Battery charger

[Pyrex98]

What charger are you guys using? Is protek or hyperion good brands? If so what model for 4s to 6s?

[jamespl]

I use the turnigy accucel 6. I only use 2s batteries at the mo. but for the money I can't fault it. Suppose it depends on what make of batteries you have.

[sailr]

If you're not going to charge anything bigger than 6S packs, then this charger is great! I have two of them. The price is certainly right.

http://www.hobbypartz.com/73p-ac680-accharger.html

I believe you also get free shipping over $50.

[JimClark]

Hyperion 0606i AC/DC model here

[d.a.v.e]

I have the 606i AC/DC but thought I would want to be able to charge faster so I bought the hyperion 720i duo this summer. Works great I charge 2 4 cell packs at 2c all the time. If your racing you will need a good fast charger or 4 or more sets of packs. Unfortunately I never got to race mine this summer so the 606 would have been fine for the way I used the boat this year but the duo is nice within 1.5hrs I have 4 packs charged vs the 606i that might have one 4s charged in that time?

[Pyrex98]

Thanks for the info. Wow I didnt know it would take 1.5 hours to charge 1 4s pack. I use race rc trucks and boats about 15 years ago and just getting back
Into it. How things have changed!

[Griff]

I use a hyperion eos 0610i it charges a 5000 mah 4s in about 45 mins 5000mah 2s in 37mins good chargers if a little expensive

[JimClark]

You mis read his post it says within 1.5 hours he can charge 4 battery packs

Thanks for the info. Wow I didnt know it would take 1.5 hours to charge 1 4s pack. I use race rc trucks and boats about 15 years ago and just getting back
Into it. How things have changed!

[Insaniac]

If you can afford it the ProTek is great... it's 2 x 200 watts = 400 watts total. It's also a dual port charger that pumps out 10A per port so you can charge 4, 4S packs at once...some of these less expensive chargers from HK are only 80 watts TOTAL, which limits the number of cells you can charge at once...JMHO.
Pete

[Pyrex98]

Thanks guys.....ill see what I can do to balance the miss geico budget.

[Fluid]

You don't have to buy new either. This time of year is often good for picking up used chargers in good condition as folks prune their equipment for the Holidays/no boating. I haven't bought a new charger in 10 years, but I do get good ones used.

For example, a simple but excellent charger is the AstroFlight 109. It charges from 50 mA to over 8 amps, and up to 9S. You can set the charge rate to whatever your power supply will give, up to about 8A depending on the voltage. A lot of local club members have them and they've worked great for years. No bells and whistles, but thenmost boaters don't need those. I paid $75 each for mine, they looked brand new. Just another option.


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[sailr]

Be very careful if buying a used Astroflight 109. There was a known problem with them early on. They would jump the cell count during the charge cycle and blow up Lipos! I personally know two people whose house, in one case, and car in the other, was burned down because of the 109!

I worked with Bob Boucher, owner of Astroflight and he came out with an upgraded chip for the charger that addressed the problem. IF you buy a used 109, be sure to order one of these! :

http://www.astroflight.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=49&zenid=qk5k1d9q7obb92bo7cu26ln915pp4lsm

[Fluid]

Good point Jim, I forgot to mention that. Both of my used chargers had the v2.0 chip already, but not all of them will. The real point to the post was that you don't have to buy new to get a high-end charger. Unless abused (or cheap to begin with) used chargers are pretty robust, and are (in my experience) in good shape. I'm sure there are exceptions, make sure you have good photos.



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[d.a.v.e]

Guess the key is deciding how quickly you will need to charge batteries, like racing speed costs money. Also consider what size packs you want to charge. Some of the lower watt/amp chargers will take a lot longer to charge a 4 cell pack but may be just fine for a 2 cell pack. At the race track my 606i was not fast enough to completely charge a 4cell pack between rounds of racing but it was fine for topping off my 2 cell packs at the track between rounds.

For boats I would think an older hyperion duo charger with 10amps a port and a 20amp + power supply would be a good combo for most folks as many of us are running 2 or more 5000+mah packs in our boats at a time. I have seen those charges sell for around $125 used vs the $250 or so I paid for the newest version.

I personally like Hyperion but the icharger is popular as well around my track.

[Fluid]

For the FE racing I do (which I have been doing for 25+ years) charging speed is usually not an issue. In fact I almost never have more than one set of packs for each boat I race. An example is one of the last District races I attended; I raced three boats (Ltd-SH, P-SH, Q-H) and completed four sets of heats in one day. I used four chargers and never had an issue. (Chargers are cheaper than extra sets of packs too.) None of my packs were drawn down more than 65% from full charge. I charged at 1C and my packs are in great shape. I could charge at higher rates but this will reduce cell life. (Not as much with current high-C cells as with past cells, but it is a drawback.) Why do it if you don't need to?



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