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If you had $1000.00 to spend on a charger and power supply, what would you buy?

ThePledge

ThePledge

50cc
Bunky.F.Knuckle said:
You can take 2 3S packs, for simplistic sake, 1 pack can be 11.5V, and the other can be 11.1V. Stick them on the charger as a 3S 2P pack, and the pack voltage will be 11.3V. Which is ok, but what about those cell voltages, that is what really matters. I consider anything over .05V out of balance.
Click to expand...

The packs should both be 11.3v once they equalize so they won't be out of balance. The cells that correspond to each other in each pack will also be in balance. It isn't an average of the voltages, it's the actual voltage.

The work the charger will still have to do is bring each set of cells into balance with each other. Say cell 1 in pack A and cell 1 in pack B are together a little lower than 2a/2b and 3a/3b then the charger will need to bring those cells up to match.
 
Jetpainter

Jetpainter

640cc Uber Pimp
Another thing that the Bump Controller for the PowerLab will do for you is keep track of each pack so you know when one is getting wonkey. It will log all the data for each pack every cycle if you want and also keep it on your phone or tablet with the Bluetooth and App.
 
Bunky.F.Knuckle

Bunky.F.Knuckle

150cc
ThePledge said:
The packs should both be 11.3v once they equalize so they won't be out of balance. The cells that correspond to each other in each pack will also be in balance. It isn't an average of the voltages, it's the actual voltage.

The work the charger will still have to do is bring each set of cells into balance with each other. Say cell 1 in pack A and cell 1 in pack B are together a little lower than 2a/2b and 3a/3b then the charger will need to bring those cells up to match.
Click to expand...

Or, you can buy a duo charger to avoid parallel charging, altogether.

Packs don't instantly balance out to each other. It takes several minutes to an hour to equalize the packs. Who has the time to wait for packs to equalize. I certainly don't, especially when I'm in the mood to fly 700 sized helis. 5 minute flight, 15-20 mins to recharge in Async mode on both my 308 and 406 iCharger duo's.

I parallel charged exclusively for the first 6 months of flying my 700 helis, because they take 2 6S packs in series. Over time, my packs were dropping off moreso under a heavy load. I decided to check the cells one day, and they were out of balance by over .15V. Thats when I decided right then and there, I was not going to parallel charge any longer. So, I bought a new iCharger 406 Duo. Best move I ever made! I'll recommend buying the right tool for the job, vs getting something that will, "just work ok for me".

Your batteries will thank you, in the long run.
 
jhelber08

jhelber08

70cc twin V2
redds-apple-ale-6-pack-bottles.jpg How many of these did you drink before your batteries became unbalanced ??? :)
 
ThePledge

ThePledge

50cc
Bunky.F.Knuckle said:
Or, you can buy a duo charger to avoid parallel charging, altogether.

Packs don't instantly balance out to each other. It takes several minutes to an hour to equalize the packs. Who has the time to wait for packs to equalize. I certainly don't, especially when I'm in the mood to fly 700 sized helis. 5 minute flight, 15-20 mins to recharge in Async mode on both my 308 and 406 iCharger duo's.

I parallel charged exclusively for the first 6 months of flying my 700 helis, because they take 2 6S packs in series. Over time, my packs were dropping off moreso under a heavy load. I decided to check the cells one day, and they were out of balance by over .15V. Thats when I decided right then and there, I was not going to parallel charge any longer. So, I bought a new iCharger 406 Duo. Best move I ever made! I'll recommend buying the right tool for the job, vs getting something that will, "just work ok for me".

Your batteries will thank you, in the long run.
Click to expand...


For what it's worth I've never noticed packs being out of balance after parallel charging vs regular and have done quite a bit of both. I just let them equalize for 30 seconds with the main leads plugged in before hooking up the balance cables. Any further balancing that happens due to the parallel circuit occurs during the charge.

The charts people have posted showing amperage between imbalanced cells in a parallel circuit show really quick equalization. It's the same direct current the charger applies.

Maybe throwing together batteries with significantly different voltages could cause amp spikes that exceed the low battery's charge rate capability and damage the battery over time.
 
pawnshopmike

pawnshopmike

Staff member
Update. First of all, Thanks everyone for all the advise and input. You guys are the best!:way_to_go:

After many sleepless nights trying to decide what to do I finally decided. Instead of replacing my current setup completely I decide just to upgrade it a bit. So I bought an iCharger 306B ( http://www.progressiverc.com/icharger-306b.html ) along with a couple of modular parallel boards (http://www.progressiverc.com/adapter-cables-and-boards/parallel-boards/modular-boards/ ).

As for a power supply, I decided on the Revo 24V 55amp. http://www.usastore.revolectrix.com...l-PowerLab_2/24-VDC-55A-1320W-Power-Station_2

Couple reason I picked that power supply. One it was on sale.:D But more importantly, in addition to the 24V output it also has 2 sets of 12V outputs. One of which I can run to my Hitec 4 Eighty and the other I can run to the external outputs on my charger case.

Now the challenge will be to try and squeeze everything into my case once it all arrives. I'll post some pics when I get it all put together.
 
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