Chargers Will the B6AC cut it?

Dirk

Member
I've been using this charger on my 450 with great success. Now that my 550 is on the way will I need a bigger charger. I am going to run 5000Mah batteries on the 550.

Do you guys think the V6AC will do the job?? I really don't want to spend more money on a new charger.
 

EyeStation

Well-Known Member
I've been using my B6AC for 3 years now, mostly charging LiPo's for on and off road vehicles. Been using this charger for 4800, 5500, 6000's all without a problem. Sure you can only get 5 amps max output, but it charges and balances perfectly. I bought a second to double my recharging capabilities.
 

Tony

Staff member
Actually, on a 6s pack, you will only get a 2.2 amp charge rate. It will take forever to charge a pack, but it will do it. But, you will be charging this thing at the max rating that the charger was made for, so the life could be shortened.
 

Tony

Staff member
If you upgrade, get at least a 500w charger. That will allow you to charge a 6s pack at almost 20 amps. Much higher than the 2 amps with a 50 watt charger.
 

Tony

Staff member
Look into the iCharger 206. It's rated at 20 amps for 6 cells. I have the 306 and LOVE it. And it's just slightly more. You can run the 306 at 500w, but to get the max out of it, you will need a 24v 1000w PSU. It's worth it if you do a lot of flying!
 

Bruno

Member
I have been using the IMaxB6/AC for over a year for 2 cell to 6 cell batteries. No problems. Takes about 70 minutes to charge my 5500mAh 6 cells. Takes about 50 minutes for the 2200 mAh/4 cells. I am considering either buying a second charger or investing in a more powerful charger. However, I have read that slow charging/discharging is most "healthy" for battery life and these batteries ain't cheap.
 
Last edited:

Slobberdog

Well-Known Member
With my icharger 3010b I can slow charge 8 3s 2200 batteries at one time and it won't brake into much of a sweat same with 4 6s 5000's
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Your charger will do the job, its just how eager you are to get out and fly, cause its going to be a long charge.
If you go for a new charger, then as Tony said the Ichargers are a great brand. The 306 that Tony has is great, and now the 308 4010 Duos are out, its coming down in price.
But if you can afford it, the new 308 Duo is amazing. Its what i just bought. I will do a review on it soon, once I have had some use out of it, but so far I'm very impressed.
 

Tony

Staff member
Usually a 1c charge rate is ideal, and that b6ac will not get anywhere near that. On a 6s pack, your b6ac will only charge at about 2.2 amps. Your 5500 pack, on a 1c charge rate, is 5.5 amps. So you can more than cut your charge time in half by getting a better charger. And trust me, the "good" chargers will keep your batteries healthy as well as your mind by not going nuts with 1.5 hour charges lmao.

I have the iCharger 306b and love it. It's about $160 and you will need a power supply for it. The 206b is also a great charger and again, you will need a PSU. The difference between the two is the 306 is "30a 6s" and the 206 is "20a 6s". The 306 is a 1000w charger and the 206 is a 300w charger. But, the 306 can run on a 12v PSU at 500w to save some money in the beginning.

Watch my video of how to build a PSU for this charger. Two 575w PSU's wired in series to give you 1000w of power. I have charged 9 3s packs on this setup at once and it did it without breaking a sweat. Love my 306b!
 

Bruno

Member
Usually a 1c charge rate is ideal, and that b6ac will not get anywhere near that. On a 6s pack, your b6ac will only charge at about 2.2 amps. Your 5500 pack, on a 1c charge rate, is 5.5 amps. So you can more than cut your charge time in half by getting a better charger. And trust me, the "good" chargers will keep your batteries healthy as well as your mind by not going nuts with 1.5 hour charges lmao.

I have the iCharger 306b and love it. It's about $160 and you will need a power supply for it. The 206b is also a great charger and again, you will need a PSU. The difference between the two is the 306 is "30a 6s" and the 206 is "20a 6s". The 306 is a 1000w charger and the 206 is a 300w charger. But, the 306 can run on a 12v PSU at 500w to save some money in the beginning.

Watch my video of how to build a PSU for this charger. Two 575w PSU's wired in series to give you 1000w of power. I have charged 9 3s packs on this setup at once and it did it without breaking a sweat. Love my 306b!

I am intrigued with the idea of a faster yet safe charge. How long do you think it would take to charge either a 3s (2200) or 6s (5300) packs?

Whattyathnk about this as the PSU: 12V 500W Power Supply for Icharger 306B 3010B Powerlab 6 8 Hyperion 4mm Jacks | eBay
 
Last edited:

Tony

Staff member
You can build that same PSU for about $25. If you want to spend $40, then I can make it for you :biggrin1:. It's pretty simple to do though if you are just going to run one of them. As for how long, it's going ot depend on your charge rate. The higher the rate, the shorter the time. But you are looking at about 20-25 minutes for both if just charging one pack with a 300+w charger.
 

Slobberdog

Well-Known Member
That is the power supply I have, but doubled with the second one modded as per Tony's video,

You can charge 1 3s 2200 or 6s 5300 at 1c in about 50 mins, but it would be the same time to charge 4 3s or 4 6s at 1c,

I charge 4 3s at 2c and it takes about 20 mins, but be mindful of the charge rates for your batteries, mine are all capable of 5c charging,

I started with a small AC DC charger that was taking me over an hour per battery and was struggling at doing that, the Ichargers are wicked, I love the amount that can be done with my charger, the new duo series 308duo and 410duo are the dogs danglies I wish I could have stretched my budget to it, but my 3010b does everything and more than I need.
 

Bruno

Member
You can build that same PSU for about $25. If you want to spend $40, then I can make it for you :biggrin1:. It's pretty simple to do though if you are just going to run one of them. As for how long, it's going ot depend on your charge rate. The higher the rate, the shorter the time. But you are looking at about 20-25 minutes for both if just charging one pack with a 300+w charger.

Is there a resource(s) for designing & building the PSU? I have a few old computers.
 
Last edited:

Tony

Staff member
Building a PSU for charging setups with a computer PSU is going to be slightly different from what I had in the video. You are going to have to cross something like the purple and green wire (might be gray, can't remember, it's been a while lmao) to get an ATX PSU to turn on. Then, you are going to need a 10ohm/10w resistor on the +5vDC side to put a load on the PSU so that you get a steady +12vDC rail(s). If this is what you want to do, and you do not want to build the $15 PSU that Gaba and I both have built (as well as others on teh forum), let me know and I will help you out. However, you are not going to get as clean of power as easy with a computer PSU that you will with this server PSU.
 
Top Bottom