Hobby charger for all kinds of chemistries?

[Fichtenelch]

Hi,
i'm looking for a good charger, which also shows the energy which already was loaded into the cell. should be suitable for nimh, li-ion and maybe able to load more than 1 cell at a time and batterypacks...
are there any good chargers that suit my needs and don't cost like 200$?

 

[jasonck08]

I have a Turnigy Accucell 6, which I picked up from Hobby City for about $45 shipped.

They also have some higher end models like the Accucell 8.

Mine chargers Ni-Cd, Ni-mh, Li-ion, Li-Po, LifePo4, and Lead Acid.

 

[Meterman]

I don't know any charger showing the charged energy in it's integrated display directly.

My Orbit Pocketlader - charging nearly everything - can be connected to a PC and there you find (beside the graphs of course) one counter for the actually charged mAh and the mWh each.

Wulf

 

[RobSpook]

I've used the iCharger 106B+ combined with the iCharger P350 power supply for a while now... I use it to charge 2 cell Li-Po's for my R/C aircraft, a 4.8V battery pack in my cordless screwdriver, and 5 18V Black & Decker drill/yard tool batteries along with some other batteries. Many models with different power capabilities available. Just make sure you calculate your power needs. It could also do NiMH but I use my Maha C9000 for them.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839657

 

[Meterman]

Hi,
i'm looking for a good charger, which also shows the energy which already was loaded into the cell.

@jasonck08
@RobSpook

How and where do the chargers you've recommended display the amount of energy summed up during the current charge? I didn't find any hint. If they don't do so at all, your recommendations have missed the mark.

Wulf

 

[Fichtenelch]

I ordered the iCharger iC6, i hope that it's doing what i'm expecting it to...

 

[jasonck08]

My charger keeps track of the mAH delivered to the cell during the charging process. It just keeps counting up until the charging is finished. This is shown on the display next to the charge timer which shows how long the cell has been charging.

 

[Meterman]

My charger keeps track of the mAH delivered to the cell during the charging process.

This do most of the chargers. But Fichtenelch had asked for the mWh to be tracked. That's a big difference!

Wulf

 

[Wattnot]

+1 on the Icharger. It's small, versital and powerful. It runs with the big dogs but for less money.

 

[RobSpook]

@jasonck08
@RobSpook

How and where do the chargers you've recommended display the amount of energy summed up during the current charge? I didn't find any hint. If they don't do so at all, your recommendations have missed the mark.

Wulf

Go to the link and read the manual... I'm pretty sure that the display keeps a running total of the mah pumped into the battery and the rate.

 

[Meterman]

Go to the link and read the manual... I'm pretty sure that the display keeps a running total of the mah pumped into the battery and the rate.

You don't know the difference between energy in mWh and capacity in mAh? Perhaps you try and learn a bit using WikipediA - I can't give any additional links for your language, sorry.

Fichtenelch had asked for the energy.

Wulf

 

[Fichtenelch]

It shouldn't be that big difference, mWh is just mV x mA..so, if it shows mAh and at the end of the charge i can see the capacity of the cell, it's fine to me. Since it should terminate the charge at 4.2V, i could also calculate the mWh.

 

[Meterman]

. . .so, if it shows mAh and at the end of the charge i can see the capacity of the cell, it's fine to me. Since it should terminate the charge at 4.2V, i could also calculate the mWh.

In Germany we call an absurd calculation like that "Milchmädchenrechnung" - you should know that!

Your calculation would be applicable if there were only a constant voltage phase. But during the constant current phase the voltage is only rising slowly to the final value and the mWh must be calculated every moment anew using the current voltage.

A lot of unawareness in this thread - :thinking:

Wulf

 

[Kubbu]

Hey everyone

Is there also a Charger which detect the charge capacity and the discharge capacity?
To fidn out who much mAh the Accu relay has.

Sorry for my bad Englisch

 

[HarryN]

Usually, capacity available for discharge is measured by running a cycle that actually discharges the pack. There are some chargers that will do this, then recharge the cells, which tells you how much charge went in. Some chargers will allow this discharge / charge to be programmed for multiple cycles.

The rate that this charge / discharge can happen is measured in watts and directly affects the charger price.

I "think" the Triton II is a nominal 70 watt charge / maybe 20-30 watts discharge, but I need to look at the manual to be sure. 70 watts sounds like a lot until you need to charge up a 30 V pack and don't want to charge at the max capability of the charger.