Chargers Need new Charger

C

claytonbakerjr

Member
Ok I am looking around for a charger my little guy is making
some noise in the fan and I am sure it is about to go out on me..fan that is.
Found this one and would like some input on it.
http://www.buddyrc.com/gt-power-xdrive-6-4-port-balance-charger.html

One thing I am curious about is the balance ports on the side.
Can the balance tabs from batteries directly be plugged into
these without the use of a balance board or will I need a board
for each port that breaks it out to 3 4 5 and 6 S

and to add, I see several variations of balance boards...what do I need LOL
 
Last edited:
Tony

Tony

Staff member
IMO, skip that charger and get something like the icharger 306b and build the PSU's like I have. It's a 1000w setup, you can use a paraboard on it and charge 6+ batteries at 30 amps which is much faster than that charger in the link can do it. It's going to run a little more, but I can assure you, it's worth is. It's one of the best purchases I have made.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
You would need 2 575's wired in series. I'm running that seutp and it's fantastic!
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
Those second ones are about what I have and work great. And don't worry about the refurb, that is what mine said as well. One in a hundred may be bad. But for $15 for two you can't go wrong.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
Um no. I just charged 3 1300 3s packs this weekend at 15 amps. 1c would have been 1.9 amps. You can charge anything up to 30 amps, if it can handle it.
 
C

claytonbakerjr

Member
Ok
One last (?) question.
Since the setup that you recommend requires a Para Charge Board...
I have read that in order to charge the batteries correctly you must
stay close to each charge level before placing them on the charge.
For example from what I have read if you have 3 batteries all of them must
be within .1 of each other...10.6, 10.7, 10.5
Can you elaborate on this?
This is honestly the only thing that is keeping me from going
with a Para Board solution regardless of wattage.
I can see if I had 20 or 30 batteries (which may come to that)
but to get them all to a stable charge level seems to be
a bit more than what I want to jump into only because if I fly 4 batteries
and none of them are within the recommended levels before charging
then I have to get them there before hooking them up or otherwise
I am back to one at a time charging?
You see what I mean?
Can you clear this up for me more?
 
Slobberdog

Slobberdog

Well-Known Member
I know of a lot of people that say you don't need to worry about this as when you connect the cells up they equal themselves out, I do keep mine relatively close but have gone as far as .3v between cells,

I have heard 2% diff being banded around but if you use a timer your cells should be pretty close anyway giving they are the same cells to start with
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
I'm the one that usually states 2%, but that is to protect RCH and myself. Like Kev (by the way, where in teh HELL have you been!!! lmao) stated, you can bend this rule slightly. But you don't want to hook up a 12.1 volt battery to a 10.9 volt battery. what will happen is 1. yes, they will equalize, but the higher pack will dump as much voltage as it can into the lower pack as fast as it can. This could very well, and probably will go beyond the charging c limit of the lower pack.

I have done as much as .3 to .4 before without any issue. what I do is check all of my batteries and line them up in order of lowest to highest. I plug the lowest in, then I plug the next highest in. Let that sit for a few seconds, then plug the next highest in and repeat until I have them all plugged in (large plug only BTW). Once they are all plugged in, I will again repeat the process by plugging in all of the balance plugs. It sounds complicated, but you can do it in about 2 minutes, adn I have never blown a fuse on the paraboard and I have never had a wire get hot, or even warm.

Hope this helps.
 
C

claytonbakerjr

Member
Ok so I could safely stay within 2 to 3 apart from each other.
Now why do you plug in lowest 1st then go up? Does this do something prior to kicking in the charger?
Does it matter where on the para board you start?
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
It keeps the voltage jolt at a minimum. Once you are to the last batteries, even if the last battery is .5 above the others (which are balancing out with each other), the combined C charge rating is not going to be exceeded. It's just the safest method that I have found, and I have yet to have an issue with it.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
That is exactly right. A total of 7.5 amps for a single pack. x2 for two packs, x3 for three packs and so on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom