parallel charging question - help

[krauley]

simple question but i cant find the answer, when i am charging 4 packs using my 306b and a parallel charge board can i set the charger to just "charge" or does it need to be set to "balance charge"?

btw i just went from a 50w to this thing and its so much nicer to have a pack ready in 20 minutes or so compared to the hour+ im used to. i cant wait to get a decent PS.

[SeanM]

Always use balance charge.

[The WoodCrafter]

I always balance charge no matter what.

But don't parallel charge new LiPo during break-in.
Charge them one at a time.

[krauley]

alrighty guys thanks

now how about storage, one at a time or can i do that multi pack? im assuming the answer is no on that too but just gotta ask. i just got the 306b and was using a 4 port (4 in 1) multicharger so all this is new. i was able to do it all at once but of course it was like having 4 chargers going at once, although it was only 50 watts each.

[The WoodCrafter]

You CAN put them at storage voltage in parallel.
Always remember, When the packs are connected in parallel, it is ONE pack.
Voltage of each pack will always be the same no matter what.

[krauley]

good to know thanks, im using a modded pc ps to run the 306b and its not really very fast at this point although its still better than the old charger. looking forward to upgrading to a good ps and having a good charge station.

[The WoodCrafter]

You can get surplus computer server power supplies pretty cheap off the internet.
Some under $10 each.
If you are handy with a soldering iron and can follow directions, they are very easy to convert.
The 306B needs 2 wired is series so you power the charge with 24V.

[R3L72]

With the 306B with a Parallel charging board, if I connect 4 3S 2200mAh Lipo's, do I need to input total mAh (8800) in to the 306B or does the 306B automatically calculate this?

I read the manual that comes on a disk with the iCharger but am looking for further clarification as I don't remember reading about it. Thanks!

[The WoodCrafter]

You need to tell it the rate you want to charge at.
Like 8.8AMPS for a 1C rate.

[R3L72]

Originally Posted by The WoodCrafter

You need to tell it the rate you want to charge at.
Like 8.8AMPS for a 1C rate.

Thank You!

So for Parallel Charging 'total' mAh for the 306B is determined by Charging Rate e.g. 1C=2.2 Amps x 4, would be 8.8 Amps.

When I actually hook the Lipo's to the iCharger 306B, I'll better understand it and get use to it. I'm still 'breaking-in' some new Lipo's so I'm doing a solo charge on them for right now.

[krauley]

306b manual pdf
http://www.progressiverc.com/media/i...B%20Manual.pdf

[The WoodCrafter]

Originally Posted by R3L72

Thank You!

So for Parallel Charging 'total' mAh for the 306B is determined by Charging Rate e.g. 1C=2.2 Amps x 4, would be 8.8 Amps.

When I actually hook the Lipo's to the iCharger 306B, I'll better understand it and get use to it. I'm still 'breaking-in' some new Lipo's so I'm doing a solo charge on them for right now.

I'm not sure what you are refering to when you say "Total mAh".
mAh is a measurement of amps over time. It is of measurement of how much power was moved.
Either into or out of you battery.
You do not tell the charger how much to put into the batteries.

You tell it the rate you want to charge at and the battery tells the charger when it has had enough.
These chargers wil back off the rate as the battery fills up.

[R3L72]

Originally Posted by The WoodCrafter

I'm not sure what you are refering to when you say "Total mAh".
mAh is a measurement of amps over time. It is of measurement of how much power was moved.
Either into or out of you battery.
You do not tell the charger how much to put into the batteries.

You tell it the rate you want to charge at and the battery tells the charger when it has had enough.
These chargers wil back off the rate as the battery fills up.

Okay, so with this charger, when I'm parallel charging (2ea) 3S 2200mAh Lipo's at a 1C rate, all I have to input is 4.4 Amps?

I can charge a single Lipo all day but now that I'm getting into parallel charging with the iCharger 306B, I just want to know that I'm not going to fubar anything with setting it up to charge parallel.

[aramb]

You are correct - charging two 2200 mAh batteries in parallel requires you to set the 306b to 4.4 Amps for a 1C charge.

[krauley]

Originally Posted by R3L72

Okay, so with this charger, when I'm parallel charging (2ea) 3S 2200mAh Lipo's at a 1C rate, all I have to input is 4.4 Amps?

I can charge a single Lipo all day but now that I'm getting into parallel charging with the iCharger 306B, I just want to know that I'm not going to fubar anything with setting it up to charge parallel.

i dont know how much power you have for the 306b but if you can get 10amps to it then you can charge all 4 of those 3s 2200 packs at 1c
2200 or 2.2a X packs= 8.8amp so you would be charging all four at 1c and if you have the power then 17.6 amps would give you 2c. so to get 1c on all 4 you would need:
2.2a X 4 = 8.8a X 12.6v = 110.88watt power supply minimun and of course your gonna want have more. i think 20% or around a 150w. seems kind of low so maybe someone can confirm my math, maybe its the 3S packs and im used to 6S

[The WoodCrafter]

Originally Posted by krauley

i think 20% or around a 150w. seems kind of low so maybe someone can confirm my math, maybe its the 3S packs and im used to 6S

You got it right and yes, I'm used to 6S also.

[Allen_H]

yes you do need to add up the mah and put it in the charger so if you have 4x 2200 you would set it to 8800 mah

[The WoodCrafter]

Originally Posted by Allen_H

yes you do need to add up the mah and put it in the charger so if you have 4x 2200 you would set it to 8800 mah

The charger doesn't work in mAh only AMPS, so he needs to put it in as 8.8AMPS.
And I think we covered that one.

[krauley]

crap i was charging my 4 3300s when i got an alarm, 5000mAh over alarm. i wasnt thinking about this but im glad it happened, so if i put back in around 2640mAh which is 80% of these packs (although i rarely put back in more than 2200) thats 2640 X 6 = 15840mAh total. do i set my alarm for something around 16000, turn off the mAh over alarm or what are you guys doing for when you parallel multi packs?

[pctomlin]

The default "capacity cut-off" for the 306B is 5000 mah so it you are parallel charging multiple packs this value needs to be set higher in order to keep the charger from shutting down early. I have mine set at 30,000 mah since I could parallel charge six 6S 5000mah batteries at the same time. I left the time out value at the default 120 minutes.