Chargers Icharger
- Thread starter Slobberdog
- Start date
Personally I only cycle one at a time. If there is a bad pack or bad cell, you do not want to be parallel charging at the time or else you may well damage things. Also, only para charge packs of the same capacity (all 5000mAh, all 4500mAh, etc.).
As for storage I also only do one at a time, but usually because I'm having to discharge and the chargers do not typically discharge a whole lot of power (80W max on the 306B, for instance) unless you have an external resistance or are discharging into a lead acid battery (regenerative discharge). With a 6S pack and normal discharge setup the 306B will only do about 3.6Ah discharge rate (80W / voltage = max discharge current).
As for storage I also only do one at a time, but usually because I'm having to discharge and the chargers do not typically discharge a whole lot of power (80W max on the 306B, for instance) unless you have an external resistance or are discharging into a lead acid battery (regenerative discharge). With a 6S pack and normal discharge setup the 306B will only do about 3.6Ah discharge rate (80W / voltage = max discharge current).
cml001
Well-Known Member
Kool, I just started the storage cycle... Discharging at the moment... 5 amps average showing on the display... The 306b is getting a little warm... The internal temp showing is the temp of the charger correct.. Has to be... I'll post again upon completion... Thanks guys.. Love rch!
murankar
Staff member
Some of those iChargers can discharge at higher rates depending on what external assistance you have. I know that gensAce batteries can handle 5C rates and as long as you take care of the packs like we all should then those packs will last you well over 200 cycles.
I have had my GensAce packs now for almost 3 years and they are finally starting to show fatigue. I charge mine at around 4.4 amps which is roughly 2C. As for discharge I try not to use the charger, I do everything I can to fly those packs or at least run the heli while still on the ground, one its faster and a lot more fun.
I have had my GensAce packs now for almost 3 years and they are finally starting to show fatigue. I charge mine at around 4.4 amps which is roughly 2C. As for discharge I try not to use the charger, I do everything I can to fly those packs or at least run the heli while still on the ground, one its faster and a lot more fun.
Tony
Staff member
It's been a while since I read it, but I believe the i306 can only do 5 amps on the discharge connected to a PSU. However, if you connect it to a car battery, then it will do a regenerative discharge up to 20 amps. Just be sure you have charged off that battery otherwise you could over charge it. It's a great feature if you somehow killed your battery in yoru car out at the field lol.
cml001
Well-Known Member
Ok... So yes. I set it at 10 amps doin 6 in para... It never went above 5'ish. Had 7 total to do so I had to do 1 by itself... Set it to 4.4.... It never went over 2'ish... Which is kool... Didn't take long so I'm extremely happy with this icharger. Yeah I would normally have flown these but had a... Exciting landing a fees days ago.. So I had to bring them down via the storage menu on the charger. Again kool, I got experience and learned more about my charger. So my parts may not be in till after Christmas so I'll have to wait to try out the balance charge cycle. ? I got cells as follows after the storage, usually the same after a charge(old charger) 3.86, 3.86, & 3.82.... Not being versed in electronics as some of u guys.. I was curious if this was normal.. Sign of a bad cell... Or should it be dead on balls with the numbers? Seems the usage is fine and same as ever.. But now I can see EXACTLY what the deal is and my OCD keeps my mind asking ?s.... Some of which may be dumb.. Sorry if they are. Thanks again guys.
Tony
Staff member
You'll be fine with the iCharger 306 in ballancing your cells. Just plug the balance port in and you are golden. They may not be exact, but they will be something like 4.19/4.20/4.19 when it's done charging. But, when you did a storage charge on your battery, it should have balanced your cells anyway. There is also a monitor function on that charger so that you can see what the condition of your battery is. That combined with the IR of the cells/battery will tell you the health of your batteries. It's a good idea to go ahead and write down the IR when the cell is new, then check it every now and then. As the IR goes up, you know that your battery is getting tired.
murankar
Staff member
What I was talking about is something like the Hyperion cell checker balancer. I got mine when I went to a fun fly this past may.
The icharger will do a better job than my cheap 6ac charger. To be honest my charger is still working fine. I have been using the balancer to finish off the balancing when I see a constant 4.19 to 4.20 on the cells. Its been speeding things up just a few minutes.
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The icharger will do a better job than my cheap 6ac charger. To be honest my charger is still working fine. I have been using the balancer to finish off the balancing when I see a constant 4.19 to 4.20 on the cells. Its been speeding things up just a few minutes.
Sent from my LG-E980 using Forum Runner
Tony
Staff member
Ah, yeah, cell checkers are great when you are out at the field when you need to find that last charged battery, and to verify your charger is still reading the cells correctly. Must have read yoru post wrong. Trying to set up a virtual machine on my lappy so that I can do some playing around with ubuntu as well as debian. Might even install some other things while I'm at it lol.
cml001
Well-Known Member
Ok u guys lost me here for last few post.... I have a cell reader/volt meter to check the battery's cells and total voltage... Are u guys saying there is a device that balances cell separate from my charger after it has charged and balanced? I wanna fly today... Time to break out the little 120SR & mSRX and chase cars down the street.. Wiz thru the trees and power poles.. Lol
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Maybe a thread and video about battery dos & donts, charger features, etc is in order.. Is there one already?
- - - Updated - - -
Maybe a thread and video about battery dos & donts, charger features, etc is in order.. Is there one already?
Tony
Staff member
I don't have a video on that as of yet, but it's a great idea. I can't speak for URI, but for myself, just use the charger to balance the cells. Put it on balance charge and let her go. The charger will do the rest. Then, you can use your checker to make sure what the charger is telling you is actually what the cells are at. However, being these checkers are made in china, I don't trust then, and just pull out my trusty volt meter lol.