LiPo batteries and charger HELP

[DrDiff952]

I got into R/C back in 1986 and got out in 2004. Iv'e had every kind of Sanyo, Panasonic SC cells known to man at one time or another. I got out just before LiPo batteries came on the scene.

I got out on of my old cars and tried to run it but the NiMh cells were dead and I can not revive them.

So it is time to bite the bullet and get hip on the LiPo batteries and charging them.

I want a round stick pack 2c is fine. It needs to fit into a wraith as well as my Tamiya M03L chassis.

What is the best bang for the buck charger to charge LiPo cells?
Will I need some kind of equalizer circuit board? Any advice or tips you can give me will be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Dean

 

[Ohioskills]

i got a venom charger and i love it does all i need plus more try there site

 

[1r3land]

I use the onyx 235, it will charge lipo, Nimh, etc etc and has a built in balancer for lipo battery's, the onyx 245 will charge 2 at a time.
The price is decent. I've had onyx for a few years now and havnt had one problem.

They have a good warranty if you do though.
That's just my $.02 since that's what I own and I like... I'm sure there is alot of other real good once and prob cheaper. But just giving u something to research on and look at!

Good luck!!

Here's a link ( just using it for reference & specs for you)

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAGUG

 

[DrDiff952]

I am confused on the whole LiPo thing. The packs have to have the cells balance. Does the Onyx 235 have the balance circuitry built in? Or will I have to purchase a balance circuitry?

Back in my day we had trays that would discharge each of the 6 cells down individually. The pack had to be side by side or saddle packs, you cant do it with stick packs.

I guess this is the same type of thing.

And something else that I am confused by... Apparently LiPo packs need one lead to charge and the other to discharge. Is it because of each cell in the pack is charged individually? or are they discharged individually before charging?

Most LiPo packs come with either Deans Ultra or Traxxas plugs and then there is that other weird small plug? What do you do with that when the pack is placed in your car/truck? How do you keep it electrically Isolated?

again thanks for helping this old timer learn some new tricks

Dean

I use the onyx 235, it will charge lipo, Nimh, etc etc and has a built in balancer for lipo battery's, the onyx 245 will charge 2 at a time.
The price is decent. I've had onyx for a few years now and havnt had one problem.

They have a good warranty if you do though.
That's just my $.02 since that's what I own and I like... I'm sure there is alot of other real good once and prob cheaper. But just giving u something to research on and look at!

Good luck!!

Here's a link ( just using it for reference & specs for you)

TowerHobbies.com | Duratrax Onyx 235 AC/DC Advanced Charger

 

[k7zpj]

I am confused on the whole LiPo thing. The packs have to have the cells balance. Does the Onyx 235 have the balance circuitry built in? Or will I have to purchase a balance circuitry?

Back in my day we had trays that would discharge each of the 6 cells down individually. The pack had to be side by side or saddle packs, you cant do it with stick packs.

I guess this is the same type of thing.

And something else that I am confused by... Apparently LiPo packs need one lead to charge and the other to discharge. Is it because of each cell in the pack is charged individually? or are they discharged individually before charging?

Most LiPo packs come with either Deans Ultra or Traxxas plugs and then there is that other weird small plug? What do you do with that when the pack is placed in your car/truck? How do you keep it electrically Isolated?

again thanks for helping this old timer learn some new tricks

Dean

Here is a link to a good write up on Lipo batteries. It will probably cover most of your questions.
Understanding RC LiPo Batteries

 

[1r3land]

I am confused on the whole LiPo thing. The packs have to have the cells balance. Does the Onyx 235 have the balance circuitry built in? Or will I have to purchase a balance circuitry?

Back in my day we had trays that would discharge each of the 6 cells down individually. The pack had to be side by side or saddle packs, you cant do it with stick packs.

I guess this is the same type of thing.

And something else that I am confused by... Apparently LiPo packs need one lead to charge and the other to discharge. Is it because of each cell in the pack is charged individually? or are they discharged individually before charging?

Most LiPo packs come with either Deans Ultra or Traxxas plugs and then there is that other weird small plug? What do you do with that when the pack is placed in your car/truck? How do you keep it electrically Isolated?

again thanks for helping this old timer learn some new tricks

Dean

Yes the onyx does have an internal balancer, no need for anything else, it has a separate balance board that comes with it ( just to plug the balance plug into, then it plugs into the charger itself)
For ex a 2 cell lipo ( 2s) has 2 cells that need to be balanced together, they will be balanced when you plug the balance plug to the "balance board" then into the charger... I know it sounds confusing but it's really not... If u buy the charger new it will come with everything you need to charge lipos and many other battery's..

You do NOT need one lead to charge and one to discharge. ( well positive and negative of course) but not 2 separate plugs.. The 2nd plug you see on a lipo is the balance plug ( which will plug into the balance board when charging) when not charging it just dangles... I usually use a strap of Velcro to hold it in place.

The female plug that is on the battery is isolated to it can not ground out unless something is stuck into both sides...like another plug or something.

NOTE** make sure your rc has a lipo ready ESC and a lipo cutoff programmed...
Lipos DO present a fire hazard, or can easily ruin if discharged to low.
Always charge in a lipo charge bag or something of that nature incase of fire.



Since I don't want to give any misleading information, do a quick search on lipo safety!

I hope I was able to answer your questions and if u have anymore ill try to answer them the best I know!
I know the balance part may have been confusing, but it's really not, the 235 does have internal balancing, the balance board is just 1 board with several size balance plugs ( 2s uses smaller size than 3s, 4s batts have a bigger balance plug than a 3s and so on... All the balance board does is has all the balance plugs on one board to make things easy!!

Good luck and if I confused you, PM me and I can get you some pictures of how a lipo is set io when charged if you need!

Kenny

 

[1r3land]

And the link posted is a lot of good useful info, grab a snack and read up haha.
Should answer anything u may have but if not feel free to ask!

 

[maro69camaro]

I use a Power Lab charger (can charge just about any batt) get a nice setup and never upgrade again

 

[Charlie-III]

An "old schooler" here myself."thumbsup""thumbsup"

My son & I run Venom ProChargers. Lots of current chargers do the same, different options & bits.

Yes, it's best to balance LiPO packs pretty much every time. Just a bit different from NiCD/NiMH.

No need to discharge as LiPO does not have the memory effect older chemistries had.

 

[DrDiff952]

Thanks guys TREMENDOUS help.

 

[DrDiff952]

Thinking about an onyx 245. Same thing as the 235 but has 2 channels for two at once.

 

[Calderwood]

I balance charge EVERY time I charge a pack.

 

[winner]

i use a X-Charger C6 from Value hobby. 6A charge and $35 shipped with AC adapter. i love it.

 

[DrDiff952]

The X-Charger C6 is what I ended up going with. Should be hete mondayw

 

[DrDiff952]

OK my new charger and battery pack are here.

So say I am not going to use the battery for a week or so, how do I store it? Empty? Partial Charge? Full charge?

 

[Wade]

I checked on the spec's of the charger and it does have a storage mode....so I would just set it for that, in reality you could do a full charge since you will be using them in a week. IMO though I would just do storage mode for now, but thats just me "thumbsup"