Let's talk lipo chargers...what do you have, do you like it?

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doolin64

doolin64

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When I first jumped into the brushless/lipo world, I went Maxamps. :censored:

As overprices as they are, they were great batteries. I bought a Hyperion Duo and an ac power supply. I kept that for a while, but found the menus confusing and hated having the giant a/c power supply.

My current charger is a Venom Duo Charger. It's 2x80w. It taps out at 7.0amp charging rate. It's only really an issue with the bigger batteries. I find it easy to use and very compact. I was looking at buying another one, but I can see they've been discontinued. Just wondering what's out there.

So what are you guys using?
 
I go with this standard 7A/80W charger which is sold under various brands for about 40€ … it serves all my needs, but yes a dual would be nicer😉.
F25FBD6A-2ADD-4C32-87D2-A5010D652980.jpeg


Before I had the previous version with only 5A/50W and without those handy features like charging to storage voltage and measurement of internal resistance, but it did work without any issues for many years until I sold it recently.
 
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Nothing vancy. single HRC racing Star charger 100W/7A.
Only thing is that the beeping sound when you press buttons or when its done charging is so loud that it is annoying.
On my wishlist a Duo charger with a option to change the volume on the beeps. Tips are welcome 😉

IMG_20220322_172841.jpg
 
FunnyCar said:
The beeping sound when pressing buttons I have set to “Off”, for me that’s quite useless and just annoying…
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That's awesome. Need 2 look better in the settings. Didn't find it yet.

Went through the menu. Cant find anything to stop the beeps 😔

Found it, and the beeping stops 🥳🍻🍻 only alarm when full is activated.
 
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My Venom Duo beeps incessantly going through the menus as well.

I was looking at this one.

Why stop at two batteries when you can charge 4! LOL I could do my sons and my batteries all at once.

Fire Oops GIF
 
doolin64 said:
My Venom Duo beeps incessantly going through the menus as well.

I was looking at this one.

Why stop at two batteries when you can charge 4! LOL I could do my sons and my batteries all at once.

Fire Oops GIF
Click to expand...

I wouldn't buy that charger it is way overpriced for what it is, it is basically 4 Skyrc B6AC chargers stuffed into a fancy case. You will only be able to charge 4 2s 5000mah lipos at 1c at once. Each channel is limited to 50w when all 4 channels are in use. Keep in mind to charge a 6s 5000mah lipo at 1c you will need about 125w. So in order to charge 4 6s 5000mah lipos at once you will need at least a 500w charger.
  • Total Charge Circuit Power on AC Power: 200 Watts with Power Distribution
  • AC Power Distribution
    • Channels A & C: 100 Watts Total
    • Channels B & C: 100 Watts Total
  • Power Distribution Adjustable Range
    • Channels A & B: 50 - 100 Watts
    • Channels C & D: 0 - 50 Watts
  • Total Charge Circuit Power on DC Power:
    • 300 Watts Total Power
    • Channels A & B: 100 Watts each / Channels C & D 50 Watts each
  • Charge Current
    • Channels A & B: 0.1 - 10.0 Amps
    • Channels C & D: 0.1 - 5.0 Amps


The best charger for the money that I know of is the Hota D6+ https://usa.banggood.com/HOTA-D6+-A...rger-p-1395954.html?cur_warehouse=CN&ID=47757
It has more power on one channel in AC than the Hitec does entirely.

Charge Power: DC 325W × 2(650W)
AC 300W（Support power distribution with maximum 210W per channel）
 
I have a Lectron (common sense rc) dual port for my primary and just got a hitec x480 in on a trade and probably will sell it.
leacdcduo.jpg

Hitecx480.jpg
 
slick2500 said:
I wouldn't buy that charger it is way overpriced for what it is, it is basically 4 Skyrc B6AC chargers stuffed into a fancy case. You will only be able to charge 4 2s 5000mah lipos at 1c at once. Each channel is limited to 50w when all 4 channels are in use. Keep in mind to charge a 6s 5000mah lipo at 1c you will need about 125w. So in order to charge 4 6s 5000mah lipos at once you will need at least a 500w charger.
  • Total Charge Circuit Power on AC Power: 200 Watts with Power Distribution
  • AC Power Distribution
    • Channels A & C: 100 Watts Total
    • Channels B & C: 100 Watts Total
  • Power Distribution Adjustable Range
    • Channels A & B: 50 - 100 Watts
    • Channels C & D: 0 - 50 Watts
  • Total Charge Circuit Power on DC Power:
    • 300 Watts Total Power
    • Channels A & B: 100 Watts each / Channels C & D 50 Watts each
  • Charge Current
    • Channels A & B: 0.1 - 10.0 Amps
    • Channels C & D: 0.1 - 5.0 Amps


The best charger for the money that I know of is the Hota D6+ https://usa.banggood.com/HOTA-D6+-A...rger-p-1395954.html?cur_warehouse=CN&ID=47757
It has more power on one channel in AC than the Hitec does entirely.

Charge Power: DC 325W × 2(650W)
AC 300W（Support power distribution with maximum 210W per channel）
Click to expand...
Looks like a awesome charger. Maybe a noob question but how do you connect a XT90 cable to the HOTA???
 
slick2500 said:
The best charger for the money that I know of is the Hota D6+ https://usa.banggood.com/HOTA-D6+-A...rger-p-1395954.html?cur_warehouse=CN&ID=47757
It has more power on one channel in AC than the Hitec does entirely.

Charge Power: DC 325W × 2(650W)
AC 300W（Support power distribution with maximum 210W per channel）
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! This is exactly the type of information I was looking for.

The Stig said:
Looks like a awesome charger. Maybe a noob question but how do you connect a XT90 cable to the HOTA???
Click to expand...
Looks like it plugs right into the side of the charger. I'm assuming if your not using XT90, you'd have to make your own XT90 pigtails to the connector of your choice.
 
Anyone watch Game Of Thrones? All I can think of when reading Hota is Hodor from GoT. Of course with my Boston accent we add "R's" to words that end in vowels, so it makes a bit more sense to me.
 
I really like my Hitec X2 400 but it's been discontinued for a while now. I normally charge 4 3s lipo's at once with it. https://hitecrcd.com/products/chargers/dcdc-chargers/2-channel-800-watt-dc-multi-charger/product

Charger Circuit Power: 400 Watts x 2

Nitro house has one for $189.99 but that is a bit overpriced.

20220312_132430.jpg


The Stig said:
Looks like a awesome charger. Maybe a noob question but how do you connect a XT90 cable to the HOTA???
Click to expand...
Buy an XT60 to XT90 adapter. OliRC 2pcs Male XT90 XT-90 to Female XT60 XT-60 Connector Adapter(C95-2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRRCR9G/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_7HPHTY8ZFJ0YNNRWWRRD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
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Btw, if you get the hota d plus from smc they'll make you up some xt90 cables to go with it. They'll actually make any connector you want.

Not that it's difficult but it's a nice touch. I'm starting to really like them... although unfortunately our European friends may be out if luck because I don't think Dan ships internationally
 
The Stig said:
A charger with wifi that tells you on your phone that your batteries are charged or lets you know if something goes wrong. Would be awesome. Are those charges out there??

This one looks nice and has bluetooth. No wifi unfortunately. Nice thing about wifi is that the covarage is much better.

https://www.amazon.com/SKYRC-Balance-Charger-Discharger-Battery/dp/B07PRWD9F9/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=3BLT7Y2GX9EU7&keywords=skyrc+100&qid=1648030119&sprefix=skyrc+100,aps,507&sr=8-4
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I swear I remember seeing one that had wifi but I can't find it. Everything I see is Bluetooth.

Gotta keep an eye on the specs. You are paying a lot of money for Bluetooth and a fancy case. As with the Hitec x4 above you are stuck with 50w per channel on ac.
Charge Wattage
AC 100W(Support Power Distribution)
DC 100Wx2

Before you buy a charger you really should figure out what you are going to need from the charger. Here is a nice calculator that can give you an idea of what power requirements you will want from a charger. https://www.radiocontrolinfo.com/information/rc-calculators/rc-charger-wattage-calculator/ Always base your charger purchase on how much power you will need first and foremost everything else is just going to be sprinkles on the sundae.

DC chargers will always have more power than ac chargers but most of the high power DC chargers will need a 24v power supply to make that power.
 
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