First model in 45 years

[stephen james 1]

I am coming to the part of building a piper cub when I need to think of electrics. The battery I will be using is a ppl-40c35-3300. The array of chargers available is to much for my brain. Some recommendations would be appreciated.many thanks

[Geoff S]

Welcome to the forum, Stephen.

I think your battery is actually a 40c 3S 3300. The 3S denotes 3 batteries in series to give a nominal voltage of 3x3.7 = 11.1 volts. 3S batteries are a popular size for lots of electric models of small to medium size.

Any relatively inexpensive charger designed for LiPo batteries will be fine. It's best to get one with a display rather than rely on an automatic one because then you'll have a feel for how much you've used each time you recharge. Charging at 1C (which means a full charge from full discharge in 1 hour) In your case you have a 3300 mAH battery (ie 3,3 amp Hour) so charge at 3.3 amps if the setting is adjustable. Look out for one that will also charge your transmitter battery. Also get a battery checker so you know how much you've used after each flight and try to leave at least 15% (preferably a bit more) because that's better for battery life.

As I fly almost exclusively electric models I've 'invested' in some expensive chargers but when I set out I used cheaper ones. I'm not up to date on what's available now because I'm not in the market for a new charger but a look at ( say) the Hobbyking web site will show what's available. Most (all, probably) will be bomb proof.

Geoff

[Stephen Belshaw]

Stephen, I recently found myself in the same boat having also returned to modelling after a long lay off.

I bought this charger: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6ac-v2-professional-balance-charger-discharger-uk-plug.html

I have found it very straightforward to use and much better quality than the price suggests.

[Piers Bowlan]

I agree Stephen, the range of chargers available is quite baffling. However sticking to a well known brand is a good start. Question is, which is a good brand? I believe the Sky RC B6 charger is quite popular, although I don't have any personal experience of it. It seems to have quite a few safety features, just looking at the specification and looks good value too as it is on sale at present but probably for not much longer. It is also in stock in the UK warehouse (they have an EU warehouse and of course the 'Global' one where they are based in Hong Kong). One of the benefits with this charger is that you can plug it into the mains as well as connecting it to your car battery for field charging, if that is what what you want to do. If you plan to do a lot of field charging it is recommended to buy a leisure battery or you may have trouble starting your car for the drive home! There are cheaper (and much more pricy) chargers out there but you generally get what you pay for.

I see you beat me to it Stephen, great minds think alike!

Edited By Piers Bowlan on 28/11/2018 13:11:45

[Dave Hess]

I tecommend that you look for a charger that charges through the balance leads. They balance better and quicker, and it's so much more convenient with only one connector. There are loads to choose from.

[stephen james 1]

Thanks for your remarks I,ll be ordering one soon. Which one I have yet to decide but your input has helped me thin the list down to several possible instead of dozens. No doubt, I'll have one or two wiring questions, until then ..

[Stearman65]

Posted by Piers Bowlan on 28/11/2018 13:08:50:

I believe the Sky RC B6 charger is quite popular, although I don't have any personal experience of it. It seems to have quite a few safety features, just looking at the specification and looks good value too as it is on sale at present but probably for not much longer.

Just took delivery of a SKY E660 AC/DC 60W charger this morning to replace a different maker which blew up when first powered up. Unpacked & plugged this one in & all appears well. More pictures in my odds & sods album. Got mine from Wireless Madness in Preston.

Edited By Stearman65 on 28/11/2018 14:53:03

[conrad taggart]

Very confusing - some of the chargers make outlandish claims in terms of watts delivered, but in reality this is very rarely delivered as it relies on the power supply being capable of producing the highest amps and volts the charger can use which is rarely the case - even where the charger has an in-built power supply !

I bought the Hobbyking version of this charger because of the its features (particularly the IR (internal resistance) measurement facility at an overall and individual cell level) as this helps you determine when a battery is becoming dangerous or is on the way out.

**LINK**

Sadly Hobbyking has now removed a lot of the useful functionality, hence the various complaints in the reviews

**LINK**

A good , ideal matched power source would be

**LINK**

or

**LINK**

This has more output than the required input amps for the charger 23 versus 20 and as it produces 15.5 volts output it can enable the charger to deliver 86% of its claimed 300watts output (claimed output at 18v.) See extract from spec below

Maximum Charge Capacity

300W@input voltage>18V

It is not unusual to see chargers delivering less than 50% of the claimed charge capacity so be warned. I can generally charge 4 3 s batteries up in the space of an hour or so using the above combination.

Although the following smaller charger claims not to have IR and a foam cutter facility a friend of mine ordered one from HK a few months ago and it came with those functions. I think other people have had the same experience - see reviews and forums

**LINK**

Conrad