Question about Particular Charger/Battery :confused:

[clikonco]

Hi all,
I recently got into the RC Helicopter world! However I had questions regarding chargers and
batteries, (I am unsure if there have been related questions before or not), but here goes.

I recently bought a trex 450 clone, but was wondering if my current charger would be compatible with charging the li-po battery. My current set-up is:

Eflite EFLC3110 (specs: 2-3C Lipo Balancing Charger, input: 11.5-15V DC; Output:7.4-11.1V @ 0.65A; the power supply is currently 12 V DC @ 500mA)

and so after doing intensive research , I am utterly confused as to whether or not this charger would be able to charge the new trex 450 clone battery. (2200mAh 11.1V 20C)

So I was wondering if I needed to get a better charger, (such as the one from rchelicopterfun.com ) and whether or not my current power supply is compatible with the new system.
Please excuse my deficiency in knowledge of this area. Thank you again!

Abyss

[Larry227]

If the balance leads on the new battery are identical to what the charger requires (JST) it will charge it albeit slowly. It will probably take well over an hour to charge that 2200 pack at 0.65amps. But as I said, it will work if the connector is right.

Do yourself a favor and start doing some reading and research on charging lipos because they can and do require a certain amount of respect and care when handling, charging and storing.
A good place to start is the Battery and Charging Forum. Just ask anything you want about lipos and chargers there and you'll get some good info. It might help to read the sticky threads at the top there too, especially the Lipo Basics.

Welcome to the hobby!

[clikonco]

Thank you for your reply! I did a lot of reading and research but was still unsure, hence my questioning, better safe than sorry! I just got confused about the wattage part that each charger provides. Thanks again for the insight and links!

[rhodesengr]

If your power supply is 12V at 500mA you may not even get the rated .65A into a 3S battery. With chargers you sort of get what you pay for. You can get a 5A charger with AC input like the Thunder AC6 for about $50. It is also limted to 50Watts so only does 4.5A for a 3S Battery. Still, that will give you a just about 2C charging on a 2200mAh battery so charges in about 30 minutes. Your other charger would be more like 3-4 hours 2.2/.5=4.4 hours.

If you can spend more like $100, you can get a 10A charger with a matching DC ssupply. Take a look at progressiverc.com. The have chargers and cables for pretty much any battery connector. Get a decent charger and different cables for different batteries.

[clikonco]

Hi all, thanks for your feed back and input! Greatly appreciate! Just trying to use what I have so far, kind stuck in a hard place and a rock with my decision, not exactly sure if I want to completely devote myself to this hobby yet. So budget concerns me greatly, however I know from reading and researching, getting cheaper items may lead to spending more than getting the real deal. "get what you pay for" So yep, thanks for the input so far!

[rhodesengr]

I have posted elsewhere about wattage so you can search for some of my other posts or ask a specific question. It is a point many don't understand. Watt rating is important for larger batteries and higher S number batteries.

The AC6 was my first real charger and I was (and still am) quite happy with it. Its very nice to have AC input and you can get them on Amazon for less than $50. It is a little small for 450 class batteries but still much better than a stock eflite charger.