Joe Beavis Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 My chargers lead a very cossetted life - they have their own boxes, they are kept in a comfortable temperature, seldom called upon to actually charge a battery, and then never at more than 1 C, yet half my charging capacity has given up the ghost. The newer of my two Sigma singles has died, and also one side of my Prophet Sport Duo. Needless to say they are all out of guarantee. Can anyone suggest a charger with say, four channels that might actually last? This hobby must produce more than its share of waste electrical equipment, and I hate to add to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 my 2 sigma chargers live in the garage or shed. On occasion they are drenched in condensation out there and sometimes fall off benches or whatever else and have been trodden on a few times. One also got leaked on by a model so its a bit oily now. As both are 10 years old i can only assume that treating them with total disregard extends their service life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 The trouble with manufacturing today is that the Sales Department tell the designers to build in failure. Either by thin walled casing, poor switches or surface mounted components covered in epoxy. All in the cause of turnover and profit. Check out AVE on YouTube as he takes apart some power tools and it’s amazing that the stuff we buy is designed to fail. He’s done loads of tear downs and tells it how it is. All this rambling doesn’t help your situation though. What I’m tying to say is, if you get a charger , do it on experience of others. Which is what you are asking and that’s great. However, it won’t last as long as it should or you want it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDH Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Overlander RC6-VSR 80W 7A AC/DC Charger Highly recommended. Further details at **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 I tend to use several individual chargers rather than a single multi-output one. I've had two iMax chargers for ages now, and they've been faultless. I've recently added a little ToolkitRC M8, which is an amazing device for the money, but too soon to report on long term reliability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 I have a Radient Duplex charger. Had it for quite a while. No problems. The club secretary has two Radient 4 battery chargers ad swears by them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 Got a couple of Turnigy i.e. Hobbyking chargers - the Accucell 8 for larger batteries. Must have used them regularly for seven or eight years and they continue to work just fine. Largest battery that I charge is 6S 3000mA - no problem. Hard to recall, but I'm sure that I didn't pay much more than sixty quid for the pair. I do look after my gear, I shudder to see how some just chuck their stuff in the back of the car to rattle around or leave radios and chargers either on the ground in damp grass or scorched in full sun until the display goes black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hammond Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 I agree with Trevor ,I use 4 different chargers in case one goes wrong but over many years I have not have failure yet. I may be wrong but I think they all come out of the same factory but have different lables and cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 I just use Imax B6 off of E-Bay . Charge virtually any type of battery we use and lipos up to 6s .Cost around £13 each and last for years . Just had to replace one though after letting the smoke out after shorting it while being distracted !!! . Trouble with the multi channel chargers , if one channel blows then the whole lot is rubbish . The newer versions of the B6 have been improved to 80W from 50W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 My pirate copy B6 has given good service for 6 years. The only issue I had was melting the input plug when trying to charge at 5A. A quick bit of maths soon confirms why. I just hard wired it. I also have a core and a multiplex charger that I bought second hand both have given good service for years. Guess you just had bad luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 "Overlander RC6-VSR 80W 7A AC/DC Charge" Highly not recommended. First one, repaired with a new internal PSU module. The original was complete and utter rubbish, as was the replacement which then also failed, at that point I decided to use a proper branded external laptop supply; the charger quite literally exploded when being connected to the mains later on. Second one, the display went. I gave up on Overlander at that point. Currently using an 80W Imax B6 clone from Ebay, running on the same laptop PSU from the first overlander. Has been working perfectly for some time now. It's main omission is an internal fan - so I do point an external cooling fan at the thing. Also using a Hobbyking Reaktor 300W single charger (another 4 button type) with a Reaktor 350W PSU. Also been working fine for a good while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted September 20, 2019 Share Posted September 20, 2019 Posted by Cuban8 on 19/09/2019 09:09:16: Got a couple of Turnigy i.e. Hobbyking chargers - the Accucell 8 for larger batteries. Must have used them regularly for seven or eight years and they continue to work just fine. Largest battery that I charge is 6S 3000mA - no problem. Hard to recall, but I'm sure that I didn't pay much more than sixty quid for the pair. I do look after my gear, I shudder to see how some just chuck their stuff in the back of the car to rattle around or leave radios and chargers either on the ground in damp grass or scorched in full sun until the display goes black. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Beavis Posted September 20, 2019 Author Share Posted September 20, 2019 Thank you all for your responses, I shall go about my shopping better informed. From your various experiences, it does appear to be a lottery, though. Thanks, Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Personally I have found the Reaktor chargers from HobbyKing to be really excellent. I have several and they several are years old now, always work and seem pretty bullet-proof. I only speak as I find. They have this double charger on offer at the moment. Any interest?Reaktor Charger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flight1 Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Just a thought To th Op's usage of chargers having them in nice little boxes, i hope he takes them out and puts them on a flat surface so they can have cool air flow around easily when used, because if not they will run warmer than they should and hence life is shortedned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad taggart Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Spent a lot of time researching chargers. This one has good reliability and is on special offer. It is a copy of a much more expensive I-charger and has the same software **LINK**. The 350 watt version isn't as good / reliable and doesn't have the same firmware - with IR measurement etc. Being a single charger it is less likely to fail or lead you to junking 2 instead of one. Plus you can add a dedicated power pack for a relatively small sum **LINK**. If you add a Bat Safe box and put a parallel charger in it you have a nice safe convenient unit looking like the attached **LINK**. The above charger can also have a simple £3.50 temperature sensor attached to it (also sold by Hobbyking) which will shut the charger down if the temperature in the Batt-safe box exceeds the set parameter (the default is 50 degrees). Conrad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ovenden Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 I agree that the Reaktor 250w single chargers are excellent. I have 4 of them. I only posted the link to the dual version as the OP was talking of a multi-channel charger. My Reaktor 250w units have been faultless even though they have not been cosseted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted September 21, 2019 Share Posted September 21, 2019 Many chargers I bought at Swap meets for around £5 each, like Imax and the like. One was brand new untested, but for a fiver, with leads worth a punt, and if works perfectly. On charger I noticed today isn't powering up, but is on 12v input, so looks like the mains transformer has given up, though still ok for field use, just prefer the 12v version as why carry round a part you don't need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 My latest charger and love it so far.. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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