I am looking into getting a new charger. I have been looking at the Bantam bc-6. Any other chargers out there that I should consider that our in the same price range?
kgfly
05-26-2008, 04:05 AM
The BC6 is very good and if its 50W output rating meets your needs then it is an excellent choice. The integrated ac/dc power supply is *really* convenient. However 50W can be limiting so you might want to consider some alternatives.
You might find this summary useful:+-----------------------------------+
| KGLFY's Balance Charger Summary |
| 27 Apr 2008 |
+-----------------------------------+
Integrated Balance Chargers
===========================
These offer simplicity and convenience with the balancer and charger combined
in the same case. Simpler, more convenient, take up less bench space and
easier to transport.
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Brand Model Chemistry Balancer Input Output Price (USD) Notes
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
FMA Cellpro4S LiXx only 2s-4s dc 50W/4A $75 Excellent, simple, hugely popular, great value
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Bantam eStation BC6 multi 2s-6s ac/dc 50W/5A $170 Proven high quality. Integrated ac/dc power supply is great
Hyperion EOS0606iAD multi 2s-6s ac/dc 50W/6A $150 Integrated ac/dc supply but not as good as the BC6
MegaPower 860DS multi 2s-6s ac/dc 50W/6A $110 Appears to be the same as the Hyperion 0606iAD
TP TP610 multi 2s-6s dc 80W/10A $130 New model from respected TP brand
KongPower 100W6 multi 2s-6s dc 100W/5A $150 New model based on the MaxproX6, likely to be just as good
Maxpro X6 multi 2s-6s dc 100W/5A $140 New brand, good user comments so far
iCharger 106B multi 2s-6s dc 180W/10A $100 New brand, good spec.s, good feedback so far
Bantam BC610 multi 2s-6s dc 200W/10A $180 Same great charger as the BC6 but 200W/10A (dc input only)
Hyperion EOS0610iNET multi 2s-6s dc 250W/10A $170 Most bang for buck in terms of features+output power
Hyperion EOS0610iDUO multi 2s-6s x 2 dc 180W/10A each $270 Very handy if you discharge packs in pairs
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Bantam eStation BC8 multi 2s-8s dc 150W/7A $270 Proven high quality
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Chargery 1010B multi 2s-10s dc 200W/10A $240 New brand, good spec.s, good feedback so far
iCharger 1010B multi 2s-10s dc 200W/10A $180 New brand, good spec.s, good feedback so far
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
FMA Cellpro10S LiXx only 2s-5s x 2 dc 200W/10A $190 Not independent dual port. 1A balancer is a strength.
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Graupner Ultra DUO 50 multi 2x-7s x 2 ac/dc 360W/10A $530 Very impressive beast, but expensive. Integrated AC power supply
for up to 120W max output power, else run it off DC to get 180W/10A
per port or 250W/10A on a single port. Appears to be two independent
channels, each with its own display and controls.
--------- ------------ -------------- --------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Non-integrated charger+balancer combos
======================================
This is the older style where the balancer is an add-on accessory to the charger.
Less convenient since it means more boxes, more cables, more things to configure,
store and transport.
--------- -------------- -------------- ------------------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Brand Model Chemistry Balancer Input Output Price (USD) Notes
--------- -------------- -------------- ------------------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
TME Xtrema LiXx BAL+BIM 2s-6s dc 150W/8A $265 Includes power meter functions. Complex and expensive
2 x BAL+BIM 2s-12s dc 150W/8A $360 Includes power meter functions. Complex and expensive
TP 1010C multi 210V 2s-10s dc 220W/10A $300 Top performer, hugely popular in US
Hyperion EOS1210i multi 2 x LBA10 2s-12s dc 180W/10A $240 Good value
Bantam eStation 902 multi 2 x PB6 2s-12s dc 200W/9.9A $400 Proven high quality
MEGA POWER Infinity 960SR multi 1 x LCB12 2s-12s dc 180W/10A $200 Good value, great LCD, 2nd NiXx-only port to
charge your Tx in parallel with your flight battery
--------- -------------- -------------- ------------------- ----- ------------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Notes
=====
1) "multi" means at least: NiCd/NiMH/Pb/LiPo/LiFe
2) "LiXx only" means at least: LiPo/LiFe
...and this comparison...Bantam BC6 vs MaxproX6/KP100W6 vs EOS0606iAD/MP860DS vs TP610 vs iCharger 106B
kgfly, 21 May 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 newer 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 = 100W/5A, iC106B = 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 iC106 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, iC106B = 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 iC106B.
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 iC106B but not sure about beep/tone control on the others.
Feature summaries
FMA CellPro4S (~$75)
- Requires DC power
- LiXx only: LiPo/LiFe(aka A123)
- 2S to 4S integrated balance charger
- 50W/4A output (3s @ 4A, 4s @ 3A)
- Normal, Fast and Storage LiPo cycles
- No discharge feature
- optional PC interface (logging only)
- optional balance plug adapters
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)
- Discharge features (5W)
- 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(with/without balancing) and Storage LiXx cycles
- Discharge features (7W)
- 25 memories
- ?? PC interface ??
- ?? temperature probe ??
- TP/FP and JST-XH balance port adapter
Maxpro X6 (~$140)
KongPower 100W6 (~$130)
- 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
- hidden PC interface (at first release, being exposed in future builds, easy mod to add it)
- 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 in this ac/dc group.
If you want more than 50W output but don't want to spend more than $150 then the iC106B is the clear value leader. On features and performance it competes against other high-power chargers like the BC6-10 and EOS0610i 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 initial user feedback is positive.
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 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.
WOW Thanks for the great summary.
JaggedEdge
06-03-2008, 02:46 AM
I've been looking at the Maxpro X6. RC-tek has a deal like readyheli: maxpro x6 and 2 air thunder 3s 2200's (25c) packs for $199. Out of stock at the moment but I emailed them tonight and got a response within half an hour.
http://outatime.allenlund.com/uixi/images/t.gifWe should have the X6 and batteries back in stock within the next 2 days.
We will start offering the X6DPCB instead of the multi-power cable in
the combo.
Regards,
RC-TEK
I may go with this charger for my 3s/6s packs and then something with a bit more wattage when I'm using above 6s packs.
kgfly
06-03-2008, 02:58 AM
The MaxproX6 + 2 AT packs or KP100W6 + 2 KP packs are both great deals, excellent chargers with excellent packs at a very good price. Cannot go far wrong. As you say, if your needs expand you can always upgrade to whatever is looking good at the time.