Recommend me a battery charger

[olds97_lss]

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for Quad Charger
Any recommendations please?

Also, what do you think about this chargers?
Vevom quad charger
Skyrc quattro
Hitec x4

Thanks in advance

If your charging 2S or 3S, your probably ok, but if your charging 6S, you will likely want more amps/watts on tap.

A 5000mah 6S takes 111Watts/5A to charge at 1C.

 

[northeastflyer]

Can anyone recommend a good powersupply for the ISDT Q8? 20A 500w. I can't find one anywhere. FYI here is the amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0823DGJXS/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3IIVE73ZEKLGH&psc=1

I have 2 4s batts and 2 6s batts. Both 5200mah 50c

 

[slick2500]

Can anyone recommend a good powersupply for the ISDT Q8? 20A 500w. I can't find one anywhere. FYI here is the amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0823DGJXS/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3IIVE73ZEKLGH&psc=1

I have 2 4s batts and 2 6s batts. Both 5200mah 50c

I see ads for these guys on Facebook a lot.
https://www.rlpower.net/ never tried them so I cannot comment on how good they are. I bought one off of eBay that was like $60-70 and it's been fine for 2 years now the one I have is similar to this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/172487313269

And if that is the charger I am thinking of you need a 24v psu to get the full power out of it.

 

[mystrafanx]

For the past 2 years (flying airplanes and recently started with cars as well... due to freaking Covid can't get to the field...), I have been using

Turnigy Accucell S60. Does up to 4S LiPo's and can do other chemistry as well. It can only charge one battery at time (unless you use a charing board), and you can find it on HobbyKing (in the UK, so maybe in the US as well). It is very modest perhaps, but does a great job and does not feel super cheap.

 

[SrC]

I've been using the UP100AC Duo which looks to be very similar to the Dynamite Prophet Duo, I don't know if the Dynamite has it but I like the 'Re-peak' option to top-up my NiMH packs for my son before he heads out. It also uses banana-style charge leads

https://www.amazon.com/GoolRC-UP100AC-Battery-Balance-Discharger/dp/B012FZLJQ6

Re-Peaking is not the best for a NiMH. It developes memory effect (bad). So that feature is a moot buying point. IMHO.

I see ads for these guys on Facebook a lot.
https://www.rlpower.net/ never tried them so I cannot comment on how good they are. I bought one off of eBay that was like $60-70 and it's been fine for 2 years now the one I have is similar to this one https://www.ebay.com/itm/172487313269

And if that is the charger I am thinking of you need a 24v psu to get the full power out of it.

I though the same. 24v PSU may be needed to drive that sucker. Or its lame.

 

[northeastflyer]

I have 400-1200w PSUs around the house from computers. No idea how I would make it work but I imagine I could, eh?

 

[SrC]

I know there are videos on using 2 12v PSU's to make 24v. You need matching spec PSU's to start with. 400-500watts+ is the best. I have a 24v single with 400watts. It is fast dual charging my 2 7000 4s Lipos on my HM D6 Duo Pro. Also my 2 6S 5500mah I can dual charge/balance from 3.8-4.2v in under 45min, 160amps each (320amps total). A charger is only as good as its power supply. Wattage requirements for a PSU is a given for the lipos you plan to charge. 24v makes the charge faster due to efficiency. An under powered PSU wont charge at its C rate. It will charge anyway but labor along slower. There's not enough overhead. Some thoughts.

 

[slick2500]

I have 400-1200w PSUs around the house from computers. No idea how I would make it work but I imagine I could, eh?

Someone posted the directions on here somewhere once, but basically you need to find the main 12v lead that gives out the most amps, I do not remember what lead that is, you will also need to either jump your psu to turn it on or you can buy one of these https://www.google.com/search?q=pc+...0j69i57j0l6.6044j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 and use the on/off switch on the back.

 

[SrC]

Someone posted the directions on here somewhere once, but basically you need to find the main 12v lead that gives out the most amps, I do not remember what lead that is, you will also need to either jump your psu to turn it on or you can buy one of these https://www.google.com/search?q=pc+...0j69i57j0l6.6044j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 and use the on/off switch on the back.

Good point. That's like the first step in building it. On some PC PSU's you need to jump 2 wires together to power on.( green is one if I remember. Because The PC's mainboard is not present to control the PSU any longer. You can put a switch in that circuit if you want once you determine which wires get jumped.

 

[slick2500]

Good point. That's like the first step in building it. On some PC PSU's you need to jump 2 wires together to power on.( green is one if I remember. Because The PC's mainboard is not present to control the PSU any longer. You can put a switch in that circuit if you want once you determine which wires get jumped.

Yeah, those things I posted above are easier than having to find the pins all the time, plus they plug/unplug rather easily.

 

[jondilly1974]

Green wire to ground will turn on an ATX PSU.

 

[olds97_lss]

Re-Peaking is not the best for a NiMH. It developes memory effect (bad).

I was pretty sure that was NiCAD that had the memory issue, NiMH don't have memory issues, or at least not nearly as bad.

 

[vpr5793]

Green wire to ground will turn on an ATX PSU.

Important to note that on most PSUs, the two wires will have to be left connected because the PSU will shut down once they are disconnected.

Charger - I use a Powerlab 6 Touch. Expensive, but awesome. The "Bump" functionality is pretty nice, too. Just tap the tag on the battery to the charger, select mode, kit charge. And if you parallel charge, you can tap two batteries and the charger will know whats up.

 

[jondilly1974]

Important to note that on most PSUs, the two wires will have to be left connected because the PSU will shut down once they are disconnected.

Charger - I use a Powerlab 6 Touch. Expensive, but awesome. The "Bump" functionality is pretty nice, too. Just tap the tag on the battery to the charger, select mode, kit charge. And if you parallel charge, you can tap two batteries and the charger will know whats up.

Yes good point. You will need a ON-OFF maintain switch for this power button.

 

[SrC]

I was pretty sure that was NiCAD that had the memory issue, NiMH don't have memory issues, or at least not nearly as bad.

Sub-C cell Nimpacks are susceptible to memory issues. I have many of them and have built them up years back etc. I have 4 contemporary 6cell packs here for my vintage RC cars. I graduated from Nicads to Nims as the RC industry changed over. Nims should be treated the same as Nicads. The argument was made by early adopters that Nims have less memory issues. Minimal difference not worth a discussion. I saw no difference from a user perspective. Nicads have better punch, but less capacity. That was the only difference I ever noticed. They are both charged the same way with the exception of the Delta cutoff. Nims need a higher Delta charge cut-off to peak and saturate cells. (Delta 7 is the norm but can be adjusted up or down.
Many don't understand what battery memory really is. How poor user charging habits contribute to this. And what happens and the symptoms of the battery when it gets bad memory. Its used as a marketing term to differentiate superior Lipos to old school Nims and Nicads.

 

[jkflow]

@northeastflyer On power supplies, careful when you re-purpose PC supplies. They are typically referenced to GND (chassis) and you simply can't put 2 in series as it will short out the first. There are mods you can make but supplies are sometimes unique and takes a little knowledge to get that right.
I use LED supplies (link) but you might need some tinkering to put them into a case or safe enclosure.
They now add shipping but that will probably go away in a couple month. I have his one and works well up to spec.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0786LMNR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Pending your charger, you want to go as high in voltage as the charger will accept, keeping the current down.
I placed mine in a case, added a fan and meter and it's been running at full load for several hours without issues. At $30 that is hard to beat, with case etc ~ $60.

 

[olds97_lss]

Sub-C cell Nimpacks are susceptible to memory issues. I have many of them and have built them up years back etc. I have 4 contemporary 6cell packs here for my vintage RC cars. I graduated from Nicads to Nims as the RC industry changed over. Nims should be treated the same as Nicads. The argument was made by early adopters that Nims have less memory issues. Minimal difference not worth a discussion. I saw no difference from a user perspective. Nicads have better punch, but less capacity. That was the only difference I ever noticed. They are both charged the same way with the exception of the Delta cutoff. Nims need a higher Delta charge cut-off to peak and saturate cells. (Delta 7 is the norm but can be adjusted up or down.
Many don't understand what battery memory really is. How poor user charging habits contribute to this. And what happens and the symptoms of the battery when it gets bad memory. Its used as a marketing term to differentiate superior Lipos to old school Nims and Nicads.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that. I always deep discharged/full charged my NiMH packs in the spring a couple times out of habit.
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/memory_myth_or_fact

 

[SrC]

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that. I always deep discharged/full charged my NiMH packs in the spring a couple times out of habit.
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/archive/memory_myth_or_fact

Absolutely keep doing that. They will last longer than if you neglect them. Deep discharge should not be lower than .9v technically. Fall below .9 and you risk losing a cell very easily!! But 1.v is safe considering variations with volt measuring. If you don't discharge before charging again, thats where the battery is being trained to drop on v. where it was last discharged to. If you recharge and it was still at1.1 for instance, then the battery(NiCad/Nim) will dump close to where it was last discharged to. Memory. That's also why re-peaking is training a bad memory also. It takes at least 3+ full discharge and recharge cycles to remove most if not all the bad memory. Sometimes its not reversible. A cell or 2 may not reverse. The pack becomes unbalanced. Those cells will dump faster than the rest. Then you have a bricked pack. You may get half the normal runtime you had with little punch. A sign.
A high amp discharge and recharge yields more punch and less runtime. A slower rate discharge/recharge will yield longer runs and less punch. You can train a Nicad/Nim. You are training its memory. Lipos are very different in this regard. Chemistry is predeternmined and limits training the cells to the most extent. But track guys do like to heat up their Lipos by discharging as high as 40 amps and recharging at 2C+ and higher at the expense of durability. (higher voltage results) This is the only legal way to ramp the Lipos voltage legally in sanctioned racing. These are the fast drivers with $battery$ sponsors.

 

[SrC]

Well, my Prophet Sport Duo has died, so I find myself charger shopping again.

Previously, I had said I was looking at the Reaktor 2x300w 20a DC only charger from Hobbyking, and the
UP120AC Duo Dual 2 Port from Amazon. These two chargers are still on my list, but I am expanding my search a bit before I spend my $$$...

I am also looking at maybe getting 2 single channel chargers. Cost wise, it will be similar to a two port charger. Note - these are DC only, you will need a 12v PSU.

Turnigy Reaktor 250W 10A 1-6S Balance Charger I read this a rebrand of the popular iCharger, and has a very good reputation. It is also sold under a few different brands, like the Banggood.com Charsoon. This is an intresting charger to me because although it is 'only' 10 amps, it can handle 250W - What this means for us, is that it can push that 10 amps regardless of whether you are charging a small 2s pack, or a big 6s pack. At $50 for the Turnigy branded version, this seems like a great deal for a charger than can handle almost any battery you throw at it.

Turnigy Accucel-6 80W 10A Balancer/Charger LiHV Capable - Another Hobbyking charger that I have come across in my research - this one is cheaper $30, and still 10A, but only 80W. So you will still be able to charge your 4s, 5000mah pack at 1c, but anything bigger, and charge times will get long.





So those chargers I mentioned are DC only. And what is the point of trying to save a few bucks on a DC only, of you have to shell out a bunch of money for a 12v Power Supply Unit (PSU)?

I bet most of us have an old, outdated, or dead PC taking up space in our garage or elsewhere. The good news, you can pull the power supply, and easily 'convert' it for powering a hobby charger. For these pics, I am looking at a smallish, 300w PSU. (Forgive me, but I missed some pics at the start of this...)

In a nutshell, when you pull the PSU from a PC, you will have a small box, with a ton of colored wires, going to a dozen different sized plugs. Don't get overwhelmed, we will be removing most of those wires.

First, inspect it. There should be a label similar to this:
View attachment 7511

This is the Faceplate, and it shows all the info about the different voltages available, and how many amps are on each bus. For this PSU, there are 2 +12v bus's. We don't care about the rest. You might do some quick math to make sure your PSU has enough watts for your application. Remember Volts * Amps = Watts. So 12V*8a=96W, on bus +12v1. Not a lot. Bus +12V2 has 174w output. remember we cannot combine these bus's. We can use them to power two different chargers at the same time, though. Assuming the chargers can keep up, bus +12v1 can handle up to a 4s 5000mah at 1c, and bus +12v2 can power a charger pushing 2c to that same battery.

Ok, math over for now. Look at the mess of wires. Note that most all of them are yellow, black, or orange, with a few other colors scattered in the mix. Each color represents a different bus/voltage inside the PSU. All the yellow is +12v, connect to the same solder point inside the case. Same with all the black (Common/Ground), and all the orange(+5v).

Find the green wire. It will go to the big 20-pin plug. Note the position, and find a black wire on a pin near it. Get a paper-clip (or similar small bendy wire) and jumper between the green pin and a black pin. Now plug in the PSU. Did the fan come on? If yes, Great! Pull the jumper. Did the fan stop? Great! the green wire is the on/off switch for most PSU's. If you have a multimeter, set it to 0-20vdc, plug the jumper back in between green and black (this should turn the PSU back on). Now use the multimeter to measure between any black (common) and any yellow (should be +12v) If you got +12v, we are ready of move on. Feel free to check the voltage of some of the other colors. also, look for a square 4-pin plug by itself - it will have 2 yellow and 2 black. If your PSU has 2 +12v bus, these two yellow will most likely be the second bus. The yellow wires may be yellow with a stripe - mine were yellow/black.

Unplug the charger, and give it 1-24 hours to "rest" to self-discharge all the capacitors inside. You can leave the green wire jumpered during this process to help it bleed off the power...

Now the fun part.

Cut off all the plugs, but leave the wires long. Sort all the wires by color, and bundle them together. Open the case, and enjoy cutting that "Warranty void if Damaged" sticker. If needed to get good access to the buses, unscrew the main PSU board from the internal case. Once you get it open, sort out the wires again, and it is time to start cutting -

Clip most of the wires off - leave all the yellow and black for now. Also leave the green wire long.
View attachment 7512

sort out 5 black wires, and clip the rest off. Check out the yellow buses - if there is 2 (like on mine) save the two yellow/black from +12v2 and 2 wires from +12v1. Clip the extra yellow wires. Once I was done clipping wires, I coated the ends with liquid electrical tape. Put the case back together, and I added wire wrap to tidy up the bundles.

View attachment 7513


Tie the green wire to one of the black wires. You could put an on/off switch here, as the green wire tells the PSU to power on.

Divide the 4 black into 2 groups, and match them up with the two groups of yellow wires - 2 yellow and 2 black in each group. Add connectors on the yellow/black pairs and heat shrink if needed. done!


FYI, I used a pair of wires for each power lead, because the 14a this PSU can supply is more than one single 18g wire should take, safely. A pair of 18g is safe, though.


That is all there is to converting the PC power supply to power a hobby charger. Really, though, if you did not want to open the case, you could clip all the extra wires an inch or three outside the case, and tape them all together. Also, if you want to get fancy, you could drill the case to mount bullet connectors on the case - then you would have a clean box with no exposed wires. All depends on how much work you want to do.

Nice work.

 

[ho lee chit]

Say I wanted to charge a car battery, would that work on the pb setting or nimh?

Just curious