Originally Posted by 1heli
can you or anyone see any scenarios where I might just regret not getting the PL8 instead of the 6? and I am only guessing but withe 8 I would not need a second charger to act as a expansion unit?
Like I said, 100 watts of discharge, larger case, up to 8s and the full 40 amps on 24v. The Powerlab6 is 50 watts of discharge and around 34-36 amps on 24v. Not to doubt your long term heli plans, but just about everyone helicopter pilot I know eventually increases their fleet and usually goes up in size. The Powerlab8 would give you more flexibility in case on of those models would run on 14s or 16s. But given the current high voltage ESC issues, I'm guessing it will be a while before that is main stream.
To help make the case for the Powerlab6, they are less expensive and cheaper when you buy two. I would not say that getting a Powerlab8 would prevent you from wanting a second one. That alone is not a reason to move the PL8.
I have two Powerlab8s. The reason I added a second was twofold. First I was adding a 700 to my fleet and wanted more charging capability. I do not like to charge and home and generally only keep two to three flight packs per model. That means the charger is constantly going when I'm at the field. Keeping a 600 and 700 in the air, it made sense to expand the charging fleet. Plus I have a backup now, not that I expect to need it.
The second reason is so I when I am not rushed I can reduce my dependence on parallel charging. My 600 takes two 6s packs which can be charged in parallel, or one on each charger, if both are free.
for reasons I will not bore you with I would like to go for the best I can from day one so whichever charger/PSU combo I choose will be it.
Then it comes down to budget. "Best you can get" varies by individual. An awesome package would be two Powerlab6s and two Meanwell RSP-1500-27 supplies. Add two MPAs and you've got a very good package from day one. I guessing once you see the prices, especially for the supplies, the server supplies will look more appealing.
The following are ex server PSU made up to order..
I'm not seeing anything. If you posted a link I'm not seeing it.
would love a bit more info on the charger front though
Happy to help. Let me if there is anything specific you are interested in hearing about.