Dual Charge Recommendations

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AggyMi said:
The form factor seems so small it almost seems to good to be true, how are the balancing and discharge speeds 🤔
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Not too bad for charging and balancing speeds. I generally charge at 1C, so storage to full and balanced in about 40mins (newish packs), takes longer for a couple of aged packs that don't have long left before recycling.
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And the discharge is where it gets good! Onboard is limited to 2 channels at 12watts, but if you've got a suitable supply battery, then the recycle mode lets you dump the charge at up to 250w per channel.
I've never used this recycle mode, so I'm not sure if it's actually any good.
The times I have needed to discharge a pack (broken truck etc), I've used the charged pack to bring the empties back to storage, seemed to work well, just gotta remember to set the supply cut-off appropriately.
 
Partydaz said:
For a discharger I use this as the Hotas are piss poor at discharging a lipo :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ISDT-Contr...cXE6GJEe&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Also for not much more cash the Hota f6+ ( think someone has already mentioned it ) not much more than a hota s6 and quad channel 500w ac / 1000w dc, all the charger you will ever need :D :

https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/hota-f6-quad-channel-1000w-acdc-charger
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Just an FYI unless it's something like a Mean Well PSU or other known good brand do not try to run 1000W charger off a 1000W supply.

Mean Well supplies are derated by 25% and are industrial PSUs designed to deliver 100% of their rated output 24/7 for years without problems, noname brands can be a lot less reliable.

There are lots of used Mean Well PSUs on ebay all the time at good prices and they are a much better buy than a similarly priced brand new noname chinese PSUs.
 
Atomic Skull said:
Just an FYI unless it's something like a Mean Well PSU or other known good brand do not try to run 1000W charger off a 1000W supply.

Mean Well supplies are derated by 25% and are industrial PSUs designed to deliver 100% of their rated output 24/7 for years without problems, noname brands can be a lot less reliable.

There are lots of used Mean Well PSUs on ebay all the time at good prices and they are a much better buy than a similarly priced brand new noname chinese PSUs.
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Good info 👍🏼
 
Right, we are going with this.. for now.

Many thanks for all your input

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Oh the irony... Postie delivered it two mins after I started charging. Banggood did well as their original delivery estimate was mid January.
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Nelson.81 said:
I have the skyrc t100 it does the job but it’s useless if you need to discharge a battery it takes hrs. I’d 2nd the hota as a good call I’ve been looking at the f6 it’s a quad channel charger, but the s6 good too if want a dual charger. Not all hota have a mains supply plug be careful which you choose if go for one.
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how often do you discharge a lipo? I tried on my spektrum and it was taking hours until I just unplugged it and put it back in the rc and just throttled it for a bit to drain it.
 
Newkronosuser2709 said:
how often do you discharge a lipo? I tried on my spektrum and it was taking hours until I just unplugged it and put it back in the rc and just throttled it for a bit to drain it.
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Rarely , only really if I’ve charged Lipo day/night before & the weather doesn't play nice to use it, I’ve saw some people create there own Lipo discharge setups where it may be connected to a light bulb or fan something runs it down but makes some use of the power instead of just discharging it through charger.
 
Well this is a far more civilised way of going about things, thank you to everyone who made suggestions. Was £65 from Banggood for anyone else who may be interested.
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AggyMi said:
Good question, and no, all it came with was the AC lead, which shocked me a little.

I feel for anyone new into the hobby, little things like this make it so hard for newbies
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Can be a steep learning curve for a newb especially Lipo battery does & don’t’s . Don’t think mine came with any balance lead extensions needed to get xt60 - xt90 adapters too. I’ve a couple of single extensions leads but different ones for 3s & 4s a balance board be a better job need stick couple in shopping cart.
 
Nelson.81 said:
Can be a steep learning curve for a newb especially Lipo battery does & don’t’s . Don’t think mine came with any balance lead extensions needed to get xt60 - xt90 adapters too. I’ve a couple of single extensions leads but different ones for 3s & 4s a balance board be a better job need stick couple in shopping cart.
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The whole battery situation is the only reason I don't let my gf's kid keep the batteries for his sg116 RC, at 11 years old I just don't think he'd grasp the magnitude of the dangers when not following the rules.

Honestly I don't know why proprietary battery and charging systems like those used by Spektrum and DJI aren't the legislated norm. I've watched countless YouTubers bashing Spektrum smart batteries and can't for the life of me figure out why.

They auto detect, they auto charge, they auto balance, the internal BMS timer automatically moves them into storage mode if you don't use them. What's not to love? That safety element is worth the extra cost especially for noobs and younger users.
 
AggyMi said:
Good question, and no, all it came with was the AC lead, which shocked me a little.

I feel for anyone new into the hobby, little things like this make it so hard for newbies
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This is why so many of us are seduced by Skyrc - they include everything you need.

That being said, this Hota is a much higher performance bit of kit. Love the screen! 😎👌

Should make discharge duty much easier.

I'm juggling multiple 2S shorty packs around over the winter, so I may have to resort to buying something with a better discharge rate compared to my Skyrc quad charger.

If racing gets delayed, we sometimes drop a round of qualifying, which is not only disappointing, but also results in fully charged packs that require putting into storage mode. Very tedious at 0.5A. 🤣
 
I'm also trying to get some kind of deal with Onyx for 2S shorties in 2WD. 🤞Ya' never know!! 🤞

Where's the emoji for crossed toes? 🤣😅
 
Horatio said:
This is why so many of us are seduced by Skyrc - they include everything you need.

That being said, this Hota is a much higher performance bit of kit. Love the screen! 😎👌

Should make discharge duty much easier.

I'm juggling multiple 2S shorty packs around over the winter, so I may have to resort to buying something with a better discharge rate compared to my Skyrc quad charger.

If racing gets delayed, we sometimes drop a round of qualifying, which is not only disappointing, but also results in fully charged packs that require putting into storage mode. Very tedious at 0.5A. 🤣
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These have been on eBay for a while now, might be of interest

https://ebay.us/m/fZA4TV
 
AggyMi said:
The whole battery situation is the only reason I don't let my gf's kid keep the batteries for his sg116 RC, at 11 years old I just don't think he'd grasp the magnitude of the dangers when not following the rules.

Honestly I don't know why proprietary battery and charging systems like those used by Spektrum and DJI aren't the legislated norm. I've watched countless YouTubers bashing Spektrum smart batteries and can't for the life of me figure out why.

They auto detect, they auto charge, they auto balance, the internal BMS timer automatically moves them into storage mode if you don't use them. What's not to love? That safety element is worth the extra cost especially for noobs and younger users.
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Be careful what you wish for though. With the way Right to Repair is (in the USA) it can be difficult to keep things working already. If we empower OEM's to make proprietary systems that lock users out, then things get junked.

Example, I got back into the hobby 1 year ago. I went all in on a Traxxas Maxx Slash with two traxxas 3s lipos and their ID charger. It was honestly a great experience. I had the truck running within 15 mins of unboxing. Fast forward a couple months and the balance leads on the ID plug were breaking off. I was able to repair. The same thing happend to the other 3S lipo. I ended up soldeing on my own balance leads, like you would see on a typical lipo. Had this been a spectrum deal, with the integrated chipset, my batteries would be junk. I now have 6+ months and at least 50 charges on those packs.

You may want to consider gens-ace-r-spam for your GF's son. I'd lean towards all in on gensacearespammers charger and battery because of my failures with the Traxxas balance leads breaking at the ID plug. They self ID with the charger. However the charger can also do normal packs if/when he is mature enough to that.
 
danl said:
Be careful what you wish for though. With the way Right to Repair is (in the USA) it can be difficult to keep things working already. If we empower OEM's to make proprietary systems that lock users out, then things get junked.

Example, I got back into the hobby 1 year ago. I went all in on a Traxxas Maxx Slash with two traxxas 3s lipos and their ID charger. It was honestly a great experience. I had the truck running within 15 mins of unboxing. Fast forward a couple months and the balance leads on the ID plug were breaking off. I was able to repair. The same thing happend to the other 3S lipo. I ended up soldeing on my own balance leads, like you would see on a typical lipo. Had this been a spectrum deal, with the integrated chipset, my batteries would be junk. I now have 6+ months and at least 50 charges on those packs.

You may want to consider gens-ace-r-spam for your GF's son. I'd lean towards all in on gensacearespammers charger and battery because of my failures with the Traxxas balance leads breaking at the ID plug. They self ID with the charger. However the charger can also do normal packs if/when he is mature enough to that.
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The mistake there is not realising how awful Traxass are as a company in general. 🫤

Hopefully, if this experience puts your guard up in future when it comes to buying any more Traxass stuff, in a weird way, it's done you a solid. 👍
 
Horatio said:
The mistake there is not realising how awful Traxass are as a company in general. 🫤

Hopefully, if this experience puts your guard up in future when it comes to buying any more Traxass stuff, in a weird way, it's done you a solid. 👍
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I like experiencing different designs from different companies.
 
danl said:
I like experiencing different designs from different companies.
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Me too. But not 1 single penny will ever pass from me to Traxass. Ever.

Here's my list of experiencing different designs from different companies:

■Tamiya Sandscorcher

■Tamiya Superchamp

■Kyosho Rocky * mc112b esc

■PB Nova

■PB Mustang Xi2 Super Competition

■Mardave Maruader

■Corally 1/12th unknown version

■Schumacher Procat *

■Schumacher Bosscat *

■Schumacher Bosscat Works *

■x3 Schumacher CAT 3000 *

■Tenth Tech Predator *

■x2 Losi XXX *

■Yokomo MR4BC Super Dogfighter *

■x2 Schumacher Axis*

■x2 Associated TC3 *

■Mardave V10 Stock Car

■HPI 1/10th RS4 Subaru Rally *

■Yokomo MR4 SD SS Rayspeed *

■Mugen MBX4RR *

■HPI Savage SS *

■Jammin X1CR

■Jammin X1CR Pro *

■HPI Baja 5B SS *

■Xray XT8 17

■Corally Kronos XTR

■Tamiya Sandscorcher Re Re

■Sworkz T2E

■x2 Losi 22-4X Elite*

■Team Associated B7*

*Raced competitively at BRCA sanctioned races

I would consider buying a secondhand XRT - they look like a lot of fun. Or an Xmaxx perhaps. 🤣
 
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