Help me pick a smart/balance charger

[ptolemy]

Hi guys,

I will admit, I have nothing of them, which brand is good, which is not.

But, I know you all are the experts, so here is what I am looking for

1. ability to charge 1-4 batteries. I would want to at least be able to do it from 1a til 3a range

2. reasonably priced - not looking to spend above $60

3. it should have everything with it that I would need to charge them (except for batteries/cradle)

4. discharge ability would be cool provides it has usb port/software to graph it

Generally, could you also tell me quality brands I should keep an eye on and the crappy ones I should avoid

thanks!

 

[KiwiMark]

4. discharge ability would be cool provides it has usb port/software to graph it

You don't mention whether you want built in mains power capability, but it doesn't take much to use a computer PSU so I would suggest the cheaper 12V chargers.

I own this: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7523
and this: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028

The second one is cheaper and will do most of what you want, but I would recommend going with the first one. It offers:
1 - 8 Li-ion cells (handles the various chemistries including LiFePO4)
1-27 NiMH or NiCd cells
0.1 to 7.0 Amp charging rate. (max 150W)
0.1-5.0 Amp discharging rate (max 25W)
Comes with a temperature probe which works well (you can set a cut off temperature)
Comes with a USB lead to connect to a PC - you can indeed graph the charging & discharging on a PC.

I have an old laptop connected to my charger and I graph the Amps, Volts, Temperature & mAh while discharging batteries.

 

[ptolemy]

You don't mention whether you want built in mains power capability, but it doesn't take much to use a computer PSU so I would suggest the cheaper 12V chargers.

I own this: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7523
and this: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028

The second one is cheaper and will do most of what you want, but I would recommend going with the first one. It offers:
1 - 8 Li-ion cells (handles the various chemistries including LiFePO4)
1-27 NiMH or NiCd cells
0.1 to 7.0 Amp charging rate. (max 150W)
0.1-5.0 Amp discharging rate (max 25W)
Comes with a temperature probe which works well (you can set a cut off temperature)
Comes with a USB lead to connect to a PC - you can indeed graph the charging & discharging on a PC.

I have an old laptop connected to my charger and I graph the Amps, Volts, Temperature & mAh while discharging batteries.

do these require a computer PSU? or standalone?

i have a psu available but if there are standalone versions ?

thanks

 

[KiwiMark]

do these require a computer PSU? or standalone?

12V DC only. Well they will actually run on anything from 10V to 18V so they are pretty tolerant. Some people buy a special power unit, but a computer PSU works well and if you have one available then there is no cost. I run both my hobby chargers from the same PSU and I could easily run a couple more at the same time.

 

[ptolemy]

You don't mention whether you want built in mains power capability, but it doesn't take much to use a computer PSU so I would suggest the cheaper 12V chargers.

I own this: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7523

The second one is cheaper and will do most of what you want, but I would recommend going with the first one. It offers:
1 - 8 Li-ion cells (handles the various chemistries including LiFePO4)
1-27 NiMH or NiCd cells
0.1 to 7.0 Amp charging rate. (max 150W)
0.1-5.0 Amp discharging rate (max 25W)
Comes with a temperature probe which works well (you can set a cut off temperature)
Comes with a USB lead to connect to a PC - you can indeed graph the charging & discharging on a PC.

I have an old laptop connected to my charger and I graph the Amps, Volts, Temperature & mAh while discharging batteries.

will it chagre single IMR battery for example via 2 alligator clips on each end...

thanks!

 

[KiwiMark]

will it chagre single IMR battery for example via 2 alligator clips on each end...

Yep, that is very easy to do. I don't like the holders and use magnets instead, but either way is simple. You can charge up to 4.1V or up to 4.2V by using the LiIo setting or the LiPo setting. It is a proper CC/CV charging algorithm and you can select 0.1V to 5.0V in 0.1V increments. So 1.0A or 1.2A or 2.3A or whatever you want is easy enough to set.

The thermal sensor is curved and has a magnet so you just sit it against the cell and it holds on there. You can set the charger to abort if the temperature exceeds whatever temperature you want to set. The default is 60 degrees Celsius - I graphed some charges and discharges and could see no reason why any battery would exceed 40 degrees Celsius if things were working OK, so I changed the setting to 40. This is a nice safety feature.

You can also set a time limit and a capacity limit. If you set the charger to cut off if 3200mAh is exceeded then it will charge until the battery is full or until 3200mAh has been put into the battery, whichever comes first.

These safety features make it less likely that your house will burn down - which I think is comforting.

 

[ptolemy]

Yep, that is very easy to do. I don't like the holders and use magnets instead, but either way is simple. You can charge up to 4.1V or up to 4.2V by using the LiIo setting or the LiPo setting. It is a proper CC/CV charging algorithm and you can select 0.1V to 5.0V in 0.1V increments. So 1.0A or 1.2A or 2.3A or whatever you want is easy enough to set.

The thermal sensor is curved and has a magnet so you just sit it against the cell and it holds on there. You can set the charger to abort if the temperature exceeds whatever temperature you want to set. The default is 60 degrees Celsius - I graphed some charges and discharges and could see no reason why any battery would exceed 40 degrees Celsius if things were working OK, so I changed the setting to 40. This is a nice safety feature.

You can also set a time limit and a capacity limit. If you set the charger to cut off if 3200mAh is exceeded then it will charge until the battery is full or until 3200mAh has been put into the battery, whichever comes first.

These safety features make it less likely that your house will burn down - which I think is comforting.

sweet'

if you are aware of other brands that do similar functionality, would u let me know

i want to spend a bit researching and rather not immidiately lock in on 1 brand

thank you!

 

[KiwiMark]

if you are aware of other brands that do similar functionality, would u let me know

I think that there are quite a few different brands with identical features. I bought the cheaper Turnigy because it was a good price and was getting good reviews. I bought the dearer Turnigy because I liked the cheaper one and wanted faster discharge rates and PC connectivity. The Turnigy ones are working well for me, so I am happy to recommend them - I'll leave recommendations of other brands to those with first hand experience with them.

 

[Vikas Sontakke]

Thunder AC6 is another one; they are all Bantam clones and most likely made in the same factory. This has its own power supply and comes with both USB cable for PC monitoring and temperature probe (but can only use either one at a time).

Unfortunately, if all you are interested in single cell NiMhs, you are better off with Maha type chargers as they handle multiple single cell much better and their capacity measurement is universally undrestood.

- Vikas

 

[ptolemy]

Thunder AC6 is another one; they are all Bantam clones and most likely made in the same factory. This has its own power supply and comes with both USB cable for PC monitoring and temperature probe (but can only use either one at a time).

Unfortunately, if all you are interested in single cell NiMhs, you are better off with Maha type chargers as they handle multiple single cell much better and their capacity measurement is universally undrestood.

- Vikas

nopes, i only want to deal with lithium based chemistries

 

[rmteo]

To give you an idea of chargers/accessories from just one hobby source, see here http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0097p?CATEGORY=PK