Chargers Is this worth it.

[D.O.G.]

Hey there. I've been using the same charger since I started to fly helis. It's over 5yrs old and still works great. I figure sooner or later the charger will go. So I just happen to find this charger. I only charge two batteries at a time so I was wondering if this is worth buying? IMax B6 Digital LCD RC Lipo NiMh battery Balance Charger US STOCK 100% New | eBay What do you think?

 

[Tony]

For the price, it's not bad. But remember, this is a 12vDC ONLY charger so you will need a power supply or a battery in order to use it. There is no AC power to this one. The other thing, this is only a 50w charger. If you know ohms law, at 12.6 volts, the max for a 3s pack, you will only get 2.52 amps, not the 5 amps they are advertising. This is the misleading crap that I think companies need to be more open about. Not everyone knows ohms law so not everyone knows you won't be able to use the full 5 amps. And to make it worse, some chargers actually still show they are charging at 5 amps and they are not.

 

[D.O.G.]

For the price, it's not bad. But remember, this is a 12vDC ONLY charger so you will need a power supply or a battery in order to use it. There is no AC power to this one. The other thing, this is only a 50w charger. If you know ohms law, at 12.6 volts, the max for a 3s pack, you will only get 2.52 amps, not the 5 amps they are advertising. This is the misleading crap that I think companies need to be more open about. Not everyone knows ohms law so not everyone knows you won't be able to use the full 5 amps. And to make it worse, some chargers actually still show they are charging at 5 amps and they are not.

Thanks again Tony. I didn't know so I ask. Now I know not to waste my money on this.

 

[Tony]

At a bare minimum, I would get the iCharger 106. It's a fantastic entry level charger that will charge up to 10 amps. But again, you will need a power supply for it.

 

[Smoggie]

Fake iMax B6 chargers are extremely common, the majority of thoise sold on ebay are fake. Check this video:
IMAX B6 charger - fake Vs genuine - Visual comparison - YouTube

The one on the listing appears to be a fake as it's got no 'SkyRc' logo. Other than that, even the genuine B6 is only rated at 50W which isn't really enough for larger batteries. For instance for the batteries on your 500 you would ideally be looking for at least a 200W charger, more if you charge two at a time.

The Hobbyking Turnigy Reaktor range are worth looking at.

 

[Admiral]

Hi D.O.G. be careful when buying the iMax B6 through Ebay, there is a big market in fake units, how do I know, I bought one as my first charger. It was a DC unit and worked OK for a while and then one day when I left it on for about 20 minutes between batteries it caught fire. It was sitting on fire proof material so the only issue was the stench through the whole place for about two days.

After that I bought a genuine iMax B6 AC model and used it from about 5 years before buying a multi charger, I still keep the B6 as a backup unit.
There are lots of videos on youtube explaining how to pick genuine from fake.

 

[D.O.G.]

Thank you gentlemens for helping me in deciding NOT to get this charger. All the information you guys presented me helped out. I had no Idea and that's why I ask question, even if there silly ones because there's always something to learn in this hobby.

 

[Geena]

Another good charger to take a look at, is the Dynamite Passport Ultra Duo. I used one for several years to charge 5000mAh 6s packs, and it never let me down.
It`s a two channel charger with a built in 500 watt power supply, and can be powered by AC or DC power sources. It will also charge many different battery chemistries besides lipo.

Dynamite Passport Duo Touch HV AC/DC Dual Battery Charger (6S/10A/200W x 2) [DYNC3005] | Cars & Trucks - AMain Performance Hobbies