Battery Chargers

[CRAZY-RC]

Been pondering on whether to get a dual charger or just continue using my 2 Thunder AC6 chargers. I usually just connect 1 battery to one charger and another battery to the other charger and let them go. I do have 4 4s batteries two for one car and 2 for the other car. But Im just a basher on my backyard Track and usually charge the 4 batteries and Run 2 packs through one car and 2 packs through the other car and I'm usually done for the day after that. Would I benefit at all by getting a dual charger or just stay with what I got?

 

[parcou]

Been pondering on whether to get a dual charger or just continue using my 2 Thunder AC6 chargers. I usually just connect 1 battery to one charger and another battery to the other charger and let them go. I do have 4 4s batteries two for one car and 2 for the other car. But Im just a basher on my backyard Track and usually charge the 4 batteries and Run 2 packs through one car and 2 packs through the other car and I'm usually done for the day after that. Would I benefit at all by getting a dual charger or just stay with what I got?

Stay the course with what you have. I do not see a huge benefit in your case. Depending on the dual charger, they are all different. You could be splitting the wattage on each side for the dual charge and have a slower overall charge before completion. Again, depends on what dual charger and the $$$ you want to spend.

You have dedicated power to both individually, and it works. I feel you are good and put that money elsewhere for now until you feel your use case changes

 

[slick2500]

I agree if what have currently is working for you then I see no point in buying another charger.

 

[Sandracer_NL]

What the others said. Or sell both chargers and get a quad charger which can charge up to 4 lipo’s at the same time. Branded under different names, Venom quad , RC Plus quad, X4 quad, that have 100W for each channel. Some chargers state the total W, but in the fine print it says they split the W for each channel used. So that’s you should keep it mind.
They more W the charger has faster it can charge. If you want to charge a lipo at 1C, which is recommended (maximum) for a lipo, you can calculate it as follows:
example 3s 6600mah lipo -> 3.7v x 3s x 6600/1000 = 73W.
example 4s 8000 mah -> 3.7v x 4s x 8000/1000 = 118W.
You also have things like how fast a charger can balance, but let’s just say you have a 50W charger (per channel), a charger with more W (per channel) can charge faster.

 

[KevinC]

What the others said. Or sell both chargers and get a quad charger which can charge up to 4 lipo’s at the same time. Branded under different names, Venom quad , RC Plus quad, X4 quad, that have 100W for each channel. Some chargers state the total W, but in the fine print it says they split the W for each channel used. So that’s you should keep it mind.
They more W the charger has faster it can charge. If you want to charge a lipo at 1C, which is recommended (maximum) for a lipo, you can calculate it as follows:
example 3s 6600mah lipo -> 3.7v x 3s x 6600/1000 = 73W.
example 4s 8000 mah -> 3.7v x 4s x 8000/1000 = 118W.
You also have things like how fast a charger can balance, but let’s just say you have a 50W charger (per channel), a charger with more W (per channel) can charge faster.

Apologies in advance but I have to disagree with your math @Sandracer_NL .

You have to take in consideration a fully charged lipo, not a nominal charge…..so in your first example a 3S 6600mah,…….the math is 4.2x3x6.6=83W
Example two…4.2x4x8=134W

Using 3.7 volts is not correct…..you have to use 4.2 volts in the equation.

I run some big 6s and 4S lipos. They require significant wattage to charge within an hour, therefore any charger that puts out less than 150 watts is undesirable for me.
I have some 6S 6800mah in the arsenal……they require almost 175 watts to charge at 1C to get done in less than an hour.

For the original poster, if your charging solution works for you , don’t change anything but do the math above to see if your charger meets the benchmark of what you want to do.

cheers,
kev

 

[Sandracer_NL]

Apologies in advance but I have to disagree with your math @Sandracer_NL .

You have to take in consideration a fully charged lipo, not a nominal charge…..so in your first example a 3S 6600mah,…….the math is 4.2x3x6.6=83W
Example two…4.2x4x8=134W

Using 3.7 volts is not correct…..you have to use 4.2 volts in the equation.

I run some big 6s and 4S lipos. They require significant wattage to charge within an hour, therefore any charger that puts out less than 150 watts is undesirable for me.
I have some 6S 6800mah in the arsenal……they require almost 175 watts to charge at 1C to get done in less than an hour.

For the original poster, if your charging solution works for you , don’t change anything but do the math above to see if your charger meets the benchmark of what you want to do.

cheers,
kev

No worries. I agree. Just woke up when typing this.
Bottom line, more POWER (W) is better!

 

[CRAZY-RC]

Apologies in advance but I have to disagree with your math @Sandracer_NL .

You have to take in consideration a fully charged lipo, not a nominal charge…..so in your first example a 3S 6600mah,…….the math is 4.2x3x6.6=83W
Example two…4.2x4x8=134W

Using 3.7 volts is not correct…..you have to use 4.2 volts in the equation.

I run some big 6s and 4S lipos. They require significant wattage to charge within an hour, therefore any charger that puts out less than 150 watts is undesirable for me.
I have some 6S 6800mah in the arsenal……they require almost 175 watts to charge at 1C to get done in less than an hour.

For the original poster, if your charging solution works for you , don’t change anything but do the math above to see if your charger meets the benchmark of what you want to do.

cheers,
kev

My chargers are 50/ watts. They do charge slow. I wish I did have something that charged faster at 1c. I DO NOT charge over that, I charge my batteries at what they are supposed to be charged at and I balance everything I charge.

My 4s batteries are new and I've never charged them with these chargers I've only charged my 3s with them. But again it does take some time to charge probably because my charges are low wattage.

 

[CRAZY-RC]

I think with me charging 4s lipos I need a charger or chargers with more wattage. My chargers are only 50w output per charger and it's not enough I think that's why they charge so slow. It would take my 3s over hour to charge at 1c and that's what I charge everything at.

 

[Sandracer_NL]

I think with me charging 4s lipos I need a charger or chargers with more wattage. My chargers are only 50w output per charger and it's not enough I think that's why they charge so slow. It would take my 3s over hour to charge at 1c and that's what I charge everything at.

Yep, 50W is outdated for bashing if you ask me. Maybe fine for crawler or drone with small lipo’s.
It still works with the big lipo’s for bashing, but like you said you’ll have to wait a long long time.

 

[CRAZY-RC]

Yep, 50W is outdated for bashing if you ask me. Maybe fine for crawler or drone with small lipo’s.
It still works with the big lipo’s for bashing, but like you said you’ll have to wait a long long time.

So what's a good charger to look for that's not too expensive?

 

[Sandracer_NL]

I don’t have one, but a Hota D6 gives a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[DMDUK]

I like https://www.skyrc.com/ chargers.
I have the T1000 and the T200 - both excellent.

 

[CRAZY-RC]

I see the imar d300 has good reviews also. It's like 140 bucks?

 

[KevinC]

I see the imar d300 has good reviews also. It's like 140 bucks?

This charger will provide enough power in most cases.

 

[KnowAir]

All depends on your needs and budget.. if you're chomping at the bit waiting to bash, then yes, get a higher powered charger. That's assuming you are really gaining anything. I mean if your current charger can push 1c into the packs you have and you don't wish to go over 1c, no point, other than being able to charge more packs simultaneously, which can also be achieved buying more of the same chargers.
I have a Thunder AC6, like 12 years old, rocks! Can't kill it! That's considering what it is, which is underpowered for anything over 3s. I don't recall what the balance charge rate is on those, but I've had much worse for sure. It's a great beginner charger I feel.
Also, all multi channel chargers share the same supply, as far as I know, adding more channels just reduces power per channel.

 

[CRAZY-RC]

All depends on your needs and budget.. if you're chomping at the bit waiting to bash, then yes, get a higher powered charger. That's assuming you are really gaining anything. I mean if your current charger can push 1c into the packs you have and you don't wish to go over 1c, no point, other than being able to charge more packs simultaneously, which can also be achieved buying more of the same chargers.
I have a Thunder AC6, like 12 years old, rocks! Can't kill it! That's considering what it is, which is underpowered for anything over 3s. I don't recall what the balance charge rate is on those, but I've had much worse for sure. It's a great beginner charger I feel.
Also, all multi channel chargers share the same supply, as far as I know, adding more channels just reduces power per channel.

That's what I have is 2 Thunder AC6s I'm not sure they are pushing a full 1c since they are 50watts. So it takes longer to charge 4s batteries with those. But I don't know if I'm right or not cause I've never charged 4s batteries before. Just want to make sure my chargers are charging as fast as they should be which from my understanding 50watts is not enough power to charge a 4s battery without it taking longer than it should??

 

[KnowAir]

That's what I have is 2 Thunder AC6s I'm not sure they are pushing a full 1c since they are 50watts. So it takes longer to charge 4s batteries with those. But I don't know if I'm right or not cause I've never charged 4s batteries before. Just want to make sure my chargers are charging as fast as they should be which from my understanding 50watts is not enough power to charge a 4s battery without it taking longer than it should??

Yeah, you're definitely not getting 1c on 4s out of an AC6..I haven't been using the AC6 much since I got a Hota S6 and Spektrum S2100.. but IIRC, when charging a 3s with it, it pushes around 4.4amps, on 4s, around 3.5 or so..both are lower than 1c rate. If you're charging a 5000mah battery, 1c equals 5amps, 5500mah 5.5amps and so on. As you go up in cell count, that's when you really find the limits of a charger, or beyond 1c charge rates. 5000mah at 2c will be 10amps charge rate.

 

[CrashBoom]

So what's a good charger to look for that's not too expensive?

I'm a fan of the ISDT K2 Air. Massive output capability and has Bluetooth connectivity at an affordable price.

 

[CRAZY-RC]

All depends on your needs and budget.. if you're chomping at the bit waiting to bash, then yes, get a higher powered charger. That's assuming you are really gaining anything. I mean if your current charger can push 1c into the packs you have and you don't wish to go over 1c, no point, other than being able to charge more packs simultaneously, which can also be achieved buying more of the same chargers.
I have a Thunder AC6, like 12 years old, rocks! Can't kill it! That's considering what it is, which is underpowered for anything over 3s. I don't recall what the balance charge rate is on those, but I've had much worse for sure. It's a great beginner charger I feel.
Also, all multi channel chargers share the same supply, as far as I know, adding more channels just reduces power per channel.

@KnowAir I told you wrong on the chargers I have. They are Thunder AC680s not AC6s . So the wattage on those chargers are 80 watts not 50.

 

[slick2500]

All depends on your needs and budget.. if you're chomping at the bit waiting to bash, then yes, get a higher powered charger. That's assuming you are really gaining anything. I mean if your current charger can push 1c into the packs you have and you don't wish to go over 1c, no point, other than being able to charge more packs simultaneously, which can also be achieved buying more of the same chargers.
I have a Thunder AC6, like 12 years old, rocks! Can't kill it! That's considering what it is, which is underpowered for anything over 3s. I don't recall what the balance charge rate is on those, but I've had much worse for sure. It's a great beginner charger I feel.
Also, all multi channel chargers share the same supply, as far as I know, adding more channels just reduces power per channel.

I had a Thunder AC680 that I bought used in 2015, original owner bought it in 2013, I gave it to my brother and he still uses to this day.

@KnowAir I told you wrong on the chargers I have. They are Thunder AC680s not AC6s . So the wattage on those chargers are 80 watts not 50.

The AC680 is a fairly decent charger. Only reason I upgraded was because it was hard to charge 6 3s batteries with it.