Pro Peak Prodigy II Charger and LIPO

[mikeyscott]

Anyone using one of these to charge their LIPOs as I'm about to head into the world of LIPOs and just trying to determine if it's suitable?

[Bungleaio]

This one? http://www.skylinemodels.co.uk/Links/xcart/files/t_10012.jpg

I've got one of these and I've never had a problem with it charging cells, the only thing that I can say against mine in particular it is that the lcd fades away after it's been on for a bit which makes it slightly awkward to read, it only started doing this late last year and it is about 3 years old.

[mikeyscott]

Yup that's the one. I'll need to get a balancing lead and that's it then :)

[RichB]

I don't think it's got a built in balancer, so you'll need a seperate balancer, not just a lead. (By the way I'm designing one at the moment, should cost pennies if it works, will try it out once I've perfected the LiPo charger I'm currently working on, keep your eye out at TORCH!).

[Bungleaio]

I used a trak power v balancer with mine.

[mikeyscott]

Think I'll speak further with DMS before making a decision.

[BagofSkill]

I've got one, had it for a couple of years and it's fine- nothing wrong with it, but there are others available now like the GT Power v5 which has a built in balacer for 50 quid, or if you can stretch to 70 you could even get the GT A6-10.

HTH, Chris.

[mikeyscott]

I've got one, had it for a couple of years and it's fine- nothing wrong with it, but there are others available now like the GT Power v5 which has a built in balacer for 50 quid, or if you can stretch to 70 you could even get the GT A6-10.

HTH, Chris.


What do you use as a balancer etc. then?

[RichB]

I use one of these for balancing: http://demonpowerproducts.co.uk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=148&products_id=3739

[mikeyscott]

I use one of these for balancing: http://demonpowerproducts.co.uk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=148&products_id=3739

Cheers, yet another £30.... It's always around £30-£45... :(

Think I'll just one LIPO for the mo and then go from there. The Vampire Racing 4000 cells I'm looking at are about £60

[BagofSkill]

What do you use as a balancer etc. then?

For the Prodigy I have to use an external balancer, but for the second charger I bought, like the ones I mentioned (V5 and A10), they have a balancer built into them so you plug the batery power leads in as well as the balancing taps and the charger will recognise them and do a balance charge. (leave the taps out to do a regular charge).

If you look at the enlarged picture of this charger you can clearly see the balance ports and the balancing lead.
http://demonpowerproducts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=91_140&products_id=3800
The other advantage of an inbuilt balancer is that you can see on the screen the balance state and individual voltage of each battery.

Chris.

[BagofSkill]

Oh, and also, I'd say that Demon has some good Li-Pos for between £35 and 50. I've been racing TC 13.5 with a pair of the 4000's for a year now and they're still brilliant, currently got the fastet car in the club!

[Darren Boyle]

Worth remembering though that the Vampire 4000's are 35C unlike some of the others mentioned in this thread

[Ritchie T]

Yes i run one of these. Irritating 1 amp max discharge for nihms etc but ive switched to lipo and its served me well for about a year now, still goin strong :)

[mikeyscott]

Anyone got any comments between these:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=31562

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=29961

I'm looking at the Trakpower V Balancer, but also thinking of just changing the charger to a Core RC UDC-20 Universal Digital Charger and Balancer and sell the Prodigy Pro Peak on / keep as a spare.

[RichB]

I like the Battery Doctor, as it's got a permanent voltage readout for each call and the whole battery pack, and can be used fully independantly, or during charging/discharging as required. You can have a look at mine at TORCH if you like.

[mikeyscott]

I like the Battery Doctor, as it's got a permanent voltage readout for each call and the whole battery pack, and can be used fully independantly, or during charging/discharging as required. You can have a look at mine at TORCH if you like.

Yeah cheers, should be there on Sunday :) if I haven't died from shovelling 3 tons of soil off my drive :(

[BagofSkill]

Sorry, didn't realise you already had the Prodigy, Though you were looking to buy new.:blush:

Of those options I'd get the Battery Doctor, or spend a bit more and have a second charger. You don't need to balance Li-Po's often. I do mine once every 4 charges, just because that ties in with the pre event charge, and then don't balance them between rounds at the track.

Even then people say there's no need to do it that often and just balance as often as you would have put a Ni-MH in a equalizing tray- like once a month or so.

[Bungleaio]

Get yourself one of these mate http://www.m-k-racing.com/product_info.php?products_id=5479 I've not had any issues using mine with my prodigy and it's very simple to use.

There's no need to balance everytime but I do anyway.

[mikeyscott]

Just got some Vampire 5200 LIPOs and what's the best setting on the Prodigy for charging them