Dual Lipo Charger?

[burgie]

Are there any lipo chargers available that will balance charge 2 lipos at once?

I think bantam chargers do by way of an add on board, but I want the charger to do it without optional accessories if at all possible.

[James]

check out the e-tronix one that does 4 at once, i have one they are about £110, its excellent...

[MikePimlott]

Chris, this does 2

http://www.roundabouttoys.com/store/...NiMH%2C-Pb%29/

And this E-tronix one does 4

http://www.microtechracing.com//prod...S&cat=CHARGERS

[jim76]

james, how do you find that one for balancing? does it come with all the necessary leads, or can you get optional boards etc for all makes of cells?

looks good

[AmiSMB]

Hyperion Duo 3 0615i and CellPro 10s will both balance charge two Lipo packs at the same time.

[damo666]

Originally Posted by smOkin

check out the e-tronix one that does 4 at once, i have one they are about £110, its excellent...

Those 4 in 1 chargers are only four of the internals of the cheap B6 chargers available on eBay put into one case. For around £100 there are much better and more accurate chargers available that allow upto 20amp charge rates and have been accuratly tested. The cellpro 10s as recomended above is regarded as on of the best and most accurate chargers available but it is £129.

[chris68nufc]

Originally Posted by damo666

Those 4 in 1 chargers are only four of the internals of the cheap B6 chargers available on eBay put into one case. For around £100 there are much better and more accurate chargers available that allow upto 20amp charge rates and have been accuratly tested. The cellpro 10s as recomended above is regarded as on of the best and most accurate chargers available but it is £129.

Ive been told that most Li-po chargers have the same internals as eachother. The Core RC has the same internals as the Bantam charger and so on.

Im stuck as what to get now aswell. Why would anybody want to charge at 20A anyway Damo?? Maybe i didnt undersatand your post

[damo666]

Originally Posted by chris68nufc

Ive been told that most Li-po chargers have the same internals as eachother. The Core RC has the same internals as the Bantam charger and so on.

Im stuck as what to get now aswell. Why would anybody want to charge at 20A anyway Damo?? Maybe i didnt undersatand your post

As the new lipos can be charged at upto 5c why have a charger that uses the same internals as something thats been out for 2 year when everything else has moved on. The better chargers are ALOT more accurate so why pay £60 + for lipos then charge them with an inaccurate charger ? On one of the US forums a guy tested the cheaper "balance chargers" and they were quite a bit out even though the charger said each cell was 4.19v some were actually 4.14v up to 4.23v. I remember years ago no one would be racing cometitivly with cheap inaccurate chargers so why do it now ? I remember paying over £100 for good chargers 15 year ago.
And why would you want to charge 4 lipos together anyway ? also the thing is huge.
Buy a good future proof charger that is capable of more than you need it to do and you will not go wrong,

Here you go 1000w 30a charge (a bit over the top though)

http://www.fmadirect.com/detail.htm?...364&section=89

[Marvin]

Damo666 - Agree with you on all those points...

As a side note, that is one epic charger - though I feel they may be slightly embellishing the 1000W power output...

chris68nufc - clearly they only have experience with older chargers/Bantam copies. Newer better chargers are vastly different - hence the additional capabilities.

Also, just because YOU don't need 20A, it doesn't mean that it's a worthless feature for everyone. I used to charge my 5S 5500mAh Hyperion at 16.5A (3C) for approx 20 minute charge times - it was the only way with one battery to be able to compete at club level if I bumped up in the finals.

[j.m.]

You could make a charging harness that will make two 2s packs into one 4s pack, or even three 2s packs into one 6s pack. All chargers won't know the difference. Of course, you can only do this with the same batteries (brand/capacity, etc)

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by j.m.

You could make a charging harness that will make two 2s packs into one 4s pack, or even three 2s packs into one 6s pack. All chargers won't know the difference. Of course, you can only do this with the same batteries (brand/capacity, etc)

And, for best results, number of cycles, as the capacity changes slightly over time.

Best thing to do is charge all three (or four or whatever) until they are nearly done - some chargers give a 'charge rating' (like the Fusion chargers - they give a % capacity remaining rating). When they get to about 95% charge, stick them all on individually so that each is correctly balanced and fully charged - and not overcharged.

[Battle_axe]

Originally Posted by Marvin

And, for best results, number of cycles, as the capacity changes slightly over time.

Best thing to do is charge all three (or four or whatever) until they are nearly done - some chargers give a 'charge rating' (like the Fusion chargers - they give a % capacity remaining rating). When they get to about 95% charge, stick them all on individually so that each is correctly balanced and fully charged - and not overcharged.

the so callded cheep chargers im sure i saw somewhere can be calibrated during there start up

[j.m.]

I got one direct from China for $25. More features than anlotnof other high end chargers, as well as many safety features to prevent mishaps. You can calibrate it at startup.

For the price of 'em, I'd rather just get a few of the inexpensive chargers instead of one nice charger to do multiple batts.