Be Careful

[elan]

Originally Posted by hotstart

As u can see from this picture .The board that I thought would prevent this did not .All six batteries gone plus charger plus board .Basically all new to season batteries.

-Ouch...

[Gaarden]

I don't trust paraboards. Mabye I'm being overly cautious, but for my 3s packs I made a series cable and charge 3 Lipo's at a time as a 9s pack. And the boards that come with the Icharger 4010 are series-boards... YAY.
This allows the charger to balanse each cell individually.

I'm no expert, but in my mind this seems like a "safer" way of going about charging multiple batteries IF your charger supports higher cell-counts that is.

[myxiplx]

Oh absolutely, if you can series charge the whole thing that's ideal.

But until somebody invents a 36S charger I'm going to stick with parallel charging :-)

[megawhacker]

Originally Posted by Gaarden

I'm no expert, but in my mind this seems like a "safer" way of going about charging multiple batteries IF your charger supports higher cell-counts that is.

I think you are on to something. Best reason I have seen yet to own a dual 4010.

I have a PL6 and parallel setup though I have yet to parallel charge larger packs-the more I see things like the OP posted, I think charging should be banned from indoors.

I still think parallel charging is very safe in the context of risking a thousand dollars of batteries and charger setup. So, outdoors or at the field, zero qualms about parallel charging. On the other hand, at home, indoors, it seems like a very higher risk the more people like the OP post.

Now, I will play devil's advocate with the person I quoted. Outdoors, concrete, and a large safety area all setups are safe enough. Indoors, in the office, none of them are safe enough including his series setup.

[mba83]

Originally Posted by Gaarden

I don't trust paraboards. Mabye I'm being overly cautious, but for my 3s packs I made a series cable and charge 3 Lipo's at a time as a 9s pack. .

Great idea, I should try that some day for my 3s packs. I parallel charge when I am in a hurry, but generally try to avoid it.

[hotstart]

Two years ago with a pl8 and squids .For the recrd the packs where of the exact discharged voltage 3.86

[hotstart]

Oh and the charger fried also up in smoke

[hotstart]

Here's a closer picture of the balance board

[RyanW]

This happened to me before with a power lab 8 It just sucks oh I charger 3010

Can you elaborate? This same thing happening twice to someone with different chargers isn't good.

[FailureToFly]

Do you think you might have not quite plugged a lead into the balance board?

I look at the screen of my iCharger when I plug in to see how the cell voltages change (to make sure it does and to see that every cell changes within reasonably accepted/expected levels). I also when charging, feel the packs after a couple of minutes (a few times TBBH) and check the IR a few times to make sure the process is going ok.

Major IR changes, packs getting hot etc are all signs of imminent doom.

I also double check all connections every single time I charge a set of packs. It's slower but I feel it's safer too.

I personally never charge lipos that are further out than about .05v (3.75v won't get charged with 3.82v for example).

I've used balance boards and iChargers from nearly the beginning (my first charger was an iCharger 208B and I now have a 3010) and I use HK balance boards.

I once was not paying attention as my 4 yo was monkeying around whilst I was trying to plug in packs and reversed a connection to a balance board and got a spark. In the bin it went and I ordered another for $10 or whatever it cost.

The above is all quite anal but I just don't want a grand worth of gear going up and putting my family in danger. The hobbies already dangerous enough with the 3D stuff (fun but dangerous IMHO).

[hotstart]

It's not anal. No more parallel charging for me I'll Pu a duo along with my pl8 and do three cells all on separate circuits .May take a bit longer but I know I'll be engaging all the safety features of the chargers

[blade-man]

I feel your pain and can imagine the stench that must leave in a house which is why I do about 95% of my charging of lipos on my screened in porch - usually with the batteries inside my Weber kettle grill with the lid on and the vents open.

On rare occasion I charge a small battery inside but my the larger lipos always go outside on the grill to cook.

[Icanfly]

I was trying to plug in packs and reversed a connection to a balance board and got a spark. In the bin it went and I ordered another for $10 or whatever it cost.

that's certifiably so, just check them on the checker and put the connector on properly as a little spark is nothing, a melted connector/wire and or heating lipo can be a concern however.

I recently touche the neg/pos from a brand new lipo and got the prettiest spark like that off a 12 volt lead/acid car battery, wow that was cool looking, makes you think sometimes.

[Slyster]

There days, the best long term investment you can make for the hobby is a good brand name 2000W+ Duo charger and deep cycles or generator. Safer and cheaper in the long run. Really, today, you only 'need' on lipo per model. Really pays off if you are using $300 stick packs.

The last 2 seasons I have shied away from 'mass' parallel charging. I never did have any issues beside occasional melted balance pins, but still.

With a Duo I still generally do 12s stick pack in parallel on one channel.. but at least the packs are forever matched. Then I'll do one 6s on the other side. Easy to to with Duo chargers (or two chargers) that can charge in 15 minutes anyway these days. Minimizes risk.

[helibeli]

I don't think those balance boards are built to enough of a high standard to take continual punishment ie. plug in,plug out etc.With all my years as an electronic engineer taking plugs out to repair panels and plugging back in eventually the soldered joints become loose and dry and you'll get potential sparking.With charging batteries you're forever plugging/unplugging.

[WedgeD]

Originally Posted by helibeli

I don't think those balance boards are built to enough of a high standard to take continual punishment ie. plug in,plug out etc.With all my years as an electronic engineer taking plugs out to repair panels and plugging back in eventually the soldered joints become loose and dry and you'll get potential sparking.With charging batteries you're forever plugging/unplugging.

This is exactly why I like squid harnesses for both the power and balance leads. They are much more robust with flexible real wires instead of hairline copper traces that will most likely eventually fail from the repeated flexing and stress of plugging and unplugging. Also, I like the fact that I can spread out and position my batteries a lot easier without having everything tied to a central board with power leads often having to make sharp 90+ degree bends if the leads are short.

[danfornow1]

Originally Posted by seefest

This has happened to you twice?

+1
I was thinking the same thing.