good field charger

[tonys-heli]

I don't want to open a can of worms but I really just want an easy charger/balancer for field charging, 12-24v that charges 3s-6s lipos realitively fast with all the leads for parallel charging. I want a good one not cheap but gotta have all leads and easy to use..thanks

[smokeeater908]

I use a Cellpro Dual Powerlab and I love it, easy to use and I charge from 2S to 6S using it.

[tonys-heli]

forgot to ask where do you get them?

[RedOctobyr]

The charger smokeeater908 referred to, the Dual PL8, is an excellent charger, and the most powerful on the market, as far as I know. So it's certainly a good choice, but it may be more than you need, or more than you want to spend.

You can help people guide their suggestions by telling us:

- How many packs at once?
- What size? eg- 6S 1200, 6S 5000?
- How fast is "relatively fast" for you? 15 minutes? 45?

The requirements to charge (2) 6S 1200s in 30 minutes are very different than if you want to charge (3) pairs of 6S 5000s in 15 minutes.

You won't find a charger that simply includes all the leads you'd want for parallel charging. Or even charging individually. There are too many types of connectors (EC3, EC5, Deans, XT60, XT90.....) for a vendor to give you all the combinations in the box.

But once you know what charger you want, people can also help steer you towards the boards/cables you need, based on the type of connectors your packs have.

You will also need a separate power supply.

This thread would be worth a look:
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=476431

ProgressiveRC.com is an excellent vendor, buddyrc.com is also very good.

We can't really give you an answer like "Just buy this." There is no one-size-fits-all solution, unless you want to simply buy the best of everything and figure it out later. But we can help you figure out what would fit your needs.

[Slyster]

Here's where I ended up after years of trying different methods.

iCharger 4010 Duo. A little tour of Chernobyl (0 min 56 sec)

[smokeeater908]

Originally Posted by tonys-heli

forgot to ask where do you get them?

Mine came from Kyle and Joe at rotarywingrc.com they are a fantastic bunch to deal with and are making some really awesome charging cases as well. Those are located at rotorcraftrc.com

[tonys-heli]

I have a couple 2200 mah lipos 3s 30c. looks like ec3 connectors. just want to charge when flying then swap out when done. just need something simple but good. sorry for the lack of info

[jbrandt]

How many batteries (and what type) do you plan to charge in parallel?
How portable/light weight do you want it?
How complex of a system are you willing to design/build/use?
Budget?

These are all questions I'm asking myself right now.

I recently realized I fell victim to the "I didn't buy a good enough charger" syndrome. My current charger does decently well at charging a single 3s 2200, but now that I've got a few lipo batteries for my 450x, I want to parallel charge them. I "can" do that with my $50 charger, but it'll take forever.

For me, I want to be able to parallel up to 6 3s 2200's at a time. I currently have 3 batteries, but I'm always looking to expand. It all depends on how quickly I want to charge the batteries as to what charger would suit my needs. If I got a 306B with a 24V setup (2 deep cycles in series and/or a 500W+ power supply) I could charge the 6 batteries at their max recommended charge rate, which would charge them faster than I could fly them. By my math that's almost 30 minutes of flight time (6 batts) and it'd take 20 or so minutes to charge all 6 at once. If I go cheap, I could charge 6 in about an hour at a 1C rate with the iCharger 106B, a 250W power supply or a single deep cycle 12v battery, which is still pretty acceptable to me. For another $70 you get the 306B which is essentially only limited by the power you put into it (number of deep cycles used or the size of the power supply). EIther way, I'd have enough power to keep myself entertained all day. It would just depend on if I'd have to fly my nano in between my 450 flights or just fly the 450 back to back to back. There are worse problems to have.

I personally like the idea of having more batteries, but having enough charging power to charge them all (or most of them) simultaneously but at a slower rate (less stress on the batteries/charging system).

I just made a post in the "what charger/power supply" thread (linked above) that kind of details my thought process for my next charger (still haven't really decided what's best for me, though). The thread itself is really helpful, and Slyster and others are super helpful, too.

[tonys-heli]

thanks , I will put this information to good use.

[RedOctobyr]

Originally Posted by tonys-heli

I have a couple 2200 mah lipos 3s 30c. looks like ec3 connectors. just want to charge when flying then swap out when done. just need something simple but good. sorry for the lack of info

Since the questions are similar, maybe have a look at jbrandt's post in the other thread, and my reply:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...43#post6282043

If you have (3) 3S 2200s, for instance, you don't need as much power as his example of 6 of those packs.

But an iCharger 106B+ would still only give you 1.5C, charging 3 at once. That would probably take around a half hour or so. If charging fewer packs, you will go faster, of course.

I have 4 packs for my 450. I'd fly 2, land, and start charging them at 3C. Then fly the other 2. By the time I'd land the last pack, the first two would be done, and I could fly continuously. To reach 3C with 3S 2200s, you'd need to be able to charge at 13.2A. The 106B+ wouldn't quite get you there. The 206B would do it.

These would be one suggestion for parallel charging up to 4 packs with EC3 connectors:
http://www.buddyrc.com/paraboard-v3-xh-ec3.html

These are BuddyRC's V3 Safe Paraboards, with fuses on every wire. Which help prevent bigger problems (sparks, melting wires, or worse) if something is connected wrong.

Regular parallel boards or parallel cables ("squids") are also fine.

BuddyRC's regular EC3 parallel board, charges up to 6 packs at once:
http://www.buddyrc.com/paraboard-v2-xh-ec3.html

[jbrandt]

Originally Posted by RedOctobyr

Since the questions are similar, maybe have a look at jbrandt's post in the other thread, and my reply:

https://www.helifreak.com/showthread...43#post6282043

If you have (3) 3S 2200s, for instance, you don't need as much power as his example of 6 of those packs.

But an iCharger 106B+ would still only give you 1.5C, charging 3 at once. That would probably take around a half hour or so. If charging fewer packs, you will go faster, of course.

I have 4 packs for my 450. I'd fly 2, land, and start charging them at 3C. Then fly the other 2. By the time I'd land the last pack, the first two would be done, and I could fly continuously. To reach 3C with 3S 2200s, you'd need to be able to charge at 13.2A. The 106B+ wouldn't quite get you there. The 206B would do it.

These would be one suggestion for parallel charging up to 4 packs with EC3 connectors:
http://www.buddyrc.com/paraboard-v3-xh-ec3.html

These are BuddyRC's V3 Safe Paraboards, with fuses on every wire. Which help prevent bigger problems (sparks, melting wires, or worse) if something is connected wrong.

Regular parallel boards or parallel cables ("squids") are also fine.

BuddyRC's regular EC3 parallel board, charges up to 6 packs at once:
http://www.buddyrc.com/paraboard-v2-xh-ec3.html

Also, keep in mind that in my example, I'm thinking a little ahead of the game. I'm using 6 3S 2200's for my calculations, but that's a MAX. I only have three now. I may or may not get a 4th in the near future, and a 5th or 6th in the even farther future. I'm pretty sure I'll never go beyond 3S batteries.

Like RedOctobyrsays, with just 4 batteries, you could probably fly continuously. I like the idea of getting a few more batteries (we're talking $25 3S batteries, not $100 6S+ batteries) and charging them a little slower for a little less stress on the charging system/batteries. So maybe fly 3 batteries, then charge them at 2c while flying the other 3...

The 6 port paraboard is what I just ordered, and should be here this week. I'll try it with my 80W charger and see how long it takes, but I already know a 306B is in the que.

[Slyster]

just NEVER get into the $$$ mess I got caught up in in 2009 back in the olden days before good and high power chargers. ugg. I wasted to much money on chargers and lipos when I could have gotten by with one charger and 2 lipos.

[jbrandt]

Originally Posted by Slyster

just NEVER get into the $$$ mess I got caught up in in 2009 back in the olden days before good and high power chargers. ugg. I wasted to much money on chargers and lipos when I could have gotten by with one charger and 2 lipos.

Still have any of those laying around you want to get rid of??

[atkin]

Slyster, you've got to take this photo and make a meme out of it:
https://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=583487

Originally Posted by Slyster

just NEVER get into the $$$ mess I got caught up in in 2009 back in the olden days before good and high power chargers. ugg. I wasted to much money on chargers and lipos when I could have gotten by with one charger and 2 lipos.

[Slyster]

LOL.. I'll do that.

[pctomlin]

Originally Posted by Slyster

just NEVER get into the $$$ mess I got caught up in in 2009 back in the olden days before good and high power chargers. ugg. I wasted to much money on chargers and lipos when I could have gotten by with one charger and 2 lipos.

Awe, a picture of your old Chernobyl setup, brings back some memories.