6s lipos won’t charge faster than 2.3 amps

[Hector_Fisher]

One of the specs that is not often talked about but is the one that can really make or break a charger, is this one:

View attachment 350266

The bulk of the charging goes over the two primary leads of the battery up to around 4.15V/cell at which point the charger switches to balance charging in order to ensure that all cells achieve the same voltage when everything is said and done. To the surprise of absolutely no one, balance charging is done via the balance lead which, due to the small cross section of the wires, is only rated for a 2A load max. I know it might seem trivial but, it really isn't. Ideally you want your charger's balance current to be as close to 2A as possible as those last 0.05V can take as long (sometimes longer depending on the health of the cells and how in or out of balance they are in a given pack) as the bulk charge from storage voltage to 4.15V/cell. Hence the importance of a high balance current when choosing your charger. Just something to keep in mind while you're shopping around.

Good luck hunting!

Good points. Would this come down to a question of money and convenience? IE, if running high quality cell matched packs (costly batteries), you may not need a high balance current (less expensive charger), whereas if you have wildly ranging IR (cheap batteries), then you'd need a high balance current (costly charger)?

Or would the high balance current still be beneficial even for well matched packs (shaving off significant time from charging)?

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Good points. Would this come down to a question of money? IE, if running high quality cell matched packs (costly batteries), you may not need a high balance current (less expensive charger), whereas if you have wildly ranging IR (cheap batteries), then you'd need a high balance current (costly charger)?

Or would the high balance current still be beneficial even for well matched packs (shaving off significant time from charging)?

Still helps a ton. It majorly cuts down on time to get the full charge.
Also can do a better job of balancing.

Just comparing my Venom charger which can take forever to finish up a charge on large capacity batteries like 9k Ah versus iSDT that does it in 25% of the time.

 

[rcs29]

I am blow away with how helpful and knowledgeable this community is! Thanks guys I really appreciate all the info you’ve provided!

I messed around with it a little bit and tried charging off a car battery. It’s able to charge a 6s pack at 4.5 amps that way.

I also did a little experiment (kinda stupid lol) and plugged the ac power in while it was charging from the car battery. It kicked up to about 6.7 amps for a few seconds before switching to AC power supply and pulled charging amperage back down to 2.2 amps. Hey, I was curious

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I am looking into the imars D300 charger. Looking at the specs it can really charge fast with a proper DC power supply.

I can’t seem to find a suitable DC power supply. Could any of you guys recommend me a power supply that would work for imars D300 charger?

Honestly I could live with my current charger with a good DC power supply for a while until I upgrade. I’d think it’s possible to use the same DC power supply on my current charger if I wait to upgrade to the imars D300. They both use xt60 connector for the DC power supply. Is that correct?

Thanks again gentlemen!

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If only wanting to charge one battery at a time there is also a function called sync charging on d300 that will give all 300 amps to just the one channel from A/C power. Just a fyi.

 

[Diem Turner]

As far as I am aware iCharger is top dog in that spec. Have you seen any others that are decent for this? I imagine iSDT probably is in the top 5 list.

If I'm honest, I haven't really done a comprehensive comparative of chargers but that's mostly down to the fact that I took a liking to ISDT early on (at the time I knew nothing, I was going primarily on aesthetics) and have 3 of their chargers. I tend not to research gear I'm not in the market for (i.e. I only really know specifics about PC parts and their performance ranking before and up until I buy a PC...after that I ignore component testing because I know there will be something better AND cheaper out a couple of months later and I don't need it rubbed in my face) so, you probably know more than I do. ISDT has like 1500mA balance current and the HOTA d6 Pro 1600mA if memory serves.

Good points. Would this come down to a question of money and convenience? IE, if running high quality cell matched packs (costly batteries), you may not need a high balance current (less expensive charger), whereas if you have wildly ranging IR (cheap batteries), then you'd need a high balance current (costly charger)?

Or would the high balance current still be beneficial even for well matched packs (shaving off significant time from charging)?

What @LibertyMKiii said.

 

[DesertRC928]

Thank you guys for all the help and information. I really do appreciate it!

I decided to grab a Gens Imars D300. I’m pretty happy with it especially considering how affordable it is. Using the provided internal power supply I can charge two 6s batteries at ~6.7 amps and a single 6s at ~13 amps. It only took 45 minutes to fully charge both my cheap Amazon batteries at the same time. Definitely beats the 3 plus hours my other charger took lol. I’m more than happy with this as I generally prefer ~1c charge rate anyways. Thanks again gentlemen!

 

[slick2500]

If I'm honest, I haven't really done a comprehensive comparative of chargers but that's mostly down to the fact that I took a liking to ISDT early on (at the time I knew nothing, I was going primarily on aesthetics) and have 3 of their chargers. I tend not to research gear I'm not in the market for (i.e. I only really know specifics about PC parts and their performance ranking before and up until I buy a PC...after that I ignore component testing because I know there will be something better AND cheaper out a couple of months later and I don't need it rubbed in my face) so, you probably know more than I do. ISDT has like 1500mA balance current and the HOTA d6 Pro 1600mA if memory serves.

What @LibertyMKiii said.

Holy balls I just noticed my Hitec X2 400 charger is only 200ma per cell................... This is why some of my cheap lipos take a while to charge.

And my IDST Q6 Nano is only 0.8a..............

I really should get a new charger.

 

[rgfast]

Holy balls I just noticed my Hitec X2 400 charger is only 200ma per cell................... This is why some of my cheap lipos take a while to charge.

View attachment 350458

And my IDST Q6 Nano is only 0.8a..............

View attachment 350459

I really should get a new charger.

hook your power supply up to a D300 and you will be kicking yourself for not spending a $129. sooner !! I know am LOL

 

[slick2500]

hook your power supply up to a D300 and you will be kicking yourself for not spending a $129. sooner !! I know am LOL

I've had the Hitec X2 400 charger since 2017 at the time it was a good charger. But yeah the D300 is on my list.

 

[rgfast]

I've had the Hitec X2 400 charger since 2017 at the time it was a good charger.

i totally get it having Hitec 4X80eighty for at least that long as myself

kind of hard putting the old girl back in her original box but it's coming taking up space on the bench now, think I'm going to order another D300 for charging four battery's at the same time don't think my power supply will have any problem running two chargers at the same time

 

[ebaltazar]

I am blow away with how helpful and knowledgeable this community is! Thanks guys I really appreciate all the info you’ve provided!

I messed around with it a little bit and tried charging off a car battery. It’s able to charge a 6s pack at 4.5 amps that way.

I also did a little experiment (kinda stupid lol) and plugged the ac power in while it was charging from the car battery. It kicked up to about 6.7 amps for a few seconds before switching to AC power supply and pulled charging amperage back down to 2.2 amps. Hey, I was curious

View attachment 350242

I am looking into the imars D300 charger. Looking at the specs it can really charge fast with a proper DC power supply.

I can’t seem to find a suitable DC power supply. Could any of you guys recommend me a power supply that would work for imars D300 charger?

Honestly I could live with my current charger with a good DC power supply for a while until I upgrade. I’d think it’s possible to use the same DC power supply on my current charger if I wait to upgrade to the imars D300. They both use xt60 connector for the DC power supply. Is that correct?

Thanks again gentlemen!

View attachment 350243

Glad you settled on a new charger since this one is really pretty weak for 6s use. I wanted to caution you about the experiment you mentioned, as I'm surprised that nobody commented. Never, under any circumstances, connect AC and DC power sources simultaneously on any lipo charger. This is something that at minimum, can destroy your charger and at worst, destroy a lipo. The lipo is the single most dangerous thing you are going to use in or around your RC vehicle, and an overabundance of caution is necessary. I looked up the manual on your old passport charger and found that page 2 had a list of Never warnings, including never connect two power sources. Stay informed, Stay safe man, and enjoy the hobby.

 

[DesertRC928]

Glad you settled on a new charger since this one is really pretty weak for 6s use. I wanted to caution you about the experiment you mentioned, as I'm surprised that nobody commented. Never, under any circumstances, connect AC and DC power sources simultaneously on any lipo charger. This is something that at minimum, can destroy your charger and at worst, destroy a lipo. The lipo is the single most dangerous thing you are going to use in or around your RC vehicle, and an overabundance of caution is necessary. I looked up the manual on your old passport charger and found that page 2 had a list of Never warnings, including never connect two power sources. Stay informed, Stay safe man, and enjoy the hobby. View attachment 350540

Thank you sir!

I fully understood the risk I was taking and that it was not an intelligent thing to try.

When I did my knowingly “stupid experiment” lol I put the lipo charger and car battery outside in the middle of a concrete pad with a long extension cord. I connected the DC power first, then stood back and connected the AC power ready to quickly disconnect it.

Again I know this was a stupid thing to try. I do understand how volatile lipo batteries can be.

I should’ve been more thoughtful in how I worded that and disclosed the risks associated for others that may be reading this and not fully understand the risks involved.

Thank you again for making that clear man. Can’t have fun if you burn your house down, hurt yourself, or worse hurt someone else!

 

[ebaltazar]

Thank you sir!

I fully understood the risk I was taking and that it was not an intelligent thing to try.

When I did my knowingly “stupid experiment” lol I put the lipo charger and car battery outside in the middle of a concrete pad with a long extension cord. I connected the DC power first, then stood back and connected the AC power ready to quickly disconnect it.

Again I know this was a stupid thing to try. I do understand how volatile lipo batteries can be.

I should’ve been more thoughtful in how I worded that and disclosed the risks associated for others that may be reading this and not fully understand the risks involved.

Thank you again for making that clear man. Can’t have fun if you burn your house down, hurt yourself, or worse hurt someone else!

Glad you took the precautions I didn't mean any harm with my comment and was genuinely concerned. I appreciate your response

 

[slick2500]

Glad you settled on a new charger since this one is really pretty weak for 6s use. I wanted to caution you about the experiment you mentioned, as I'm surprised that nobody commented. Never, under any circumstances, connect AC and DC power sources simultaneously on any lipo charger. This is something that at minimum, can destroy your charger and at worst, destroy a lipo. The lipo is the single most dangerous thing you are going to use in or around your RC vehicle, and an overabundance of caution is necessary. I looked up the manual on your old passport charger and found that page 2 had a list of Never warnings, including never connect two power sources. Stay informed, Stay safe man, and enjoy the hobby. View attachment 350540

I think they don't want you to connect the charger to a vehicle with the engine running to reduce the risk of a cable getting caught by the belt. I run my truck all the time with the charger connected to the battery.