[wparsons]

Originally Posted by kirch

A cheap balancer originally came with my RTF trainer. It worked .. but I had no idea how much current it was putting into the pack or how close it was to being fully charged.

I finally got a better quality LiPo charger/balancer. The biggest difference is I now know how much current was put into it and I can see how well the charge is progressing.

With my cheap charger it could take up to 2 hours to finish the charging and balancing. I did not realize this was on the high end of normal.

The better charger shows me how much of a charge went in. I know how much of my "gas tank" I actually used up. Lipos do not like to be run down to empty. I am now quite confident flying my plane with the timer running. I never get anywhere near empty.

Pretty much all LiPo's I've seen for model use can be charged at 1C, which means it shouldn't take more than an hour to charge a pack from completely dead. That's not a guaranteed rule, but I haven't seen a pack that can't handle a 1C charge myself.

[foamball]

OK, question... I hear tell that this Astro "Blinky" is a good balancer??
I've just soldered 3 2200mAh cells together an have a balancer plug, but how do I wire this in??????

[Flypaper]

I use the FMA Multi 4. It will fast charge, depending on the IR as to how fast, up to 2C. Batts take about 45 mins max to charge. This is balance charging of course.

[Mike Anderson]

I made up the attached diagram to help me do up a blinky harness a few years ago. Although it uses several paired JST connectors the same wiring pattern can be used with other connector types.

[marcham]

Originally Posted by foamball

OK, question... I hear tell that this Astro "Blinky" is a good balancer??

Not really, the blinky can only bleed about 80mA ... most balanced chargers today can bleed 300-400 mA.

So with only 80mA, you can't charge with a high current as the balancer can't absord it once some of the high cells have reached 4.2V and others have not.

Your best (and safest) bet is to buy a charger that has an integrated balancer. This is much safer.

iCharger 1010B+, 106B+, 208
Accucel 6 if you are on a budget
Thunder Power TP-610C
Any charger made by FMA Direct

[para_seb]

IS there any major difference between the accucell6 and the icharger 106b+??
Can any of these budget chargers be bought locally, does anyone know of a lhs that carries them??

thanks

[marcham]

Without trying to sound sarcastic: YES.

Price for one, output (50W vs 250W), features, support, etc...

helidirect.com carries their own version (same product, different label) of the Accucel-6.

amainhobbies carries their own version (same product, different label) of the iChargers.

[para_seb]

Still on the fence about these chargers... now add the Hyperion EOS0606i AC/DC in the mix... Are the Hyperions really better than the turnigy, i.e. 100$USD more better... I'd like to know how you guys like each of these.

Thanks

[1THEPALMER]

It's your coin buy what makes you happy. The Accucel-6 works and will charge all current battery types. Mine has ran from last fall to now charging all my batteries coupled with a power supply (A/C power @ field) Spend a little spend a lot see line one. "Most" of the mid price chargers out there appear to be all from the same family. Prices vary widely.