LiPo charging

[Brewskie]

New to rc racing an bought a balance charger for my LiPo's, it takes around 4-5 hours to charge one but was wondering if there's a quicker way to charge them as on race days it takes a couple hours to get from say 7.2v - 7.6v

Any help would be my appreciated

[JJM844]

You've got something wrong somwhere , as mt 3800mah 60c lipos fully charge in around 90 minutes.

[JJM844]

I meant 60 minutes.

[Brewskie]

I've got a VTE 800 combo but it takes longer then that to charge????

[Brewskie]

Oh dear, in manual it states 5 hours for 3300mah, can anyone recommend something quicker, as always not lookin to spend to much as still getting into racing but around 1 or 2 hours charge time would do

Thanks

[neallewis]

Oh dear, in manual it states 5 hours for 3300mah, can anyone recommend something quicker, as always not lookin to spend to much as still getting into racing but around 1 or 2 hours charge time would do

Thanks

On your charger, can you select the current at which you charge the cells at? if not, what rates are you limited to?

You can safely charge them at 3.3Amps, which should take about an hour, if they are 3300mAh packs. Can you select 3A or 3.3A charge current?

[neallewis]

I've got a VTE 800 combo but it takes longer then that to charge????

is it this one:
http://www.landwarriorairsoft.com/acatalog/vapex_lipo_charger.gif

"The VTE 800 is a combo balance charger charging 1, 2 or 3 cell Li-Po and LiFe batteries. Includes a 3 pin charger and offers one of the fastest charging times on the market.

3300mah - 5 Hours
2200mah - 3 Hours
1600mah - 2.3 Hours
1300mah - 2 Hours
1000mah - 1.5 Hours
800mah - 1.2 Hours"

"fastest charging times on the market" I think they lied...

Looks like that's fixed at ~0.66A charge current.
You'll need another charger to charge faster, sorry to say.

Something like these:
http://www.rccarshop.co.uk/index.php/electrics/chargers/core-rc-uac-50-universal-digital-charger.html

http://www.rccarshop.co.uk/index.php/electrics/chargers/etronix-powerpal-dc-balance-charger-discharger.html

http://www.rccarshop.co.uk/index.php/electrics/chargers/hpi-reactor-500-charger.html

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ansmann-racing-xbase-2.0/rc-car-products/38399

[morpheus2010]

"The VTE 800 is a combo balance charger charging 1, 2 or 3 cell Li-Po and LiFe batteries. Includes a 3 pin charger and offers one of the fastest charging times on the market." :cry:

You have been had Brewskie, No way can the VTE charge lipo's quickly. :thumbdown:

Most Fast Lipo chargers you set to charge at 1C i.e. 5000Mah battery charge rate set to charge at 5 Amp max. If you are balance charging this rate reduces as maximum capacity charge is approached. Balance charging takes more time but overall battery life is said to be longer.

You can charge higher rates than 1C but the battery MUST be rated to take a higher rate and High rate Chargers are generally a lot more expensive.

Just make sure the battery charging for 1s - 2s -3s is correct otherwise you may set the Lipo on fire :cry:

Quite a few of the chargers on the market use the same electronics in a badged box.

IMAX B6 is a popular budget fast charger, if you get the AC version you can charge from mains or in field from a 12v battery. ;)

If you have a tight budget e-bay is a good place to find one. Hong Kong postage generally takes about 2-3weeks.