUp meter.

With the PC4, you can charge 4 lipos at one time. WHen you need to do battery maint, you can use the Equinox Balancer to balance out your lipos. When you want to know how many mah you are putting back into your lipos, connect the WattsUp meter in-line.

SPaRX

[Wolfpackin]

sparx,

I was not familiar with that charger until you posted this info, thanks.

What power supply are you using, what does it need for amperage?
Does the charger balance cells on its own or is the Equinox balancer required?
Sorry, I always get confused when it comes to balance chargers/balancing devices etc.
Also, it says that the charger automatically sets the charge rate based on battery capacity. Is that a fixed 1C charge rate or can/does it go higher?
Does it come with E-flite HXT type balance plug adaptors or do I have to get them elsewhere?

Thanks.

[sparx-]

I am currently using a PC power Supply. It is not quite enough for me to charge 4 lipos at a time. I says it will provide enough current, but the voltage sags too much under load. I can charge 3 2250mah lipos at 1C with it though.

The charger has no balancing whatso ever. It does not chage through the balance plug either. THis is not an issue if your lipos are already balanced :)

This is where the Equinox comes in. You can use it as an in-line balancer or a stand-alone balancer. I use it as a Stand-alone. Every 5-10 cycles on my lipos I will put them on the Equinox to balance them out if they need it. The Equinox uses Align/HXT/Esky type balance plugs.

The charge rate is set via a Pot. It is rated in mah. 3000mah is the max charge rate. So if you want to charge 4 lipos at that rate, you will need a power supply that can provide 12 amps and not drop below 11.40 volts under load.

What the charger auto detects is the number of CELLS. It does not set the charge rate. I can chage 2-4 cells.

Hope this helps

SPaRX

[sparx-]

Just a thought here for you. Before I bought this charger, I was jusing a Imax B5. I was chargin my lipos at 2c. So I was kinda on the fence about this because it does limit the charge rate to 1.5 ish for a 2250 lipo. But I got it anyway. I looked at it this way. With the B5 I could only do 1 lipo at a time. To charge 4 lipos took me 2 hours. With the PC4, I can charge 4 lipos in 45-60 minutes.

SPaRX

[misterg74]

Thanks I'll look into that one. :thumbup:

[carlo_the_wonder_frog]

Try this charger

http://www.fmadirect.com/Detail.htm?item=2218&section=45

Easiest safest most capable charger out there for the money.

[visuvius]

Can I use that Cellpro 4S at home? Does it have an input for a power source? I was looking at a Cellpro 4s at the LHS and it didn't have anywhere to plug in my 5A power source.

[misterg74]

Thanks looked at both of them not too sure ...... does anyone else have any suggestions?

[visuvius]

I would go with the CellPro 4S if you dont care about using it with an AC power source. Everyone seems to really like it and for the price, you can't go wrong. If I find out that I can use it at home, I'll be all over that sucker. If not, the Thunder Power 610 is going to be my next charger. Everyone seems to be out of those right now though.

[JOMAZQ]

I run a triton 2 so I can do all chemistries. Nicd nimh lipo etc. but I can't do more than five cells. What kind of batteries do you need to charge, misterg74?

[misterg74]

Sounds good i'll look further into that one. Guess I'll look into the thunderpower too.

[misterg74]

2250mah 25c lipo's n have few other smaller lipos too. Don't think I'll need to charge anything much bigger than 3 cell at least for the forseen future.

[LockMD]

I'll also cast a vote for the cellpro from fma direct, its plug and play dont have to worry about diff settings for diff batts just plug the batt in and it does all the settings for you.

[misterg74]

Sounds good i went with the cellpro4s ......... THANKS!!!!:thumbup: