I am a new convert to LED torches, mainly 18650 based ones. I have a few torches (the latest of which is the Skyray 3800 lumen). This is a dual 18650 unit, and I understand that the two batteries need to be fairly well matched if you don't want to turn it into a pipe bomb! I currently have a cheap $10 Li-ion dual cell charger from ebay. While it seems to work, it can take 5 or 6 hours to charge a set, and I am not convinced it is doing a good job.
I looked at the Turnigy Accucel-6 unit, and I appreciate the review on this forum. This is quite cheap - I can get this for $32 delivered. My concern is the maxim -"you get what you pay for". I am also concerned that I can only change one AA or AAA NiMH at a time (realistically). I can charge more than 1 Li-ion at a time, but that is only half the battle.
I also note that the Accucel-6 has a few accuracy issues. I can get the IMAX B6 for $30 delivered with a power supply!
So - I am wondering whether I should start looking at more expensive models. Perhaps a multi channel unit? ie a 4 channel one sounds quite useful - I could then charge 4 AA NiMH at the same time. I cannot understand how you can charge Li-ion batteries in parallel, so this will let me charge them separately as well.
Can anyone recommend a good multichannel unit? I have gone through the units at HobbyKing, but frankly they all look pretty much the same, with basically the same specs except for discharge amps. And that does not concern me at all. But I must have a GOOD unit, even if I pay slightly more.
I am very happy with my Turnigy Acucell 6, it can easily do all that you are asking. You can very easily make a battery holder to charge two 18650s like this. The settings I have mine on in the picture you can see will charge 6 Lions at 6 amps if you ever needed to do that many at once. You can get these battery holders for cheap and with a couple sheet metal screws and springs you can fit any size battery in there and make an easy adjustment with a screwdriver if needed. As long as you have a DMM and test your batteries before you use them there is no need to spend more money and that is something you need to do to be safe with a multicell light anyways.
Yes, with Li-Ion I am happy that it will charge as many as I want in parallel. But I also want to charge NiMh - and up to 4 or more at once. This is more of an issue, and not something I am convinced these units can do easily. But I am here to be convinced!
It says in the settings it will do up to 15 at once, but I can not confirm this as I use a separate charger for my NiMH batteries. Honestly I have yet to use this charger for anything except charging and discharging Lion batteries. I am sure someone will chime in with some results for you, this charger seems to be quite popular around here.
As I understand it, it does this in series. ie they quote 2S,4S,6S, etc. This is probably ok if you use the balancing function, but that will only work if you wire up the balancing leads. Seems very complex, and so far have not seen anyone mention this. If it is not that hard to do, then it may be a viable option.
Sure - ordered one (not that exact one, but similar). Also ordered a couple of blank 18650 battery holders (4, to be exact). And a whole bunch of 6mm x 3mm magnets. I am looking at modifying one of my old NiMH chargers as well. I can see a busy time coming up in a week or so as I wire all this up.
I have seen little but bad words about the Imax B6, and nothing but good about the Accucell6. Which is why I am getting the Accucell6. The specs are pretty much identical though.
I did- they were about double the price of the Accucel6. So for now am sticking to the Accucel6. Should be arriving this week. I am not in RC, so only want it to charge batteries around the house with.
Is the iCharger all that much better? I would be interested - I really like buying the best stuff I can afford. If the iChargers are so much more powerful, then I might see about getting one of those later. Bear in mind I only charge batteries around the house - I am not into RC at all.
I have been happy with my Clone Imax B6 charger. I think most of the complaints come from People wanting to balance charge multi cell packs. For the money they cant be beat. They are way more accurate than the cheap O blinkie light lithium chargers. You should be able to recharge any battery you own with them.
I also have an Icharger 106b+ and it does everything but slice bread. They are factory calibrated and very accurate. Way more accurate than you would ever really need. I got mine mostly because I wanted / needed the adjust-ability to run graphs and do high amp discharge tests. They are rated very high and have a crazy amount of manufacturer support. If you have the extra money to burn then yes they are a great charger but if the budget is tight the B6 will probably do everything you need to do.
I cannot find one of the forums - but the feedback on Hobbyking itself that was not that flattering. ie
But read a couple of other comments that did not like the balancing system and that the voltage levels were just plain inaccurate. I could not care less about the fan thing. I guess I will give my Turnigy a go for awhile, then maybe buy a better one down the track if need be.
yes the icharger is much better and much more acurate and will charge much faster with alot more useful features, but its not the best you can get, ive had a few diffrent types of chargers over the years most get you by but most are all over the place, in recent time ive had your type of charger and two imax b6, one imax b6 ac and my old man runs a imax b6, his over charges where mine under charged and one over charged and the acuracy is out from 0.4 to 0.04v when balancing and the over all voltage is out about the same not to mention they are not to good for delta peak charging nimh and oftern cut off to early or to late and you can not adjust the senitivity, not the best for test mah.
you dont need to be into rc to have a decent charger....... i use mine for xbox360 controller batteries, camera batteries, my daughters toys and for my rc even car batteries, its used a few times a week and some times every night its payed for its self.
if your intrested i got the icharger 106b+
Capable of handling up to 250W or 10A charge rates. Lipoly, LiFe and Lilo compatible as well as able to charge up to 6 cell packs.
The iCharger is famous for its ultra-accurate balancing feature. Each unit is calibrated at the factory prior to shipping!
This is a quality precision charger.
Spec. Input voltage range : 10.0 – 18.0VDC Charge current range : 0.05 – 10.0A Discharge current range : 0.05 – 7.0A Maximum charge power capacity : 250W @ input voltage > 13.5V Maximum discharge power capacity : 20W Maximum extern discharge power capacity : 170W @ 20V/7A Current drain for balancing : <300mA Balance accuracy : <10mV Lithium (LiPo/LiIo/LiFe) battery cell count : 1 – 6 series NiCd/NiMH battery cell count : 1 – 17 series Pb battery cell count : 1 – 12 series (2 – 24V) Battery setup memories : 10 Intelligent temperature control : Yes PC Connect : USB port Weight : 350g Dimensions (L X W X D) : 134X83X25mm
because im into rc i wish i got the icharger 206b so i can parrallel charger upto 20 amps, but thats to much for torch batteries, and the 10 amp charge of the icharge 106b+ with 7 amp discharge is normaly enough.
I just tossed a $180 icharger 3010B into the garbage. This thing lasted 14 months with very light use never near its rated capacity. Yesterday I tried to use it to charge a battery and all it does is reboot, cycle, reboot. Something inside the case appears to have leaked. I suspected it was an electrolytic cap and replaced it, but no success. Emails to Hobbyking and Juntzi go unanswered. If I send it for repair it goes to China. Shipping will be expensive and repairs will likely take many months. I give up.
