SkyRC MC3000 Charger. Post your thoughts. Better than average?

Not too bad then and thanks very much for that sheet sheet, very nice

@LichtAn:

Dank Dir für das Cheat sheet!

I happened to come upon this thread.
I had a Nitecore, I forget the one, with 4 slots which I gave to a friend.
I have been thining about getting back into RC and do not want to purchase both a charger for cylindrical cells and RC batteires…especially since I think I may get a DJI which has its own system.

Anyway, I built two different battery holders capable of holding quite a few cells of various sizes….one is in parallel for charging and the other is in series. The later one I am using to test how batteries lag with my laser drivers.

The former one, I simply put either one or groups of the same batteries in, set my CC CV PSU for 4.2 and set the proper charge current for the specific capacity….and wait. Usually, I charge when the voltage is high enough that it is in CV mode. I wait until the current drops to zero and voila….4.2 volts….Yes….if the batteires are not equal in terms of capacity at time of charging…not good. Since I started this….I have not had problems….

except that my new Samsung 30Qs seem to take quite awhile to charge at 1/2 to 1 C

The one thing that I do need is a simple way to discharge my batteries for storage and if possible, measure capacity. I was thinking of buying a SkyRC hobby charger….but I really don’t need it.

I have yet to find an inexpensive way to discharge and measure capacity…any ideas?

Thanks

UI programming is very, very simple if you use te app.

I was unable to link an iPhone 6S (iOS 11.3) with the MC3000. The bluetooth connection never worked. For reasons unknown the link to an iPad 2017 with iOS 11.3 worked instantaneously and stable. I have the latest revision of the MC3000 with two fans.

I can confirm that the bluetooth-driven UI is much easier to handle but imho not as sophisticated as the device‘s UI. Furthermore, it’s not possible to remote-schedule the device‘s charging programs. Both UIs work independently from each other.

Is the software for your iPad the same as the PC Link software for windows? Have not played with any of that yet.

No, I doubt it. The Windows software seems to be far different and much more sophisticated than the MC3000 app on Apple‘s app store. It’s also a completely different OS platform. I admit, I have not tried the Windows software either.

Hmmm, I have an iPhone 6S+ (11.3.1) and it works fine. You did disable the PC software (via USB cable)? One won't work if the other is active.

Never mind, I see you got it to work with the ipad.

Not to revive an old Post but I use the newer 2 fan model of the MC3000. It charges/discharges 18650 cells 24/7. I’ve ran all 4 bays at 2 amps many times. I’ve never had an issue with overheating.

Honestly, I don’t think the UI is that intimidating either. It’s a bit much but it’s pretty simple to get started. I didn’t read a manual to start charging batteries. Within a few minutes I figured out the rest with a few glances at the manual.

If you don’t need the other features no big deal…don’t use them…

I for one appreciate options.

I wish they finally brought out a new version that fits for protected 21700 cells. It’s a bit optimistic to advertise 20700/21700 on the brochure and when you try to put them in, well… :person_facepalming:

I have the older 1 fan version (bought about a year ago from Gearbest).

I was wondering, when you do discharging tests, up to what temperatures do you get (the System temperature of the unit as shown in the display), and also when doing 4 battery discharging (eg. 4x 1A discharge of 18650 batteries).

(Side question: any idea if there are changes in the contact poles of the 2-fan SkyRC MC3000 — mentioning this since some of my 26650s, namely the INR26650-50A cyan sometimes don’t contact that well, have to adjust the batteries to make contact — I understand this is more of an issue with the said 26650 battery itself, but was wondering if the newer 2-fan version has any improvements with regards to certain flat-top 26650s that don’t make that “proper” contact with the slider poles)

I am on the verge of bending too.

If the MC3000 is your preferred charger now, which of the others would you rate as your second & third choice?

The MiBoxer C8 is a nice alternative. Not as fully featured, but if you have a lot of cells it is nice.

In terms of flexibility no other charger even comes close. But the battery sliders on the MC3000 are driving me insane. I have 5 different Li-Ion chargers and these are by far the worst battery sliders I’ve ever used. I even killed 2 cell wraps with them. Get this fixed and charge 10$ more, it’s a pita…

C4-12 then Opus. L-500 and VC4 in that order but none of them allow you the flexibility that the SkyRC MC3000 does.

Thanks. I already have the C2-6000 and am very happy with it’s simplicity.

Looking for discharging capability till 2.8V or even 2.7V whenever necessary.

I think the Opus v2.2 discharges till 2.8V.

There is one other charger-analyzer that discharges till 2.6V. Can’t remember the name.

I might just get the MC3000 & the Opus v2.2. Any good trustworthy seller that ships to South East Asia?

I’m in Southeast Asia too, I got my MC3000 (the older 1-fan version) and Opus from Gearbest.

I’ve had my SkyRC MC3000 for about 2 years now. It’s charging some 18650’s as I type.
Overall it’s been a very good charger.

I’m a technically oriented person and found it a bit complex at first.
Eventually I learned how to setup the things I needed and it feels very simple to use now.
It does have a great deal of flexibility but you somewhat need to know what you’re doing with this charger as it will allow you
to make settings that could be dangerous for example with a LiIo battery.

My only semi-gripes after 2 years are……
1). The rails were REALLY hard to slide. getting batteries in and out was a PITA. I finally resolved that by applying NOALOX on the rails.
Since then and for a year or more now, they slide smooth and easy.

2). I have always had what I consider very high IR readings. HKJ says the MC3000 is the most precise but my readings say otherwise.
I actually have another charger AND a dedicated SB8124A IR tester.

Thing is, I think the readings are in different units and I haven’t taken the time to master the difference so maybe they’re in agreement and I just don’t know how to calculate the difference to compare them?

Anyway, other than that, I’m glad I purchased it. I connect it via USB cable to my PC and use DataExplorer to get live real time graphs of the charging / discharging process. I love that feature. It also has a nice Bluetooth system that connects to my phone. Very nice.

I would definitely buy it again. I’m actually considering buying a backup.

Oh….FWIW…i never updated the firmware. It’s on the firmware that came with it.

I think if you removed all the posts on the MC3000 on the Internet, there wouldn’t be much left to read. :smiley:

All battery chargers have the same goal, to charge your batteries, and there are only two requirements to make a great charger. 1) The charge current, voltage and battery temp. can’t be too high to damage the cell, and 2) the charging process can’t stop until the battery is correctly charged, not over charged or under charged. That is it. Period.

So if a charger can do #1 and #2 well, that is all is needed. Problem is, its hard or impossible to do both well for many types of batteries without some human input.

I have the Opus v2.2, and its a fine charger, with human input required for accurate charging rate (#1). It performs (#2) O.K. but it undercharges in most cases, but it trickle charges after to compensate.

Batteries, even of the same chemistry are different and some tweaking of settings can almost always help.

The MC3000 is nothing more than a charger where all the charging parameters can be adjusted, so if they are set correctly for a particular battery, the charger works well. But two negatives. 1) You must learn about all these parameters to set them correctly. AND 2) and the MC3000 has a pretty bad user interface. It can store many charging profiles, so if you take the time to set these, its relatively easy to use after setting up. Many people may not want to bother, when the Opus can do the same but maybe only charge to 80% full when it stops. And the charger is cheaper.

So if you are a person that wants good precision and your willing to put the time in, the MC3000 is great charger in the right hands. If you just want a throw batteries in charger that will mostly charge OK, you probably don’t want the MC3000, and it will be frustrating. For this I like the Ansmann chargers, but batteries can run a bit hot. Most batteries are tolerant of this, however.

Oh, I should also say the Bluetooth on the MC3000 sucks, and bad instructions make it worse. In my opinion, unless you can get the smartphone interface running, than I wouldn’t bother with the MC3000 because the basic UI is BAD, as mentioned above. Use the phone interface if you absolutely can.

So do you want to spend almost no effort to get 80% charged batteries? Or do you want to spend a few hours learning and programming to get your batteries at 100% charged? Your choice.

Is there a fast charger that charges 21700’s to max, Eneloops to max and has a fairly accurate display.
I’ve just got the XTAR VC2S and it’s crud.

Wife has to use it too so the MC3000 is a no no.