Hey guys, were decided to go the li-po route with our bot, ordered 2 4000mah 30C 6s packs today. What is the best charger that you guys have come across for charging Li-Po's and is it capable of charging 6s packs?
The tritons seem to be everyone's favourite for general charging needs. I have a platinum EX which I have been happy with. Just had a look and it can do up to 10 cells @ a max of 6 amps.
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 9481
Location: Where you least expect
i have the triton does lipoly but it doesnt have a balancer which renders it fairly useless nowadays.
i got the "power peak infinity 3" from hobby city which is a 100% exact copy of the robbe power peak i think it is. its a mad little unit. graphs the balance and gives you values + exports data to the pc and i think it has the BID (apparently you put a chip in your pack and plug it into the charger and it keeps track of that particular pack so you can monitor it across its life span).
defo recommend it if you can find one. youd probably have to buy the genuine robbe. 10 amps and 36v max i think it can do.
plenty of guys are using the e-station and its associated chinese ripoffs though. seem to go pretty good + have the inbuilt balancer. _________________ www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz
Basically a rip of the e-station, but cheaper and just as good. It has simple menus and is easy to navigate around it's array of features. This thing has no hassles pumping 10amps into my 10cell A123 packs either. _________________ https://www.halfdonethings.com/
Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:15 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
I use a Hyperion A123 capable one 12S limit one, but am probably in the minority, as it cost me $320 or so, flawless though... _________________ ( •_•)
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
There are plenty of good brands out there - I use E-station chargers for Lipo and they have worked very well so far. Most of the Asian-build chargers are similar quality and you get what you pay for. Given the larger packs you have the important things to look for is a higher power rating (200W at least) and built-in balancing. Having a second output or an adjustable motor test output (like the E-station 902) is quite handy, while a temperature probe is a good safety measure for Lipo charging. One thing I miss is upgradeable firmware; my older chargers can't do new cells like A123s.
Remember to get a high power PSU to run the charger, Jaycar does some nice switching supplies.
Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:25 pm
seanet1310
Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Posts: 1265
Location: Adelaide
i think neweyn has been having a few issues with jaycar psu's this year dont know what was happening or anything _________________ Remember to trust me, I am an Engineer.
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
That's surprising, quite a few of the guys in NSW have the brand that Jaycar sells (courtesy of a bulk buy) and no problems so far. Given that they are Chinese, I wouldn't be surprised if there is an occasional lemon though. These things like plenty of ventilation; I added a second fan to really force some air thru it.
Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:20 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
Actually mine takes a while to even bother to turn the fan on, it's noisy when it does though! They all look the same but are they actually? The ebay ones might (unlikely) be better quality. _________________ ( •_•)
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 9481
Location: Where you least expect
crack it open unplug the fan and wire it direct to the 12v line. problem solved and i run a big 90mm fan in series with the other one too to help it out. ive run it hard enough to melt the wire on the infinity charger so they work good when they do work.
in saying that tho we had hundreds of similar ones come back at rhino.. the toroid thing used to basically catch on fire if you loaded em up a little. _________________ www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz
Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:44 pm
timmeh Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Posts: 2523
Location: Victoria
quote:Originally posted by Nick:
Remember to get a high power PSU to run the charger, Jaycar does some nice switching supplies.
Or you can get a 12v 29amp one for $54 off ebay like myn
Joined: 01 Jun 2005
Posts: 220
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Neweyn's A123 charger switches the current on and off to the batteries when in the final stage of charging. My Astroflight does the same, but I use a 25A 15V linear power supply from DSE (with panel meters) and that has no problems.
I think the problem might be caused by the switching on and off of the current and the inductor's inability to handle this (heat generation when switching off ?).
Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:21 pm
Nick Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 11802
Location: Sydney, NSW
I think that PSU is the one I got from Jaycar, only much cheaper! The free postage makes it an even better deal. I wound mine up to 13.8V, seems to help get a little better performance from my charger.
Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:02 pm
timmeh Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Posts: 2523
Location: Victoria
Yer myn you can do the same up to about 13.8v. _________________ Tim Team Reaper.
Sat Sep 05, 2009 6:54 am
assassin
Joined: 27 Jun 2004
Posts: 1105
Location: SunshineCoast
I just purchased one of those PS from ebay, thanks for the link. Sounds like I should upgrade the cooling when I get it. _________________ Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
Albert Einstein.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum