Recommend me a battery charger

[KnowAir]

It's awesome, quit BS.. way better than a Hota or idst.. imo anyway!! I will never buy another one!!

Sorry bro, just my opinion ✌ it charges just fine, not my go to however.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Do you use it to discharge or storage charge batteries?

If less than 3.75v per cell, I would "storage up" as per good practice. Every now and then if cells were >3.9v per cell I would "storage down" to 3.8v per cell. Bought a bd250 discharger some time back and have been using that since.

What's the symptom?
The Hota has 2 independent channels, i.e. it will work fine on the other until it doesn't.
I assume you have done the reset and self test, it's part of the system menu.

I have 2 running and no issues. Hota probably builds all the other chargers, i.e. there won't be a difference in build quality. I'd buy them again.

Symptoms here:
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/hota-d6-on-its-way-out.64194/
And also before I knew it was a charger issue, documented further symptoms here:
https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/bad-lipo-cell-but-ir-is-okay.63794/

TL;DR, the voltage wouldn't consistently hold. Every so often it "loses" accurate cell voltage. That's the best way I can describe it. Mid way through charging the voltage would start to wander from cell to cell.

I thought I was having issues with both channels, so I may need to experiment more with the remaining channel before I completely trust it.

 

[ho lee chit]

I really like my imars d300, grens ace makes some good batteries. I hope this charger is just as good

 

[Tigershark1956]

I have a Hota D6+ and I have had no issues with mine. I've had it about 2 1/2 to 3 years. Does my two 6S no problem. Storage charges just fine. You may have just gotten a bad one. I have a Venom Pro2 that I like but it's not as good as the Hota as well as old MRC Super Brain that really has seen better days and will not charge LiPos. I would think the Hota would be worth another look..

 

[SrC]

That's a tough call. How long have you had the D6? I thought about a DC charger but, really doesn't make sense for me. I don't need that much power. Gens seems a reputable brand. Maybe give it a go?

I did love the 2 D6 Duos I had. When they worked they are great. Known to have the best Brand/ quality Internal Power supply. Just that the scroll wheel craps out , so it's hard to navigate the menu after a year of use, Both of mine. I recently replaced the first one with an ISDT K2 Air. Flawless. No failing scroll button to deal with. I use a 400w/24volt separate PSU, FWIW.

>>>The D6 Duo is already "outdated" as chargers go, compared to the ISDT K2 Air. IMHO. One channel on my D6 also crapped out. Its a single channel charger now. For me, the new flavor of the month is my K2 Air.

Edited.

 

[KnowAir]

I did love the 2 D6 Duos I had. When they worked they are great. Known to have the best Brand/ quality Internal Power supply. Just that the scroll wheel craps out , so it's hard to navigate the menu after a year of use, Both of mine. I recently replaced the first one with an ISDT K2 Air. Flawless. No failing scroll button to deal with. I use a 400w/24volt separate PSU, FWIW.

>>>The D6 Duo is already "outdated" as chargers go, compared to the ISDT K2 Air. IMHO. One channel on my D6 also crapped out. Its a single channel charger now. For me, the new flavor of the month is my K2 Air.

Edited.

I wonder if some contact cleaner would've helped the thumb wheel? I admit, the thumb wheel is my least favorite part of the S6. Seems Hota really likes the thumb wheel.. it's better (to use) than the touch wheel on the Spektrum S2100 IMO. Honestly, if a $150 dollar charger gives 3 years worth of service, I think that's reasonable. BTW, aren't Spektrum's "smart" chargers made by ISDT? Seems I've heard that.. anyway, buy what ya like I say
@SrC So I did just have a gander at the ISDT K2 air, definitely looks just like the Spektrum stuff. I don't have a D6 nor have I owned one, what do you mean by outdated? They don't charge Lipo batteries anymore? I've never been one to get sucked into the test tube for the latest tech anyway..

 

[slick2500]

I wonder if some contact cleaner would've helped the thumb wheel? I admit, the thumb wheel is my least favorite part of the S6. Seems Hota really likes the thumb wheel.. it's better (to use) than the touch wheel on the Spektrum S2100 IMO. Honestly, if a $150 dollar charger gives 3 years worth of service, I think that's reasonable. BTW, aren't Spektrum's "smart" chargers made by ISDT? Seems I've heard that.. anyway, buy what ya like I say
@SrC So I did just have a gander at the ISDT K2 air, definitely looks just like the Spektrum stuff. I don't have a D6 nor have I owned one, what do you mean by outdated? They don't charge Lipo batteries anymore? I've never been one to get sucked into the test tube for the latest tech anyway..

The tech in the charger is ISDT but they aren't made by ISDT. It's like the difference between a Skyrc and a Hitec.

 

[KnowAir]

The tech in the charger is ISDT but they aren't made by ISDT. It's like the difference between a Skyrc and a Hitec.

I didn't know there was a correlation between Skyrc and Hitec.. TBH, I didn't know Hitec was even still in business, LOL.
Must be race level? Which explains why I don't know. I stick to the budget stuff.
The K2 air looks and sounds pretty good for the money. If my S6 takes a dump, I may give it a shot. I admit it was the power, price and reviews that influenced my decision on the S6.. it is double the output of the K2 on ac, that matters when charging 2x6s. Otherwise not so much.

 

[SrC]

I say the D6 duo is outdated, once I started using the K2 Air menus. It is more stream lined. And creates a list of the most common charge rates you have used in the past based on the various packs you've been charging. for instance it sees a 6s pack and defaults to the last charge rate you charged a 6s pack. Same with 4s and so on. Same if just storage charging.
The D6 duo scroll wheel cannot be fixed. I disassembled one and no contact spray made it work any better. The scroll wheel is its main drawback. It's no longer a great charger years later. Better options out there now. ISDT is not garbage as some say. Do more research on the brand. They have their own R and D department. They are not a relable brand. They did create the Smart Battgo tech. But Spektrum/HH bought it for their own chargers. Don't let the similar screen of the Spektrum to ISDT fool you. That screen and menu is found on many other chargers. The F/W is different.
With my K2 Air, I can charge 2 6k mah 6s bricks from 3.8v per cell to full charge within 30 to 40 min. At a 1c rate. That's about as good as it gets. Both channels provide 6amps steadily until it goes to balance mode near the end of the cycle. A great charger IMHO. Or one of the top ones out there. Want more power, just add a PSU.
I am sure there are other decent chargers out there. It seems that $150. ish is about right for a good midrange priced dual charger.

 

[slick2500]

I didn't know there was a correlation between Skyrc and Hitec.. TBH, I didn't know Hitec was even still in business, LOL.

Skyrc makes the tech that most chargers use. Hitec, Dynamite, Venom, ect they all use tech made by Skyrc. That is why so many chargers all have the same basic setup.

All the chargers that use this setup and layout are Skyrc tech but made by various manufacturers.

Yes Hitec is very much still in business but they cater more to the racing crowd. They make chargers and servos, they recently discontinued their radio systems.

I say the D6 duo is outdated, once I started using the K2 Air menus. It is more stream lined. And creates a list of the most common charge rates you have used in the past based on the various packs you've been charging. for instance it sees a 6s pack and defaults to the last charge rate you charged a 6s pack. Same with 4s and so on. Same if just storage charging.
The D6 duo scroll wheel cannot be fixed. I disassembled one and no contact spray made it work any better. The scroll wheel is its main drawback. It's no longer a great charger years later. Better options out there now. ISDT is not garbage as some say. Do more research on the brand. They have their own R and D department. They are not a relable brand. They did create the Smart Battgo tech. But Spektrum/HH bought it for their own chargers. Don't let the similar screen of the Spektrum to ISDT fool you. That screen and menu is found on many other chargers. The F/W is different.
With my K2 Air, I can charge 2 6k mah 6s bricks from 3.8v per cell to full charge within 30 to 40 min. At a 1c rate. That's about as good as it gets. Both channels provide 6amps steadily until it goes to balance mode near the end of the cycle.

I have a love hate relationship with my ISDT Q6 Nano. It took me forever to get a hang of the button.

 

[SrC]

K2 Air is a simple push button for navigation.
The 2 line display chargers appear old in retrospect. Smart screen displays are where it is at. I pass on the 2 line display chargers these days. Old tech. My very old SkyRC B6ac charger does still perform however. A light duty charger for my small packs in a pinch. But it is very basic, compared to current chargers.

 

[slick2500]

K2 Air is a simple push button for navigation.
The 2 line display chargers appear old in retrospect. Smart screen displays are where it is at. I pass on the 2 line display chargers these days. Old tech. My very old SkyRC B6ac charger does still perform however. A light duty charger for my small packs in a pinch. But it is very basic, compared to current chargers.

Yeah that's the only downside of my Hitec X2 400. It's the same tech as the b6 but with 800w of charging power on 18v, it's been trucking along on 12v since 2017 though still haven't maxed it out.

 

[KnowAir]

Good info guys. Thanks. FWIW, I never said ISDT was junk, nor the Spektrum chargers.
My S6 has been set at 5a charge rate since day one, holds it too. No need to change anything regardless of what cell count I plug in, 5a and good to go. Same for storage, defaults to the 5a I set it to. The Spektrum S2100 does the same..

 

[slick2500]

Good info guys. Thanks. FWIW, I never said ISDT was junk, nor the Spektrum chargers.
My S6 has been set at 5a charge rate since day one, holds it too. No need to change anything regardless of what cell count I plug in, 5a and good to go. Same for storage, defaults to the 5a I set it to. The Spektrum S2100 does the same..

My Hitec is just whatever I had it set to last

 

[Hector_Fisher]

Okay so I ordered an Ovonic X1 charger yesterday afternoon, arrived at 4:30 this morning on my door step

The price was hard to resist at $92. 100w per channel is just fine for me right now, and suspect I'll use this as my "traveling charger" for heading the beach, etc anyway. It's compact as well, so that helps. Later on I may invest in a Hota S6 or Imars.

The Ovonic menu system looks almost exactly like that of the Imars D300. Which looks almost exactly like that of my Hota D6+. Now it doesn't surprise me anymore that they are all made my Hota deep down.

Ran a few tests. Voltage seems to be pretty spot on, can't complain about about basically a 0.002v variance.

But IR during charging is showing different between the two. I know IR for these chargers is an approximation, but which of these would you believe? (NOTE the cell order is reversed between these two chargers) these were tested on the same 4s CNHL racing pack, 5 minutes apart.

 

[jkflow]

Welcome to the world of manufacturers customizing their hw to the company that orders, but underneath it's all identical. Main difference is mainly packaging and marketing.

About as good as the world of lipos, call them Hoovoo, Zeee, Yoowoo, looloo, blabla and yet they are all the rejects or 'meeting minimum' standard from Grepow (Spammer ace). They have a top-notch factory and filter based on performance, they just sell to those no name brands and let them apply a sticker.

Nothing wrong with it, but just need to be smart and don't pay premium for a sticker.

 

[KnowAir]

Okay so I ordered an Ovonic X1 charger yesterday afternoon, arrived at 4:30 this morning on my door step

The price was hard to resist at $92. 100w per channel is just fine for me right now, and suspect I'll use this as my "traveling charger" for heading the beach, etc anyway. It's compact as well, so that helps. Later on I may invest in a Hota S6 or Imars.

The Ovonic menu system looks almost exactly like that of the Imars D300. Which looks almost exactly like that of my Hota D6+. Now it doesn't surprise me anymore that they are all made my Hota deep down.

Ran a few tests. Voltage seems to be pretty spot on, can't complain about about basically a 0.002v variance.
View attachment 315286
But IR during charging is showing different between the two. I know IR for these chargers is an approximation, but which of these would you believe? (NOTE the cell order is reversed between these two chargers) these were tested on the same 4s CNHL racing pack, 5 minutes apart.
View attachment 315287

I say believe whichever helps put ur mind at ease,LOL. My packs tend to be all over from cell to cell with ir.. no matter to me. I know when a battery is out of whack by the temperature after use and false lvc triggers in the esc. In other words, I gave up on watching ir readings..buy cheap, have fun, rinse, repeat.

 

[e8946]

OK, I've been reading the thread but as a newb I could use some help

Have a Senton brushed and looking to move it up to LiPo. Also thinking if I get LiPo and charger then I can stop resisting purchasing one of the on sale Vendettas and I'd just need to get some 3s batteries for it. Any good chargers on sale at the under $150 range (preferably closer to $100)? Seems a few of the ones recently noted as on sale are either no longer on sale or just sold out. Thanks in advance!

 

[Hector_Fisher]

OK, I've been reading the thread but as a newb I could use some help

Have a Senton brushed and looking to move it up to LiPo. Also thinking if I get LiPo and charger then I can stop resisting purchasing one of the on sale Vendettas and I'd just need to get some 3s batteries for it. Any good chargers on sale at the under $150 range (preferably closer to $100)? Seems a few of the ones recently noted as on sale are either no longer on sale or just sold out. Thanks in advance!

The ovonic x1 is still listed at $92.
https://a.co/d/bOb5PSG

Don't know what the actual "regular price" is, but @ $92 it's a pretty good charger for the money and should take care of all your needs now and with future growth in the hobby (if that's the direction you go).

 

[Mr9Mojave]

Don't skimp on a charger, i did a couple of times and they both ended up ruining batteries.

I got myself a SkyRC charger and it's lasted me for around 5 years now and has been brilliant.

I remember the first charger i bought it would over heat and the LCD screen would turn red.