Thoughts on this charger for someone new to the hobby

[Linewbie]

Just looking for opinions on this charger from Hobby King:

SKYRC Ultimate Duo 400W 20A AC/DC Balance Charger/Discharger/Power Supply

Im new to the hobby, and at 190.00 represents a nice chunk of change for me. I dont care or have the need for an external power source, and am only going to be charging a pair of 3s for my new Pro Marine. Anthing else Im missing here? Thanks to all.

[fweasel]

That has a decent amount of power, perhaps more so than you need at this time. One theory is you can grow into it if/when you get a boat that requires larger batteries. Another is that if you're on a budget, a less expensive charger means more money for batteries, something that immediately allows you to run the boat longer at the lake. I owned this charger for a while (https://www.amazon.com/UP120AC-12Amps-120Watts-240Watts-Total/dp/B00SZ1CBVC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493766436&sr=8-1&keywords=up120ac) and it was probably the best bang for the buck for an all in one dual charger.

[Linewbie]

Thanks for the input fweasel. While I am far from married to that unit, it seemed to do more than what I need for right now. That's the max for my budget at this time, but I subscribe to the buy once cry once mentality, so this would be it for me. I am open for suggestions however as I don't see very many reviews online about this unit. Thanks

[fweasel]

They're all (SkyRC and the like) pretty much the same basic charger with only varying power capacities. The menus and operation are all very similar depending on the firmware used. The charger I linked to has a smaller power supply and is half the price, but will still charge 3S 5000mAh packs at up to 2C two at a time. I auditioned a lot of chargers and eventually settled on one that worked well enough in terms of ease of use and was accurate on the balance side of the equation. The accuracy on the cell balancing is what drove me nuts on the less expensive chargers and is what led me to try out many different models. Rather than search for something that could plug into AC or charge a hundred batteries at once, I discovered it was easier to use an external power supply with multiple chargers to meet my needs.

[ray schrauwen]

I think these are pretty sweet if you can find one.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/smart-charger-500w.html

[Peter A]

How about

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-quadkore-1200w-80a-4-x-300w-20a-dc-synchronous-balance-charger-discharger.html

I use one and have had a couple of singles, there is also a duo, of course when "available" from HobbyKing.

Or https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-30a-1000w-balance-charger.html

Or a couple of these https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-250w-10a-1-6s-balance-charger.html

[fweasel]

I think these are pretty sweet if you can find one.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/smart-charger-500w.html
2 for sale...
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2881127-Isdt-sc-620-2-6s-500w-20a-Charger-NEW%21

[Tamelesstgr]

Here is another good charger, Ryan, I believe you just sold one like this:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2881228-Hitec-X4-80

[Tamelesstgr]

or this one:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2880875-Hitec-X4-AC-Plus-Lipo-Charger

[fweasel]

Here is another good charger, Ryan, I believe you just sold one like this:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2881228-Hitec-X4-80That's an older, less powerful version of what I had, the AC Plus.


or this one:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2880875-Hitec-X4-AC-Plus-Lipo-Charger
That's the same one I just sold.

[Linewbie]

That has a decent amount of power, perhaps more so than you need at this time. One theory is you can grow into it if/when you get a boat that requires larger batteries. Another is that if you're on a budget, a less expensive charger means more money for batteries, something that immediately allows you to run the boat longer at the lake. I owned this charger for a while (https://www.amazon.com/UP120AC-12Amps-120Watts-240Watts-Total/dp/B00SZ1CBVC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493766436&sr=8-1&keywords=up120ac) and it was probably the best bang for the buck for an all in one dual charger.


Thanks for all the input gents. I wound up getting a deal on the Ultra Power UP200AC DUO, so all I need now is a few Lipos to get underway.

[fweasel]

Nice. I believe the Pro Marines come wired with Deans connectors. I would suggest cutting them off and upgrading to an EC5 or larger connector. I bought some nice charge leads on Amazon from Apex RC (https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Banana-Battery-Charge-Adapter/dp/B00XQ91LNM/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1493943758&sr=1-2&keywords=ec5+connector+plug) if you don't already have what you need.

[Linewbie]

It seems that way, here's the link if you would like to check it out:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131855373694?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

They accepted 140.00 inc. shipping, so I thought I did OK. Thanks for the input. I'm almost there!!!