Hi folks, Im fairly new to this, have done much reading, too much maybe. But Im about to bite the bullet on a charger, I need it to do nimh, and lithium. I have about 8 AA mimh, and about another 10 AAA’s. I have two torches that take lithium, but as yet have not purchased batteries for them. I will be buying one or two 26650’s and 2 or 3 18650’s. Brands I will stick to Keepower, KK, or Xtars based on reading Ive done.
My question is what will I need to add to this charger, linked in a thread somewhere I can no longer find. It was recommended as an option to someone, but then refers to parts needed to make it suitable. Im aware it needs a PC PSU for example, Im fine with that. Is it any good? I notice no mention of CC/CV, but delta peak is mentioned. I looked at dearer ones too, but still no mention of CC/Cv in that style of charger from my readings.
This one was the one recommended, I assume price was partly why…
or
Please help me pick a charger, and the bits Id need to make it work.
Thanks Le_Zouave but I want something with digital gauges, not just lights thanks. I have looked at the IQ328?? I think it is, but it only did nimh, not lithium iirc.
Not sure if it matters, I do want to be able to charge AA and AAA as sets of 2 or 4 etc, but lithiums likely to be charged one at a time.
If you are on a budget go for either the Accucel_6 or Imax B6 (Genuine not a clone) Hobby King does those as well.
A hobby charger is the way to go. Both of the above will be able to do the correct method to charge (CC/CV etc.) the various cell types they cater for. They also give the ability to charge the cells at the c rate you choose, which in my view is important.
They also give you various ways to monitor the cells you own, for instance capacity and in the case of the Accucell internal resistance. They are far more flexible and useful than ‘normal’ chargers
A very good feature is the facility of using a temp sensor to monitor the cells as you charge them and if they overheat shut the charger down. So put a temp sensor on your shopping list, only cost a couple of quid.
A set of magnets will be helpful , If you have a peruse around the chargers section of BLF there are many threads with suggestions of how to connect the various cells and charging configurations.
My first charger was a Genuine IMAX B6 , but I wish I spent the extra $$ and got a Turnigy Reaktor simply for the 20A discharge capability. All those hobby chargers will charge Li-on and Nimh with the correct CC/CV algorithm.
Magnets are a must for any hobby charger, as well as some balancing leads if u plan on charging in series. For parallel charging some simple battery holders for 18650 and AA makes charging multiple batteries easier.
Well myself I wanted a hobby charger to test cell capacity. So accucel6 or imax B6 would be fine but I needed to buy a power supply too and both end charge at 4.2V (some cell end at 4.3V).
So I searched for a hobby charger that can let choose the ending voltage, that can be connected to a PC, that have a power supply integrated…
and I bought a skyrc 6x80+
Well it’s way more expensive, maybe I should have taken a icharger and I still didn’t received it…
I’d like to point out that unless your nimh cells are discharged in the same device and have the same state of charge, it would be difficult to charge your nimh cells in groups on a single channel hobby charger without cooking at least one of the cells.
Feel free to recommend any alternatives. They dont need to be from HobbyKing either, its just they have an Australian warehouse, and I am looking at buying LSD nimh’s from them, and Ive read these batteries are decent for the price, combined postage and all that. I may end up with some eneloops too. I also need to get some 18650’s and 26650s too, so any recommended store that will ship to Aus is a good choice IMO. Just a worry making sure I get the real deal on batteries, and not rewrapped duds. Ive read some nasty stories re old laptop batts etc.
Thankyou Dru Dragon, so they do CC/CV, nice to know as not seeing it mentioned I wondered how they faired.
Magnets, and I think I read somewhere you hook clips (or similar) to said magnets etc to hold them to the appropriate ends of the batts? I will look around the charging section. It seems there is much more for me to learn.
- Holders
Balancing leads (some chargers seem to come with them)
Its getting complicated lol. I thought I was considering enough with CC/CV and delta peak.
Thankyou xmint, Im not strictly on a budget, but like most people I dont like spending money I dont need to spend. I would assume given they protect the investment in batteries, they themselves are something that is best purchased with reference to function and performance, rather than price. So no Im not set on a price limit reflected in the examples I gave. Recommend away, but not to hundreds, maybe 100.
- Holders
- Balancing leads (some chargers seem to come with them)
Temp sensor probe, and same feature on the charger (I assume this will get difficult with multi channel chargers?)
Yeah good point, and thanks. The AA nimhs, mostly do get used in pairs at least (remotes etc, a 2xAA led in the car). 8 of the AAA’s are for a pair of 2 watt handheld UHF’s, so they get used in 4’s but I doubt I keep them in sets so to speak. They will likely be mixed about over time.
I take it these are 4 channels
But agin though, Im not fixed on brand or store, so feel free to recommend up to $100. I havent really got a clue as you can see, so any recommendation is going to help me.
I have the turnigy accucell6 and it works very good despite I haven’t got the USB out working, but I also wouldn’t buy this again because of the discharge ability.
50W charging is more than enough, but 1A/10W discharge is too small.
I just yesterday discharged a PB cell and the max current was around 0.6A It took forever.
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I would say 5A discharge and working serial/USB out or another option to log discharge(I am still dreaming of a sdcard) for less than 50$ would make a perfect charger for me.
Or can all the Accucell 6's do internal resistance?I got one in last month from Hobby King,but without a manual.However,I have the manual from my Imax B6 and it has the same menu screens.The Imax doesn't do IR afaik.Cheers.
Probably not what your looking for but I got a xtar wp6 for Li ion cells and a Maha C9000 for nimh cells. The xtar is ok and v well priced addition to the Maha. With these two chargers I can charge many batts quickly and safely
Not good for AAA, might miss termination pretty often and fry your cells ;)!
Ejected Filament - go straight for genuine Eneloops, while Turnigy’s batteries are good regarding LSD, none of the batteries come close to Eneloops when it comes to retaining high voltage during load ;)!
Im not buying anything but Eneloops in the future, unless you give me LSD battery with decent capacity and decent performance for less than 1$ a piece :D!
The AC-6 did have a model for a short time that would do IR but it was hard to get your hands on one reliably and it’s now long gone. You gave up some other features (calibration) to get it.
The 50W 4-button chargers will not do IR. You have to go up in $$ for that.
The menu for just about ALL of the 4-button clones is the same……they ARE clones.
NOTE - There are FAKE, bad quality IMAX B6 out there. eBay has a lot, even Amazon/eBay. Don’t get sucked in by those.
Ah with that budget no question in my mind ,the Icharger at around $80. Accurate no need to b around. And should come with a temp probe included. HK does it as well. Pretty sure nothing better available at that price point.
Carriers is a whole subject on its own. I make my own or have modified a bought one. Problem is there are no good ones out there that can take both long unprotected and short cells and none made specifically for balance charging. That’s why I suggested having a look round the chargers section of this forum, lots of ideas and info there. While you are there keep a look out for Mod007’s diagram of how to connect for balance charging. Definitive and easy to understand, it is a keeper.
Off topic, sort of. If I fit 4 x 950mah AAA’s nimh in a UHF handheld radio that standard has a battery pack with 750mah, it shouldnt hurt it should it? The pack is just 4 AAA’s anyway. I can run it on alkaline AAA if need be if I cant charge the packs due to remote location etc. Id prefer some LSD nimh to the standard pack, and they are cheaper anyway.
Thankyou. I will wait a few days before ordering just to see what others think. The couple of threads IVe read on faults with these seem to revolve around cells, not chargers, except one. Which seems to have been replaced for the purchaser anyway, although not via HobbyKing, no idea what they are like with cust service. But I do think I might have found my charger. I take it Im gaining some power in wattage and versatility, but mostly precision over say the genuine Imax?
I take it with these type of charger (hobby chargers) there is no need to buy a system with multiple channels so to speak, as people use the charging boards (or in this case, the inbuilt board it seems) to charge in series? I had read a few threads in the charger section, but sort of got lost in the tricks etc. I noticed a few charging pcb type boards with various plug combinations on them in various threads that plug in and have for example, 4 2S, 4 3S, 2 or 3 4S etc down to like 1 6S plug point. I guess if you need to charge lots of batteries at once, a fleet of radios or torches for example, you would buy a multi channel system and utilise the boards as well (provided enough amps/watts were available)? Am I getting this right? At least the boards? I saw something about parallel too, but cant remember what it was now.
I also read the balancing function is not available for nimhs, but Im uncertain if that is a general rule/limitation, or specific to the charger in the thread, it was the $20 odd Turnigy, and dates back to maybe 2011.
Cheers. Im with you although possibly for different reasons, I prefer a gauge I can read. Not specifically sure why in batteries as yet, but its always been my way to have a gauge and not simply a light (car dash gauges for example).
Eneloops in Aus are around $5 each. I have found cheaper (around $16 for 4 1800 charge ones), but postage makes it more than $5 anyway. If I find an OS store, they either dont post here, or by the time I convert there isnt that much in it. Id prefer the local for small amounts of cash savings simply for returns etc, but also I support locals where I can.
Interesting, until recently this was all Greek to me, but its starting to make some sense. Thanks for that.
The Maha I had considered for nimhs but would still need to invest another chunk for the more dangerous lithiums. Thats why I shifted towards the copy, IQ328, as Id read decent reviews of it as a copy. The difference to me is about double in price.
If you just parallel charge your cells then the Imax and Accucell will do that no problem and are very good value for what they are. But the Icharger is a level (or two maybe three) above, quality, better specs and accuracy. If you do a lot of balance charging then you will have no worries in that department with the Icharger.
Both the AC 6 and B6 will be less consistent and may even have significant variations (if you are unlucky with the one you get) while balance charging. Indeed there used to be a unofficial kit that tightened up the tolerances of the B6. But again it all depends on the precision you require. I have both the B6 and AC 6 and have used them for balance charging many times and have had no problems with them .02v variation is not IMV particularly significant. The Icharger is just better and mostly gives no variation to final voltage in the cells I balance charge.
The boards with many sockets for balance charging are for battery packs and I believe mainly (?) aimed at the RC enthusiasts. For simply balance charging the individual cells we use, a simple cable is all that is required mated to some sort of battery carrier as per Mod’007’s diagram and his comments you linked to.
I dont know how much Ill be charging, or balancing. I dont use the torches I have all that often, but I do charge nimhs regularly enough and a maha will set me back $80AUD. But I like quality in the things I buy so the Icharge is not a bad investment IMO. I will use it. Balancing will come in when I buy either a Solarforce S1100, or the 2200. They have good prices and I like the look of them. I think I favour the appearance of the 1100 with its polished reflector, but I like the light from the 2200 from the shots Ive seen. Im leaning toward the 2200.
Can someone tell me what kind of power supply is needed for the Icharge 106B? I read somewhere the Icharge 206B does not have facility for say a laptop power supply which was what I thought it would use. This could be a deal breaker. Makes sense though, 250w is not what I expect in a laptop ps, maybe 90.
That one you linked to should be fine. But unless you are going to be using the charger flat out with lipo packs, you may find that a powerful laptop charger would work ok.
I use either a PC PSU with a 12v 25amp rail, or mostly I use a 12v car battery/golf cart battery depending which has more charge….