RC car battery charger for 16430...?

[GSRswapandslow]

ok, so i have gotten out of RC's lately...just couldn't keep up so many hobbies, being laid off...and it was just the first to go. but, one thing i learned from being in and out is NEVER sell the stuff you'll always need...in this instance, i'm talking about my charger.

it's a lipo charger/balancer...from 1-6 cells, and from .1-5a. can this be used to charger 16430 batteries? I'm curious since i have been running cr123's in my ITP C9R and i HATE having to wait for the gun show to come around to snag them for $20/10....i'd much rather have 2 rechargeables with one in the light and another in my pack (with a backup primary of course)

has anyone done this?

 

[PCC]

RC car? Airplane? Boat? Helicopter?

I use a Multiplex LN-5014 charger to charge my Li-Ion cells. The most difficult part of it was finding a way to hold everything together while they charged. I ended up making a battery holder from PVC pipe, a piece of aluminum, and some bolts for charging my 18650s. Works great so far.

 

[45/70]

Sure you can charge 16340's. Quite a few of us are charging Li-Ion cells with hobby chargers nowadays, as most of the "consumer" type chargers available are crap.

You'd have to come up with a way to run balancing leads to charge more than one at a time though. An alternative is to come up with a parallel wired cradle setup and just charge them in parallel. Either way you end up doing it, be careful not to run too high a charge rate. For LiCo 16340's, I'd go for a max 600mA/cell which is ~1C, 300mA would probably be better and easier on the cells.

Also, if your charger has "LiPo" (4.20 V CV) and "LiIo" (4.10V CV), you can use the "LiPo" setting, although your cells will last longer if you use the "LiIo" setting. The only drawback is the cells will only charge to ~4.10 volts and ~90% capacity. Some consider this a small price to pay for extended cell life.

If you look around, there are some threads dealing with using hobby chargers on the Forum. Try the Google search at the top of the page if the search box at the bottom doesn't pan out.

Dave

 

[GSRswapandslow]

cool thanks for the help

i'll just order some cells wiht no charger then tonight, i just didn't wanna pay $15 for such a crappy charger from battery junction.