Obzi Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Hi all.Back to flying after a break of 20yrs and straight into electric.The number of diffrent Lipo chargers in mind blowing, offering diffrent functions and all a bit confusing.I need a decent charger which is simple to use, tells me when it's full and the change of charging a few Lipos at once.I need a balancer as well but shouldn't i buy an 'all in one'?All my Lipos are 3 cell 11.1volt although might buy something a little smaller in future, have the JST fittings and a balance plug.(tried to buy all the same fitting)Budget flexible, loads on Ebay for £70-150 so i guessed around that.Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted February 5, 2007 Share Posted February 5, 2007 Hi IanI use a Schulze Chamaleon 330d http://www.schulze-elektronik-gmbh.de/isl6-e.htm with the PC interface. Got it from West London Models. It does every battery I will ever come across (Nicd, NiMh, PB, LiLo, LiPo) My son uses it for his 1/10 touring car racing, and I charge my Lipos and Rx / Tx packs with it. The most useful fature is the 3 cycle auto charge / discharge, where I leave it running and it plots charge / discharge curves for the packs.Cost about £145 so top end and the software is a bit quirky (german).It can be used with most Balancers, and I use this one http://robotbirds.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=9_95&products_id=1248 which for £25 is amaizing. I like the mode where you can set up a pack without the charger connected and it balances the cells and shuts down when finished.There are loads to choose from so the choice is yours, but my set up works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Rolls Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I also have a Chameleon and am very pleased with it - although 'quirky' is a bit of an understatement regarding the manual whihc left me totally cross-eyed after reading it. Fortunately the manula includes a 'user's algorithm' diagram whihch is much easier to understand.You don't have to go to the expense of the Chameleon though - for whatit costs, and provided you don't intend to use packs bigger than 4S you can get two perfectly good chargers - I have two Graupner Ultramat 10s which only cost £54 each, and although they are now out of production Graupner have a similar specced replacement and there are of course other makes.Two chargers make sense - Li-pos take a lot longer to charge than Ni-Cads or Ni-Mh cells. A full charge typically takes 80-90 minutes, even more if charging through a balancer, and leaving Li-pos to charge unattended is a defintie no-no, so can be a pretty boring and lenghty process if you have several packs to charge.HTHMike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinstar Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 ive got a fusion Lx41b pro and its very simple and affordable for one pack charging, you may be able to charge more than one pack off it with some sort of funky connector but ive never needed to try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Gava Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I just bought the Multiplex at RCTecnic. It comes very complete and seems to work properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I use Overlander's basic RC6 - does upto 6 cells - LiPo, LiFe, NCad, NMh and Pb acid. Upto about 4amps charing (50W). Has a balancer built in. Fairly standard - there are loads like it all called XX6! Costs about 45quid basic and about 65quid in a posh box with a 12 volt supply and just about every kind of connector you are ever likely to need. It displays charging voltage, battery type and total number of mA hours charged. It does; charge, discharge and cycles with single and multiple. Not as "squish" as the ones above - but in my view a good basic charger that does the job. BEBEdited By Biggles' Elder Brother on 10/06/2010 21:28:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Fidling Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I have the Fusion Elysium LX60B ProVery nice charger, does everything you will need pretty fast, upto a 6A Charge for li-po's. Complete with balancer with a variety of connectors. I am quite new to it myself and just stick my batteries onto charge and it bleeps at me when they are done. plus it has the advantage of a mains supply, so you can charge in the comfort/warmth of your house/garage/shed etc...LX60B Not a bad price either Paddy Edited By Paddy Fidling on 10/06/2010 21:43:09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plane Addict Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Looks like a lot of people use the higher end chargers. I have a Triton, it was about US$ 129 when I bought it, but I also have a Turnigy Accucel that does it works just as good as the Triton. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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