Clangador

I started flying in Jan. when I got an E-flite Apprentice for my birthday. I have been using the charger that I got with it. I charge my batteries in the car, so only it burns down if there is a problem (not my whole house). Yesterday, while at the field, I notice my battery charger wasn't working. So, I need to get a new charger.

Currently I have (2) 3200, (1) 1800, and (1) 1000 3-cell lipos that I use for the planes I fly.

Is there a simple charger you could recommend for me? I want to continue to charge in my car. Something around 50 bucks would be great.

rcers

I really like my HobbyKing Accucell 6....

USA warehouse:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=7373

I am about ready to get my 2nd one. It balances and is a good 50w charger. So it will handle your 3s 3200 pack at 1c just fine.

Mike

Nitro Blast

I have both the Triton



and a Thunder Power




Both are just fine and do almost anything & everything you need now, and in the future. Very versatile and worth the investment for you at this time.

Clangador

Those are to pricy for me.

Nitro Blast

If you are in RC for the long haul, a quality charger is a needed investment. As you progress into RC, new airplanes often bring new battery types & sizes.

I concurr, a quality charger is expensive, but.... the first time your cheap charger smokes a $50 battery you will be out more than the cost of the battery if it damages the model, your car, your house etc.

You only buy quality once. You buy cheap continually.

Nope.. there are different 'schools of thought' for that, but my own personal prefference is that when I am prepping for a day of flying, and doing my charging the day before, I'll balance. In the field, I do not bother to balance. I will also go a month or longer between 'balances'. If the battery is in balance, it takes a few cycles for it to become out of balance. With that, you dont need to do it every time, but it certainly does not hurt it.

Clangador

Someone already recommended this, but I'm concerned I cannot figure out how to use it.

CHELLIE

This will charge your 3200 mah lipo, you will need to use it with a blinky balancer, its not the best, but it will get you by, and its only one button for ease of use, hope that helps, Chellie

PS You will need to change the end of the charger to a dean connector if thats what your lipos have or get an adapter,

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/158370.asp 22.99

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/518106.asp 24.99



ProPeak Quattro 1-4 Cell LiPo DC Auto Charger

Easiest to use Lithium Charger! Just push one button! Quattro automatically senses voltage and amperage needed. Chargers 1-4 Lithium cells at 0.1 to 3 amps. DC input.
Charges cells from 100mah to 6000mah safely and effectively. All you do is plug it in and push the start button! The Quattro automatically sets volts and amps so your battery is properly charged, everytime!

Clangador

I don't understand. Don't the batteries just plug into the side of the charger like the ones I have?

CHELLIE

With this type of charger, you charge the battery through the battery lead, and you hook up the blinky to the balance port, lipos dont need to be balanced every time you charge them, I normally balance my lipos every 5 th or 6th time i use them,

Here is a great little charger, but its just for about a 1800mah or smaller, i have this charger and it works great, $29.99

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/701352.asp



I changed the end to a Dean plug, I charge up all of my 1300mah 3 cell lipos with this charger, it charges my 1300mah lipos as fast as my $120.00 astro 109 charger does,

CHELLIE

there are 2 ways of charging lipos, through the balancing plug or through the battery power lead,

Clangador

Interesting. So you don't need to balance them every time?

CHELLIE

Before there were balancing plugs on lipos, there were none Its best to balance them every time, and there are chargers that will do that, but you dont have to balance them everytime, i Dont, and i have lipos here going strong for 2 years now, its a personal preference, but they do have to be balanced from time to time, Take care, Chellie

Clangador

Okay that's good to know. I've only been in this since Jan. and I need all the info. I can get. Sadly, the guys who fly around here are almost all nitro guys. Even the owner of the hobby shop asked when I was going to get a real plane.

I guess my main this is I don't know what settings I need (if there are any special settings) for my batteries.

This charger was recommended to me.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...lancer/Charger

latinlax01

What are everyone's thoughts about this charger:

xheli.com/tht6bach16ce
add www in front and .html after, it wouldn't let me post a link since I don't have enough posts.

It looks pretty good to me, but I know really nothing about lipos. I am also trying to get into lipos.

flashburn

I have that charger, buy it. works great, comes setup for LiPo's and includes a full set of charge leads.

latinlax01

Okay, thanks for the input. I think I am going to go with that one.

vax6335

Tell him you'll get a real plane when he starts running a real hobby shop. That kind of attitude is just moronic for a guy trying to sell stuff to people in a dying industry.

Clangador

Yea well he wants to sell nitro planes.

Airhead

I guess he wouldn't be interested in selling his stuff to folks like us....

Red Scholefield

The FMA CellPro 4S is for you, get the adapter with it to match the kind of balancing plug on your packs.

Clangador

I need a balancer now. I saw one at the hobby store for 50(!) bucks. Can I get one cheaper than that?

Bub Steve

I've been useing this one for a few years and love it!! bub, steve
Hobby-city


hexTronik Balancer/Charger Dual Charge Capable (JST-XH Plug)
Input Voltage : 9~15V DC
Output : (8.4v x 2) OR (12.6v x 1) OR (16.8v x 1)
Auto balancing
Auto Overcharge Protection
Size: 132x82x35mm
Weight: 309gr
Comes with a balancer and overcharge protection inbuilt.
It can charge from 2S to 4S packs and can also do TWO 2S packs at ONCE!! Which is a real bonus!
The charge port connection fits all Polymax, hexTronik, Dualsky, Align, Kokam etc.. battery ports.
You can adjust the charge rate from .5A up to 2.0A for a fast charge.

We use this charger to balance and charge packs sent back to us by customers under warranty returns.
Our staff have around 50 perfectly working packs for our fly-days. These packs were sent back to us from customers who could not charge or get the pack to balance with their own charger. If it wasnt for the chargers auto balancing and cell restoration slow-charge, we would have sent the faulty packs to the recyclers. Although this charger doesnt have a fancy LCD screen, it is a solid workhorse and will charge and balance packs perfectly. We highly recomend it.

Plug type: JST-XH, to suit hexTronik, Dualsky, Aling and many other brands with JST-XH charge plugs.

450g 256 $28.34

CHELLIE

$29.95 for a blinky balancer, they work great

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/518106.asp

Clangador

Nice.

Eplane65

You must be a newbie. When I first started flying electrics, I bought a Triton which I though would be the only charger I would ever need. Well it wasn't and I sold it. Now, I have an Astro Flight, a Bantam e-station BC 6, and a Turnigy Accucel-8 from Hobby City. Does any one of them fit all my needs? Probably not.

!. The Astro with Blinky balancer works the best in my estimation. However, if you don't have a 12V battery available, you will need a power supply.

2. The BC 6 is great because it has a built in power supply so you can use it on the bench as well as in the field. However, it is limited to 50 W and doesn't work well on large battery packs. It also has a built-in balancer.

3. The Accucel-8 is a 150 W charger and is a good deal for the money at $79, but no power supply. It does have a built-in balancer, however.

Both No 2 and 3 will charge LiIon, LiPoly and A123 batteries whereas the Astro won't.

You pays you money and takes your choices. No doubt, you will own several chargers if you stick with this hobby very long.