Lipo charger

[Perkins]

What's the best budget lipo charger, I no you get what you pay for but I need to find a good cheap on of a good used one to have till about feburary an then I will be able to buy a good one any help greatly appreciated

 

[bicketybam]

Probably not the best section for this post, LOL.

 

[Perkins]

Sorry
I thought this se tion was for suggestions an help my bad

 

[bicketybam]

Sorry
I thought this se tion was for suggestions an help my bad

Use the electronics subform.

 

[WoodiE]

@Perkins there is a very detailed thread that provides a ton of user suggestions here; Recommend me a battery charger.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

What size batteries are you charging?

 

[Perkins]

2s 35c an 50c

 

[CrashBoom]

I have an IMax B6 clone that works well They are all over eBay for < $20. Output isn't spectacular at 5A, but gets the job done.

Lots of varying opinions on the B6 clones, but mine works.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

If all you have is 2s packs, then you can get by with a basic 50w charger. Something like the Prophet Sport Mini for about $25 will work, but this charger does not have some of the lipo 'maintenance' features you will need, like discharge or storage charge modes.

Better for about the same money would be a Clone IMAX B6ac. still 50w, but full lipos modes. The down side - sometimes the clone chargers are DOA, or die pretty quick. If you go this route, be sure to buy some someplace with a known good return policy, like HobbyKing. If you go for a ebay clone and it does not work, you will most likely be out of luck.

Better still would be to get the "real" Imax B6AC, for about $50.

 

[Perkins]

What about this one
Keenstone 100W 10A AC / DC Lipo Charger / Discharger with Convenient Multifunction it around $50 also

What about this one
Keenstone 100W 10A AC / DC Lipo Charger / Discharger with Convenient Multifunction it around $50 also

https://www.amazon.com/Keenstone-Ba...y+charger&dpPl=1&dpID=51cGzwOLBzL&ref=plSrch#

 

[Jerry-rigged]

That looks like a clone of my older Hitec X1 - but the Hitec was 50w/5a. Interesting that it comes with a cell checker. Nice adder, those are handy to have in your pocket while bashing.

On paper is seems pretty decent. 100w/10a is nice. The only stat that I don't really like is the 5w discharge power, but that is pretty normal for low end chargers. Having low discharge wattage will make the 'Balance' portion of the charger take longer. You will see this when the battery gets to where one cell is at 4.20V, and the other cell is lower - the charger will slow WAAAAY down for that last few 0.01ths of a volt. Again for a 2s, this will not be as big of a deal, but for 4s or 6, well, it will take ages to balance...


I wonder if that is the same charger that Amain rebranded for their Protec 610EZ charger? If so, that charger seems to have good reviews over on Amain.

 

[Perkins]

Looks close to the same

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Yeah, I think that should work fine as a budget charger. Better than some, not as good as others, but hey, life is a compromise, right?

 

[Perkins]

True I'm between 3 right now not sure what one I'm goin with tho

 

[Perkins]

https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Bala...y+charger&dpPl=1&dpID=51NwyrCnraL&ref=plSrch# this on the previous one or the imax B6 v2

 

[Jerry-rigged]

That Tenergy looks like a rebrand/Clone of the Imax B6 - DC only version of the B6AC. If you have an old laptop power supply, you can use that for power - you might need to cut off the laptop plug to get the correct plug for the charger...
Real-
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-50w-5a-charger-discharger-1-6-cells-genuine.html
Copy-
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-dc-charger-5a-50w-copy.html

Of the three chargers listed, I like power, so the 100w/10 one is the one I'd pick.

I was looking at Banggood to see if they had the OEM version of the Keenstone charger (didn't find it) and came across this charger -
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-50w-5a-charger-discharger-1-6-cells-genuine.html
From the name and the specs, it looks like two of the B6AC-clone chargers built into one case. Having a 2 channel charger is nice, and if you are running 2s/3s only, the 50w limit will not be a obstacle.

I've bought a bunch from Banggood with no real issues. I would recommend not using the base free shipping option, though. Pick Expedited (still free) or Express (under $2) shipping and you should get it in about a week, maybe two. The base shipping will be a month or longer...

 

[olds97_lss]

What capacity of 2S packs?

I think typically, most try to charge at at least 1C. So, the capacity will dictate usually what the max amps/watts are you need to charge. A 2S 5000mah pack will use 5 amps to charge at 1C whereas a 9000mah pack will use 9 amps to charge at 1C. Of course, you can use less than 1C, but then your working the charger at 100% and it's going to take longer to charge.

Also, are you needing to to charge one or two packs at a time?

 

[Perkins]

One for now

 

[Perkins]

2s 50c 5000mah

 

[olds97_lss]

One for now

When I started electric, I had one truck that took 2 packs. So, I got a 2x5A charger (traxxas with ID since my first was a erevo) and after taking 3 hours to charge my 9000mah 2S lipo's... I got tired of that fast. Ended up buying a dynamite 4x100W/4x10A charger for $220 (including connectors/balance boards/extensions).

I went from having 7 nitro vehicles to 3 nitro and 6 electrics. Having the 4 port charger worked out really well. I also picked up a second higher output 2 channel charger as I was considering running 3S in some of my trucks and wanted the higher amperage/wattage to handle higher capacity 3S packs. I also picked another 2 channel AC/DC charger to keep in my car all the time, which is a 2x12A/2x150W which I now use pretty much every time I bash. Saves me charging up 6+ packs, then breaking parts and having to discharge them on the charger. Now I charge 4, then cycle them as I run.

So, if you think your going to end up really getting into it, spend a bit more on a more capable charger now to avoid wasting money like I did on my first charger.