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Luck as a Constant
04-12-2014, 10:55 PM
It's time to replace. Currently I'm only able to charge my 5s packs at 2.7 amps. I would like to change that....
I'm not looking to break the bank but I would like something that can do two packs at once. I'm not opposed to single tho. I don't have power supply, I'm just not sure which direction to go. Acdc or dc with power supply....
So as the title says.,..
I've looked at Hyperion , sky and thunder....



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HydroMike
04-13-2014, 12:25 AM
These are nice chargers I have a PL8 and love it ,all the power u need and more http://www.revolectrix.com/cat.chargers.htm

madmikepags
04-13-2014, 01:55 AM
The FMA chargers are great chargers, the PL6 PL8 and the 10xp are all great chargers. easiest to use pl6 and 8 can charge at 35+ aamps the 10xp can do 15 amps. they need power supplies as does any good charger. Maxamps has a great 45 amp PS for $80. I use only these chargers.

ron1950
04-13-2014, 08:40 AM
wow those might be great chargers but the duo at 369 is crazy expensive....I have a hyperion 720i duo ....works great and retails at 279......

Rocstar
04-13-2014, 08:45 AM
The PL6 is an awesome charger, I just switch to one myself. However for the average sport boater who is only charging two packs, I like the iCharger. If you're not going to charger over 6s packs,the 206B charges at 20A and is a great unit for the money imo, and small. I would parallel charge four 4s 5000mAh packs on a 24v supply with the iCharger 208B. It really depends on your needs.

PL6 with 24v psu and balance board.
114195

iCharger 208B and balance board.
114196

Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 10:10 AM
thanks for the replies. i don't need to do any crazy charging, but i would like to get my four 5s packs charged in under the current 3 hours it takes. I'm using two chargers now, basically I'm trying to have at least two chargers and one power supply or dual charger. or of course two ac units. it seems like the dc units are capable of more tho…

sorry I'm really clueless about chargers, i never gave them much thought until recently….

Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 10:28 AM
really i just want to be able to charge two 5s quickly and affordably. with the 208b, i just need to charge in series basically? it'll do 10s if I'm not mistaken….

Rocstar
04-13-2014, 11:57 AM
really i just want to be able to charge two 5s quickly and affordably. with the 208b, i just need to charge in series basically? it'll do 10s if I'm not mistaken….
No, it does up to 8s. You would need a parallel board like these. Then you could use one charger to charge both (or more) batteries.
http://www.progressiverc.com/adapter-cables-and-boards/parallel-boards?p=2

Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 12:00 PM
oh okay i see. thanks

Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 12:13 PM
one thing I'm confused about with parallel charging tho. say i have a 10 amp charger, and I'm charging two 5s 5000mah packs, does this mean each pack will charge at 5 amps? or does the charger continue to charge each pack at 2c ( 10 amps ) ? :confused2:

since I'm not charging anything over 6s, i would think the 106 or 206 would work, but now i see i can charge all 5 5s packs at once …. is 20 amps sufficient? is 10 amps sufficient?

Rocstar
04-13-2014, 12:31 PM
For 1c charging a 5000mAh pack you would charge at 5 amps (you know that already). For two packs in parallel you set it for 10 amps, three packs 15 amps, ect. So a 20 amp charger will be able to charge four 5000mAh packs in parallel at a 1c charge rate...So to answer your question, you're increasing the total capacity by them being wired in parallel so you would set the charger accordingly. Make sense?

Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 02:34 PM
Yup that makes sense.


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Luck as a Constant
04-13-2014, 03:01 PM
one last question for you joel, with the 106 i can use the 12v power supply, but the 206 would need 24?

madmikepags
04-13-2014, 03:42 PM
To say the PL8 duo is crazy expensive is a rediculous statement? it is $90 more expensive for the the BEST charger on the planet, and considering the money most spend on this hobby $90 is a drop i the bucket. You can actually charge up to 18 packs at one time or charge single batteries at up tp 45 amps. There are no rediculous menus that u have to pick ur cell count and ur mah for each pack, its safer (you cannot charge w/out balancing) and their support is second to none. Also the 10XP at $179 will charge up to 2 5s packs at up to 15 amps.

Rocstar
04-13-2014, 03:57 PM
one last question for you joel, with the 106 i can use the 12v power supply, but the 206 would need 24?
You can use a 12v power supply with the 206B, the input voltage range is 10-28VDC. Of course to get the max out of it, a 24v psu would be better. The 300W rating is with an 18VDC input.

madmikepags
04-13-2014, 04:04 PM
you would be better off charging single packs at 10-15 amps than charging 4 in parallel, it would be faster and they would charge more accurately.

HydroMike
04-13-2014, 07:44 PM
I agree I don't really like charging in parallel much. If you do charge that way watch each battery as it charges be safe
you would be better off charging single packs at 10-15 amps than charging 4 in parallel, it would be faster and they would charge more accurately.

Rocstar
04-13-2014, 08:28 PM
I parallel charge often at 20+ amps, never any issues with balancing or "inaccurate" charging. As long as you understand how parallel charging works there is no reason not to use this method in my opinion. I check internal resistance and individual cells often on my packs.

Luck as a Constant
05-18-2014, 09:09 AM
hey joel, i bought an icharger last night with balance board from progressive rc , only by mistake i grabbed the wrong board. Do you know if i can use the reorder feature to change this?

i emailed them, but i suppose i won't hear back till business hours monday.

Rocstar
05-18-2014, 09:33 AM
hey joel, i bought an icharger last night with balance board from progressive rc , only by mistake i grabbed the wrong board. Do you know if i can use the reorder feature to change this?

i emailed them, but i suppose i won't hear back till business hours monday.
Ha, I did the same thing. I emailed Jamie Marks with my order number and he took care of it. Just reply to the order confirmation you received. Maybe send him a direct message also so it doesn't get missed.

jamie@fmadirect.com

Luck as a Constant
05-18-2014, 10:20 AM
Thanks man


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Luck as a Constant
05-18-2014, 10:21 AM
I already sent him mail via the website. Ill just call tomorrow I guess


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kfxguy
05-18-2014, 10:43 AM
I use a Hitec x4. The new one. It has a built in power supply. Charges 4 batts at one time. I usually get four packs charged in an hour. It will charge up to 6s packs

Luck as a Constant
05-18-2014, 11:03 AM
the one i purchased is a 10 amp unit at like 250 watts. 4 packs would probably take a little over an hour, but 2 packs should go rather quickly. if i really like it. ill grab another unit, but really i don't have a ton of batteries to do. i don't like charging packs and waiting for a nice day, so i really just wanted something that i can charge two packs up real quick when the weather is nice and i have some free time.

kfxguy
05-18-2014, 11:37 AM
the one i purchased is a 10 amp unit at like 250 watts. 4 packs would probably take a little over an hour, but 2 packs should go rather quickly. if i really like it. ill grab another unit, but really i don't have a ton of batteries to do. i don't like charging packs and waiting for a nice day, so i really just wanted something that i can charge two packs up real quick when the weather is nice and i have some free time.

That's why I like this one I have. I got tired of taking all day to charge my packs then it rains the next day. Couple hours and I've got 8 packs charged.

Luck as a Constant
05-18-2014, 12:12 PM
Yeah 4 packs at once is convenient.



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flraptor07
05-19-2014, 10:53 AM
I've got the same one as kfxguy and for the $ it's hard to beat, no need for power supply and it will run off 12v if you're out somewhere with no power you can run it off your car. I like it because I have boats that run 4s, 6s, 10s, I can charge any combo of batteries I need to. My 10s packs are two 5s packs so I can charge two 10s packs at one time, which comes in handy when I'm running my 1/8 scale Hydro it uses two 10s packs.

Luck as a Constant
05-19-2014, 11:50 AM
I did see the specs on it.
At 80 watts per channel, what's the most you can charge a 5s 5000 mah pack?

I do have two chargers that have ac built in.

Not very powerful tho.

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larryrose11
05-19-2014, 12:14 PM
I have a power supply on eBay that would work if you needed it.
5-15V regulated output, up to 54A
ACOPIAN W515GT54
Im willing to trade too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221439806488?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Luck as a Constant
05-19-2014, 12:19 PM
Thanks but I do have one already.


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Luck as a Constant
05-19-2014, 12:23 PM
Ok just called progressive Rc. They were very nice and are getting me the rite balance board.


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flraptor07
05-19-2014, 12:44 PM
I did see the specs on it.
At 80 watts per channel, what's the most you can charge a 5s 5000 mah pack?

I do have two chargers that have ac built in.

Not very powerful tho.

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The highest setting on the normal charge is 6amp. If I set at 6amp. with my 5s 5000mah packs down to 20%, I can charge all 4 of them back up in about 1hr. 50min. There is also a fast charge setting but I have not even tried it.

Luck as a Constant
05-19-2014, 01:57 PM
But at what amperage does the charger actually put out per 5s pack. Will it do 5 amps? Or is it lower around 4 amps?


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Brushless55
05-21-2014, 12:52 AM
The highest setting on the normal charge is 6amp. If I set at 6amp. with my 5s 5000mah packs down to 20%, I can charge all 4 of them back up in about 1hr. 50min. There is also a fast charge setting but I have not even tried it.

how many watts is the charger?

I would love to get a 30-40amp / 1300 watt charger very soon

Luck as a Constant
05-21-2014, 07:12 AM
It's 80 watts per channel


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flraptor07
05-21-2014, 12:31 PM
Here's all the specs on the Hi-Tec X4 plus charger http://hitecrcd.com/products/chargers/acdc-chargers/x4-ac-plus-4-port-acdc-multi-charger/product

Luck as a Constant
05-21-2014, 10:02 PM
well i got the charger today. it shipped monday morning from washington state and arrived here in ma today. fast shipping. progressive rc gets a star for correcting my mistake when ordering and actually getting it rite. I called robin first thing monday morning, she corrected the mistake and bingo! got the rite stuff.
unit seems solid. unfortunately its looking like rain here for a few days, so its not looking like ill be doing any charging. the balance board i got seems well built and quality. def will shop with them again.

Luck as a Constant
05-21-2014, 10:43 PM
Here's the setup. I decided to go ahead and charge. Had to see how it performs.
It did them pretty quick. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/05/23/ehygyqar.jpg
Thanks to a member in this thread I got a great power supply. \m/

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Luck as a Constant
05-22-2014, 09:13 PM
I really need some new packs. These things are toast. They really don't want to balance out much anymore.


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Luck as a Constant
05-24-2014, 05:29 PM
So, update. The charger works well. In fact I have a set of 5s that I figured were junk because they hit lvc after 30 secs, and one pack was showing the cell voltages being drastically different. My old crap chargers wouldn't balance them. This one actually balanced the cells back out so I'm hoping the packs still work.

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Rocstar
05-24-2014, 06:57 PM
:thumbup1:

Luck as a Constant
05-25-2014, 12:41 PM
Well I got out today. Those packs are toast. They balanced thanks to my new charger but still are not up to the task anymore. They have given me 4 seasons so for the price they did their job.
Saltwater bucket time I guess.


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