Need a new charger (Upgrade)

[jschlosser0405]

Currently I have a Hitec X4 AC Pro. Its great for the kids' NIMH batteries and the smaller Lipo's that we started with but I am struggling to charge 6s. Due to my addiction, I foresee that the batteries are just going to get bigger in the future! haha. So I have been looking and looking and have yet to decide on anything. Hota D6+, ISDT Q8, Q8Max, P30, K4...lots of other brands. The choices/specs are overwhelming. I'd love to have an AC/DC charger to just plug in at home but still have the capacity to charge 6 or 8s packs in less than an hour. If thats just not possible, I would be ok with the DC/power supply route. I guess I'm looking for the best of both worlds....aren't we all? I'd love to hear what you guys are using real world to charge multiple 6/8s packs but still be able to charge a 2,3,4s as well.

 

[Epplers]

I got the p30 a few months back and absolutely love it.

 

[jschlosser0405]

What do you use for a power supply? and what batteries do you charge on it?

 

[arrmadillo]

I have the Hota D6+, charge at home, no power supply needed. Charges 6S packs fast especially at 2C.

 

[jschlosser0405]

I have the Hota D6+, charge at home, no power supply needed. Charges 6S packs fast especially at 2C.View attachment 165162

That is definitely on the top of my list. I love the ability to just plug it into the wall. I just don't want to end up running out of power. Right now I need to charge 2 4s packs and 2 6s packs and would love to be able to do them all at the same time in half an hour or so. Right now it takes me about an hour to do 1 4s and 1 6s at a time

 

[arrmadillo]

Don't remember how long it takes to charge 2 5400 6S packs, but at 2C it's less than a hour.

 

[aahwhatever2]

Either the Hoto D6 or the ISDT K2 seem to be best bang for the buck if you are wanting an AC charger. AND if you need more power, both will do DC too! I use DC with a server power bank, but I usually charge 4-6 6S batteries on each channel. I fly racing/free style quads and need MULTIPLE batteries just to fly for 1/2 hour…

 

[Epplers]

I use two server power supplys and I charge 8s 5000ma and two 5000ma 4s .

 

[BashingBrian]

ISDT P30

 

[sanara.kenshin]

ISDT X16

 

[jschlosser0405]

ISDT P30

Definitely on my list...what do you run for a power supply? I was looking at the big ISDT 3036 but it seems a bit hard to get

 

[Epplers]

Yea it's only 750w on 120v. Got my power supply hear
http://www.lipoconnectionsolutions.com/

 

[jschlosser0405]

Either the Hoto D6 or the ISDT K2 seem to be best bang for the buck if you are wanting an AC charger. AND if you need more power, both will do DC too! I use DC with a server power bank, but I usually charge 4-6 6S batteries on each channel. I fly racing/free style quads and need MULTIPLE batteries just to fly for 1/2 hour…

I didnt look much at the k2 but the k4 caught my eye....pretty powerful on AC....DC looks good too. Im also wondering about discharging....sometimes i end up cutting a bash short like friday evening....had to discharge a 6000mah 6s that was still at about 90% charge...took me 6 hours lol

ISDT X16

Lol thats a bit more then i need...i did see it though.

 

[jschlosser0405]

So I came across some power supplies today at a jobsite and I couldn't pass them up.....since they were free! I scored (2) 750watt Emerson 7001650-J200 from an IT guy after we got to talking about RC. Turns out his buddy owns a big RC shop with a few tracks about an hour from my house. Anyway, I cannot find ANYTHING online that shows me the pinout for these things. It's a 5x5 pins and 10 blades. Anyone have any ideas??

 

[jschlosser0405]

Well, after a bit of trial and error, I got these power supplies figured out. Soldered 2 pins to ground and it it powers right up. Put them together and soldered some bullets on for a 12v tap and a 24v tap. Also just ordered myself an ISDT P30 charger so I should be good to go!

 

[SrC]

The skinny with PSU's is that they will make your DC capable charger much more efficient if the PSU provides a 24v Minimum. Of course depending on the size capacity of your largest lipo packs considered, a 2 channel charger will probably want at least 600 watts of output. More PSU watts, the more $$$, but will future proof your charging requirements. Any Charger worth its salt will run at 24v. and handle 650 watts. My spin. Most smart chargers these days all use the same charging algorithm. Some even the same F/W. The GUI just may appear different.

 

[jschlosser0405]

The skinny with PSU's is that they will make your DC capable charger much more efficient if the PSU provides a 24v Minimum. Of course depending on the size capacity of your largest lipo packs considered, a 2 channel charger will probably want at least 600 watts of output. More PSU watts, the more $$$, but will future proof your charging requirements. Any Charger worth its salt will run at 24v. and handle 650 watts. My spin. Most smart chargers these days all use the same charging algorithm. Some even the same F/W. The GUI just may appear different.

For right now I am going to run these PSU's as is for 24v. I will likely add another down to road to get some more voltage. Just sucks the ISDT P30 I just ordered doesn't run to 36v. If (when) I get into 8s, I will add another set in parallel to gain some wattage. I'm running my Hitec X4 AC Pro off the PSU now at 12v just for a little quicker charge on the 4s and smaller batteries.

 

[Epplers]

i charge my 8s on 24v with p30 with no problems 4s or 8s both take around 20 to 25 min to charge on 5amp.

 

[SrC]

It isn't that you have to provide enough volts to match the lipo packs volts. Just that cleaner sustained watts occurs with 24v minimum. 12v PSU's don't cut it.
I have 2 Ac/Dc D6 Duo Pros. (HobbyMate) One I run on A/C. The Internal PSU runs at 29.4 volts (30v) but only supplies 200 watts (100 per channel if charging 2 packs simultaneously) The second identical charger, runs an external PSU at 23.9v( 24v) But can supply 400watts. Again the charger will split across 2 channels if charging 2 lipos on each CH. I can charge 2 (Gens of ACE) 6S 7k mah packs in under one hour (45min) at 1C from 3.8v/cell). (use 1c always w/any lipo I charge) The charger using its Internal A/C PSU (30v/200watt) cannot come close with almost double the charge time. Despite it having 30v. (6v more) Wattage output needs to be higher according to the capacity of packs charging. An extra 6v does nothing in this case.

HM uses high end 30v power supplies in this model. Its been reviewed as a decent AC/DC charger for this reason. F/W can be flakey at times for some. I never updated the F/W. I don't have any Fan throttling issues, as some have experienced. FWIW. I always prefer the external PSU+charger. My primary go to charger.
My spin.

 

[jschlosser0405]

i charge my 8s on 24v with p30 with no problems 4s or 8s both take around 20 to 25 min to charge on 5amp.

Awesome. I can't wait, charger should be here Wednesday. I'm currently at about an hour to charge a 6s. The kids run 2 packs each (2s,3s,or 7cell nimh) before I have a single pack charged. By then they are ready to move on to something else. For that reason I don't get to run the kraton with them much. Usually run 3 or 4s in my slashpede instead because I can charge those decently quick.