Foxfan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Hi, I would like to get my imax B6 charger going on an old LiPo battery I have and will be getting a new 3S soon. BUT, I bought the imax, like a fool, thinking it was mains powered. I don't have a spare car battery at the moment and wondered if I could use the car battery charger to power the imax. Is that a recipe for trouble? Is it even possible? Battery charging is my nemesis.<G> Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted hughes Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 There is a Imaxb 6 mains transformer for about £10 incl post on Amazon uk. Edited By ted hughes on 26/06/2015 21:01:19 Edited By ted hughes on 26/06/2015 21:01:42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 No a battery charger will not be a good idea. Can't you connect it to your car battery or spend £12 on a 5 Amp power supply **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted hughes Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Posted by WolstonFlyer on 26/06/2015 21:00:16: No a battery charger will not be a good idea. Can't you connect it to your car battery or spend £12 on a 5 Amp power supply **LINK** this is the one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 A LiPo charger needs a steady current supply - If you use a car battery charger you will find your LiPo will only charge to about half power (don't ask how I know ) Maplins sell power supplies or plenty on Fleabay - just make sure its capable of supplying at least 5amps continious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Thanks, gents. I had no idea a mains adaptor was made for the imax B6. I bought mine last year, but have only just got it out of the box! I'm hoping the later ones cured the inaccurate readings I have seen on earlier posts in forums. Soething to do with the resistors not being of the right tolerance percentage. I shall just have to trust them, I suppose as I really don't know a damned thing about battery charging. Most I ever do so far, is charge the NiMhs in my camera and the flight pack in my foamy trainers my son bought for me (brushed motors), but now I am trying a brushless motor with a 3S LiPo and need the special charger. Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Just ordered one on ebay. Many thanks for your help. Now to order the LiPo, prop and adaptor. Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Foxfan, it might be that the problem reports you've seen relate to the many counterfeit Imax B6 chargers that are on the market. Hobbyking openly sells two versions which they helpfully (!) label as "IMAX B6 50W 5A Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells (GENUINE)" at about $26 and "IMAX B6 Charger/Discharger 1-6 Cells (COPY)" for about $16. The imax website gives guidance on how to tell the real thing from the fakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 John, I paid £18 for mine so I assume it was a copy. The complaints all date from older posts (2009), so I can only hope that the problem was dealt with as people have said in another place that they have had no problems. I can only hope I enjoy similar success, despite my complete unfamiliarity with LiPos, charging, etc. If I do get into this electric thing, I will have to get a non copy charger to be sure, I guess. Very early days yet. Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Privett Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 The prices from Hobbyking are in US$. The genuine one from the UK warehouse is $26.44 which works out at around £16.50 plus whatever paypal or your card company add on - but probably no more than about £17. The fake is $15.70 or just under ten quid. So your £18 charger might be a genuine one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 At our club no-one minds you tagging your charger onto their leisure battery - so as long as someone has brought one, you're ok! There are two main types of car battery charger - the simple rectified AC ones and the 'clever' electronic ones. The rectified ones are unsuitable because they have no smoothing capacitor at all - they dont supply DC in the sense that a bench DC power supply or a leisure-battery does. An intelligent charger wont recognise your Imax as a battery so either wont start up or will give up the ghost when it senses that the load its trying to charge isnt a battery. Switch-mode 12v supplies are cheap & plentiful so thats the best option for home charging, but ultimately you'll need a leisure-battery down at the field. Cheers Phil Edited By Phil Green on 27/06/2015 00:02:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks for the info., Phil. Tis what I expected to hear. I have never seen anyone use a leisure battery at the flying field. I think they just bring enough batteries/aircraft with them. Not saying they don't have one in the caravan, but I've never seen anyone fast charging. They're such a friendly bunch, they mix flying with chat to an extent that one charge per 'plane for the electric guys seems to be all they do for the afternoon. The Glow guys will occasionally fill a second tank up though. Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 This one is even cheaper and will power the Imax B6 fine while charging 4s batteries of 3500 Mah at 1c . To charge higher capacity you have to charge at a lower rate . I use this type all the time and its fine . Hope it helps E.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 never bother field charging, I make sure that the planes I take with me use a variety of lipo sizes so I can get two or three flights out of each before I run out of Lipos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 E.D., that's the one I ordered, albeit from a different supplier. I take it nobody has had a problem charging NiMhs with the B6? My chum has TX. and Rx. batteries he needs to charge and doesn't have a NiMh charger, so the least I cn do if I want to see him fly is charge his NiMhs for him. He defiantly states he will never buy a LiPo! He's an engine man Fru'n'fru! Cheers, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfan Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 As mentioned above, my old chum has drawers full of Futaba 35 meg gear, with the chargers they came with. I.E. for Nicads. He now has NiMh batteries and wonders if he can use the older chargers to do his Rx. and Tx. packs. I'm reading that he shouldn't. Would it be OK for him to use the modern wall plug type "4 at a time" chargers? I must admit mine seems to do a good job on my camera batteries, which are all cheapish rechargeable NiMhs sold in packs of four or eight. Thanks, MrTin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brfc7 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kampa-Mains-to-12V-Adaptor/dp/B001W2Y46G I've been using one of these for years to power my ripmax pro peak constellation charger although mine is rated at 6 amps and 72watts. I regularly charge three 2200mah 11.1v lipos in parallel which is just over the amp rating but never had a problem baz Edited By brfc7 on 28/06/2015 07:45:01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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