What kind of charger

[toto]

How do you pair a certain size of lipo battery with a suitable charger ?

 

I've got Radient 4s 14.8v 3250 mAh 50c batteries for my Seagull Cessna Turbo Skylane 182 as sold to me by the retailer.

 

What kind of charger do I need for this?

Preferably sone kind of multi battery charger.

 

Toto

[Ron Gray]

The ISDT and Toolkit range of chargers are excellent. But what type of charger you need is a bit open ended. Is that battery going to be your only one or are you thinking of 3s - 6s packs and how many. To give you an example from the mentioned manufacturer's kit, for just that type of battery then this would be fine but if you wanted to be able to change multiple 6s packs then this one or this one (note that the P30 only works off DC). There are lots of other manufacturers out there, I've only mention these 2 because I have experience of using chargers from these 2 manufacturers.

[Murat Kece 1]

 

I use two of these and they are adequate up to 5s..

If you need larger capacity/voltage batteries then Ron's advice is the  way.

 

[GrumpyGnome]

This is even more complex than 'which engine do I need' as it depends on a number of things:

 

• Number and size of packs
• Chemistries you will have, e.g. LiPo flight pack, LiFe receiver pack, lead acid/gel for your field box
• Where you intend to use it - AC or DC, or both
• How patient you are - charging lots of packs with a single output charger can be tedious.

You can either get one that suits your immediate needs (just the 4S packs) quite cheaply; or try and identify longer term needs, spend a bit (possibly a lot!) more, and grow into it..... let us know and we'll provide lots of recommendations.

 

I started out with a charger similar to the one recommended by Murat above, but now I regularly use 2 different chargers.  For my flight packs I use a four output charger capable of charging 4 packs of varying chemistry simultaneously.  Typically, as this is so big, I only use it for packs that are not in situ - generally LiPos. This is mains only and has a separate power supply.  It's a Radient, and was sold by the now pretty much defunct HobbyKing.  I spent about £150 on this and a power supply about 6 years ago.  I never field charge, and typically take about 20-30 LiPo packs to the field. 

 

For charging batteries that are built in to airframes, I have a much smaller dual output, multi-chemistry charger which just plugs directly into the mains.  I use this for NiMh packs, LiFe, LiPo receiver/ignition/undercarriage/on-board glow packs (charging LiPos in situ is not really recommended, but they're never left alone...).  This is a small touch screen device that was about £70 about 7 years ago - again a Radient device from Hobbyking.

 

Like I say, have a think and come back to us.

[toto]

Let me have a think about this as currently I'm thinking lilo's.

 

3s 2200 mah 11.1 v 30c ( Spektrum )

 

And

 

4s 3250 man 14.8 v 50c ( Radients )

 

I currently have 2 of each with another 2 of each on the way.

 

I'd prefer a multi charger rather than just a single ( which I currently have for the spektrum) or a dual. I dont mind spending a bit on them if they will charge say 4 at a time. It would be AC use as I intend charging from home only. 

 

I think I can charge my tx battery from the mains whilst still in the transmitter. 

 

What else fo I need to cover charger wise. 

 

I'll be back.

 

Toto

[Ron Gray]

1 hour ago, toto said:

if they will charge say 4 at a time.

Then I would go for this one ToolkitRC M6DAC with balance board (s) 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Ron Gray

[Don Fry]

I am a cynic. I admit it. I welcome better minds to steer me to upland pastures. 

But, given we don’t spend a fortune on chargers, why not have a couple of single battery jobs, than invest in a multi charger, and cry when one port fails. Good enough to get a job done is not sexy, but does.

I accept you may get to the stage where the tangle of wires gets too much. Then buy a multi charger.
Future proofing purchasing is fallacy. Like listening to a gambler, certs, bankers, backstops.

Given you have embarked on this vale of tears, better to get SHMBO onside. But I’m a cynic.

 

[toto]

Hi Ron,

 

If you connect a balance board to the " master " charger, say with 5 batteries, does that not take the charger 5 times longer to charge all the packs. The master must surely only be able to undertake a certain rate of charging. I dont know if I'm being clear enough.

 

Charger x 1 battery takes say 5 hour to charge a single unit ....... charger with balance board with 5 batteries takes say 20 hour s as it is charging 5 x as many batteries.

 

Please excuse my nativity on this if this is a daft question. .... just trying to get my head around it.

 

Thanks

 

Toto

[Zflyer]

You can get a parallel board and use this to charge multiple batteries providing you follow the rules regarding the voltage range. Thus wiil charge all at the same time. See videos on youtube. To be frank a dual charger is quite enough unless yo have mulitple planes and goona fly them all on the same session. I would slow down your spending go for afew flights and just muse on the trials and tribulations of fellow club members.

[Dale Bradly]

I would keep it simple first time around.

Get any charger that has a 2 line lcd screen, with 4 buttons below the screen.

There are any number of them on the market, from any number of suppliers, and they are all but jdentical once you look past the maufacturers hype and the decals. 

The imax b6ac Murat posted above is a good example.

The only option to bear in mind (at your own request) is to ensure it has an ac input. (Note there is many ways around this though).

Any such charger will suit your needs for your first half dozen models, and after that you'll know what you want to suit where your modelling is going.

Edited March 24, 2023 by Dale Bradly

[GrumpyGnome]

A stupid question from me..... can you charge a Spektrum flight pack from a non-Spektrum charger?

[John Lee]

3 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

A stupid question from me..... can you charge a Spektrum flight pack from a non-Spektrum charger?

From their FAQ's

Do I need a Spektrum Smart charger to charge my Smart batteries?
o G2 Smart batteries DO require a Spektrum Smart charger with G2 firmware loaded on it to charge

and balance your G2 Smart battery.
o G1 Smart batteries with a balance lead do NOT require a Spektrum Smart charger for charging.