Looking for a good charger...

[siconic]

I am looking for a good lipo charger, that is less than $100. Something that is programable, or customizable as far as charging rates, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help.

Also, this and almost identical lipo chargers are being sold on ebay all day. Anyone have any experience with one to know if its any good?

http://cgi.ebay.com/B6-2-6-Cells-Li-Po-NiMH-LiCd-RC-Battery-Balance-Charger_W0QQitemZ260266315871QQcmdZViewItem?hash=i tem260266315871&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

[marchambault]

For what purpose? Chemistries? Number of cells? Pack capacity?

The FMA Cellpro 4s is a good start for charging Lipos ... safe and easy to use.

On sale for $60 with Code SP71908 http://www.fmadirect.com/detail.htm?item=2218&section=45

[siconic]

Well, something versatile, 3 and 4 cell, 1800 to 5000 mah, no particular company or anything like that. For the purpose of being able to charge not only my lipos, but also any other packs I may have, ie transmitter, receiver, etc.

[marchambault]

Ok, a few other balancing chargers come to mind ...

Thunderpower TP-610 (80 Watts, no temp probe option), comes with balancing board for E-Flite / Thunder power ... can be found at $115

Hyperion 0606I .. about $100

Figure about $30 - $60 for a basic power supply, $150 for something that could power multiple chargers (30 Amps) (future -proofing).... initially I was using a deep cycle battery/charger as a supply (used in conjunction).

[Pinecone]

For up to 4S, under $100 you can't hardly beat the FMA CellPro 4S. I have two of them, and wouldn't mind getting 1 or 2 more.

Simple, reliable, works very well.

[kgfly]

For your stated requirements:

Multichemistry
up to 4 cells
up to 5000mAh

the best value candidate at the moment is the iCharger 106B for about $100.

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

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

You might find the information here useful: http://www.archeli.com.au/cobra/showthread.php?t=118275