What charger do you use?

[Robert Cracknell]

Sheepish

 

I have a Mainlink Delta 4 - 2000 in good condition currently redundant. Its yours for the cost of carriage if you are interested.

 

PM me if you are interested.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Robert Cracknell
Spelling

[Doctor Chinnery]

You’ve got it right Birdy!  

[Phil McCavity]

Nobody has mentioned the ISDT chargers? They seem well specced, reasonably priced and recommended by popular YouTubers and other forums.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Phil McCavity
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[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi all

Ask the same question myself.

I have a small 4 button GT Power and an Accucell8 from HK. Both are working fine, but very much old technology, so in need of an update.

Looking at products from either ISDT or Toolkit.

I look at reviews on Youtube, but they mostly seem to be someone telling what the buttons do. I would like a review to say something about the unit accuracy, its lasting qualities and whether any issues were found.

Ones I am looking at are the ISDT Q6Pro or the Toolkit M6D. Anyone with real world experience of these, can you advise?

Notice ISDT now doing the Q8Max as well. Not much more that the Q6, but higher charge current, will do 8s and 'whoohoo', touch screen.

Decisions, decisions

Jeff

[Dickw]

I have an i-Charger 1010 and a Chargery 50010 because I need a 10s charger, but I also have an ISDT I use for a lot of smaller stuff up to 6s.

Both the i-Charger and Chargery are very good and have proved reliable over several years, but I am very impressed with the ISDT and just wished they did a 10s charger.

 

Dick

[Capt Kremen]

Touch wood, no issues with 'Toolkit M8S' charger to date.

Does everything I need up to 6S LiPo, charging & storage discharge Li Ion as well as LiPo, no NiMH though if that's an issue for you.

I do charge at conservative rates at home using a mains PSU.

Have used lots of other chargers too e.g. Schulze, iMax B6, iCharger306B, the little 'Toolkit M8S' box seems just as adequate and consistent when comparing using model spec meters to cross check all results/individual cells.

Balance across cells seems pretty good when comparing with other chargers too.

[leccyflyer]

In the workshop I have a Reaktor 300w, plus a Graupner Ultramat 14 for lipos, both mounted atop of HK Batsafes, 

For Nimhs I use my Graupner Duo Plus 30, which is left set up for quick charging NiMh receiver packs. Also, on the shelf is a Robbe Lader Plus for slow charging gliders with Nimh rx packs.

At the field another Reaktor 300w for 2-6 cells - my main charger - and an iCharger 206B, which is used purely for 3s1p packs, 

[John Lee]

3 hours ago, Jeffrey Cottrell 2 said:

 

Ones I am looking at are the ISDT Q6Pro or the Toolkit M6D. Anyone with real world experience of these, can you advise?

Notice ISDT now doing the Q8Max as well. Not much more that the Q6, but higher charge current, will do 8s and 'whoohoo', touch screen.

Decisions, decisions

Jeff

 

I have had an ISDT D2 since 2017 which has been faultless.

 

On the strength of this I supplemented it with an ISDT Q6 Pro for larger batteries and parallel charging which worked very well for a couple of years until the scroll wheel switch started acting erratically. Some switch cleaner and fettling gave it another couple of months life before it again became unserviceable. I replaced it last October with a Q8 that has the touch screen and so far so good. I average about 20 flights a week, so 1000 charges a year from small 2S to 6S 5000MAh.

 

I do like the ISDT's accuracy of charge and the way it seems to work hard at balancing. When the Q6 pro failed I initially replaced it with a SkyRC B6 but was disappointed with the charging accuracy, with some (not all) cells approaching 4.3v at the end of the charge. 

[SIMON CRAGG]

On 06/12/2020 at 22:03, Richard Wills 2 said:

Most of my models now use life rx packs and they are better in every single way. Nimh's are old technology now, they do the job, but have had their day IMO.

100% agreed. Test flew my new 65" Chipmunk yesterday. 1100mah Life pack powering the RX, 4000 5s Lipo motor only. Used the grand total of 144ma after two 7 minute flights. Suitably pleased!.

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi John and thanks.

That's the sort of real world information I was looking for. Did hear on the forums about scroll wheel issues with the Q6, but never know if this was a one-off or a design flaw.

Anyway, looks like the Q8 is the way to go. Did notice they are also doing a Q8 Max which boasts 1000w and max 30a charge current. Certainly won't need that sort of capacity, but nice to know anyway.

Cheers

Jeff

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

9 minutes ago, SIMON CRAGG said:

100% agreed. Test flew my new 65" Chipmunk yesterday. 1100mah Life pack powering the RX, 4000 5s Lipo motor only. Used the grand total of 144ma after two 7 minute flights. Suitably pleased!.

Hi Simon

Not sure quite what this post is doing in a thread about chargers, but hey, ho.

Anyway, another saying LiFe is better than NiMh, but why?

Won't accept because it's newer technology. After all, I'm old technology, and still here.

Need a definite reason for LiFe superiority, apart from fashion.

Jeff

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Capt. Kremen

Had a quick look at the specs for the M8S and it certainly does appear to charge NiMh. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Jeff

[Capt Kremen]

Mmm ... perhaps I had a brain fade ... don't use NiMH much/if at all, just on the bench powering a test set-up.

Maybe I misdialled the 'Toolkit' when looking to charge a NiMH.

(I have other chargers which do NiMH so no big issue for me anyway)

Will have another look.

Thanks for heads up.

Enjoy your new charger.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

7 hours ago, Jeffrey Cottrell 2 said:

Hi Simon

Not sure quite what this post is doing in a thread about chargers, but hey, ho.

Anyway, another saying LiFe is better than NiMh, but why?

Won't accept because it's newer technology. After all, I'm old technology, and still here.

Need a definite reason for LiFe superiority, apart from fashion.

Jeff

Pros:

Reliability, higher capacity/weight, longer service life, faster charging. 
 

Cons:

Faster voltage drop at end of discharge, voltage a bit high for some servos. 

 

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi Martin

Thanks for that. At last a reasoned argument in favor of LiFe. Wouldn't necessarily value some of the Pro's, but overall, compelling.

One thing that struck a chord.

In the Con's you had voltage a bit high for some servos. This worried me too. Couldn't find max voltage for my servos, or any others for that matter.

Seems to me that a 5 cell NiMh fully charged would have a voltage well above nominal as well, and be as much of an issue with some servos.

Cheers

Jeff

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Many JR servos for example specify no more than 4 cell (or 4.8V) NiXX pack operation. I know many people have used them on 5 cell packs but there must be a reason. I put an in line silicon diode (5 or 7A) when using LiFe packs with servos rated for 6V operation which takes around 0.6V off the pack voltage with only a small additional fault potential. 

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi Martin

That sounds like a good idea. Timely too, just about to solder up the main supply plugs.

So, where do you get your diodes from?

Smaller current ones freely available, but I can't find 5a, let alone 7a.

Thanks

Jeff

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi Guys, couple of things.

Martin

Strange how you can spend hours on the internet trying to track down a particular item. Other times you can go straight to it.

So, looking for those diodes you suggested.

Spent most of Thursday in a fruitless search, ending up in a welter of data sheets, and with an aching head.

Friday, tried again and took me straight to Switch Electronics, here.

Not here yet, but looks perfect. Data sheet says forward voltage drop of 0.9v, ideal.

More to follow.

Second, my Q8 charger arrived today. Ordered on Friday, just before cut-off time, so to arrive this morning, pretty good.

Well done, HobbyRC

Initial thoughts

It's tiny. Expected a much bigger unit. Everything seems to be working fine, although the front face does get a little warm during charging. Not enough to be uncomfortable, and probably due to the overall size. No biggy.

I have a couple of mains psu's but also a stack of 4s 5000Mah hardcase packs left over from my heli days. Even though I have those on storage charge, they powered the Q8 quite happily, on a couple of trials.

Don't normally field charge, but if I did, that would make an eminently portable set-up.

At end of charge, and backed up by cell checker, cells seem much better balanced that on my GT charger. That's what I was hoping for.

Also easy to get figures for IR. Numbers for the LiFe pack seemed a lot higher than those for a LiPo pack, but this could be characteristic of the cell chemistry.

Only thing I've found so far is that at the end of the charge, the unit does not retain the Ma put in. When testing a new install, I fly for a set time then see how much the charger puts back in, which gives me an average current.

Gives me a good idea how much headroom I have.

Might be able to change this, more research needed.

Other than that, on initial tests, very impressed.

Jeff

 

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

On 05/08/2021 at 15:18, John Lee said:

 I replaced it last October with a Q8 that has the touch screen and so far so good. I average about 20 flights a week, so 1000 charges a year from small 2S to 6S 5000MAh.

 

 

Hi John

When using the Q8, did you find the screen getting warm? Not hot enough to be a worry, but I'd like to know if this is normal

Thanks

Jeff

[John Lee]

I'd never noticed it Jeffrey but you having raised the subject I've just checked. Charging 3S at 8.8amps (4x2200MAh in parallel) the fan clicked in after 4mins & the internal temperature stabilised at about 38 degrees - shown on the system info screen, with the ambient temperature 22 degrees. My IR thermometer indicates that the screen is within a degree or two of that.

 

4 hours ago, Jeffrey Cottrell 2 said:

Only thing I've found so far is that at the end of the charge, the unit does not retain the Ma put in.

 

Mine does until you press the middle key of the touch board to terminate the charge cycle. Here it is at the completion of a charge ("Done") showing 4764mAh put in:

 

[conrad taggart]

I use a  ISDT 8 https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/isdt-t8-1000w-dc-charger ; am ISDT q8 https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/isdt-q8-500w-dc-charger ; two ISDT nano 6's https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/isdt-q6-nano-200w-dc-charger.  I also have  Hota D 6 Pro which is identical to this https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-reaktor-d6-pro-duo-ac-dc-6s-balance-charger-discharger-w-smartphone-wireless-charging-dc325w-x-2-uk-plug.html?queryID=ce1057f7f23127e042f840cd23b37406&objectID=80914&indexName=hbk_live_products_analytics

 

Why so many chargers - simply because i hate waiting and don't like to parallel charge.  If i had to pick only one it would be the Hota 6 pro which has its own power supply, two channels so you can charge separately, a USB port which enables me to charge my radio at the same time, a wireless charger for the phone plus it can be used as a field charger.  The navigation/ screen  is very good (better than the  ISDTs) and it has a fairly high capacity / performance figs .

 

If i was looking to charge a large number of batteries  at the same time I would simply get a whole load of ISDT nano 6's  and drive them of 1 or 2 large power supplies which have multiple outputs.    it would be more flexible, cheaper and safer than using a single  powerful charger and relying on parallel charging.  Plus should something go wrong £25 will buy you a replacement.

 

I would keep well away from the Toolkit stuff.  It has a very poor reputation - going out of calibration , breaking down - plenty on You Tube, plus read through the comments - way more negativity than normal - including here - just after 9 mins in 

 

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi John

Thanks for your post, very useful.

Think I may be worrying unduly as I'm getting much the same results as you. As you say, the charger does retain Ma in. Guess I must have been too quick to terminate the charge.

I don't get the word done, like you do, but I get a tick by the cell count instead, so that might just be a minor change in the software. I do get the double bleeps to tell me it's finished charging and that every few seconds until I manually terminate the charge.

I do notice yours still puts in charge current even though it's finished charging. In your picture it shows 0.2a. So does mine. Wonder if this might be part of the balancing process. I have a discharger that behaves in much a similar way.

Only thing I found different is I have recorded 48 degrees on the screen, while the internal temp is still only 39 degrees. May be the fan switch is set a little higher? Anyway, only for a short time, so I'm not going to worry about that

So, all good, thanks

Jeff

[John Lee]

If you hold the middle button down for a couple of seconds you get the system settings menu. From there you can set the Completion Tone to a single notification rather than the repetition to stop it nagging you, should you wish. In the same menu you can find the software version. I've never updated the software (if it ain't broke.....) but for info mine is on OS1.0.1.1.

 

I'm speculating now but I doubt that the residual current at the end of the charging cycle is part of the balancing. I suspect rather that it is just keeping all the monitoring circuitry alive, it still does it using the storage settings.

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi John

Mine is 1.0.1.11 so might be a slightly newer version. No biggy, as long as it works.

Going through the system setting menu, I did notice one headed 'keep trickle on'. Wonder if this has anything to do with behaviour after charge is completed. Might try that next time I have a battery to charge.

Work in progress

Jeff

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi John

This just for interest.

Scroll down the System Settings menu until you come to 'keep trickle'. Switch that to off and it stops trying to add more current, even after the charge cycle is finished. I found it better that way. Now I know that if it says 'charge complete' it really means it.

Up to you

Jeff