jamesd Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I have a couple of turingy 6000mah 2s 25c batteries that I charge at 6.0amps on my overlander RC6-VSP charger. A balance charge of either battery typically takes 2 hours 30 mins give or take. Is this normal? I thought at the 1c charge rate they would be charged in about an hour? If I do a normal charge it takes around 2 hours. I have a fast charge setting on my charger but haven't used it, will using it degrade my batteries quicker? I am planning on connecting my charger to a 12v car battery and charging batteries while I am out so I can take two packs out fully charged run one down, put it on charge and run the other one down and have as little downtime as possible, but if the battery is going to take 2.5 hours to charge and the run time is only around 20 mins then its not really going to be worth the hassle of charging while I am out. Would I be better getting some smaller more capacity batteries to charge while I am out or will they just take the same amount of time to charge? I also noticed when I run the car to the LVC and put the battery checker on the cell voltages are around 3.2 to 3.4. Would it be worth my while getting the programming kit and increasing the limit so my packs aren't as flat and therefore wouldn't take as long to charge? Any advice would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vr5fx Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 The issue probably isn't the batteries, but rather the charger used. Just did a quick google, and it shows your charger is 80w. My 6000mAh packs take about 30-40 minutes charged at 1c rate. However, my charger is 250w max. Also, charging by car battery is pretty pointless as far as I have heard, it takes ages and you'll only get a few charges out of it. Not to mention car batteries are a hefty lump to lug around. When packs are ran down they will usually always be off balance. but around 3.2/3.4 is okay. (If they arn't used the next day, they should be put on storage charge) My advice, don't bother with charging on the field, buy some more packs, and a different charger. I use the iCharger 106b+, and charge 6 (6000mAh) packs at a time, it takes about 4-5 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesd Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 The issue probably isn't the batteries, but rather the charger used. Just did a quick google, and it shows your charger is 80w. My 6000mAh packs take about 30-40 minutes charged at 1c rate. However, my charger is 250w max. Also, charging by car battery is pretty pointless as far as I have heard, it takes ages and you'll only get a few charges out of it. Not to mention car batteries are a hefty lump to lug around. When packs are ran down they will usually always be off balance. but around 3.2/3.4 is okay. (If they arn't used the next day, they should be put on storage charge) My advice, don't bother with charging on the field, buy some more packs, and a different charger. I use the iCharger 106b+, and charge 6 (6000mAh) packs at a time, it takes about 4-5 hours. Thanks for the reply. Maybe I need to look at a better charger then. I thought the 80 Watt charger would be fine going on Watts=Volts*Amps so 7.4*6=44.4 Watts? Have I got the calculations wrong? I am still trying to get my head round Lipo's and charing. Thats interesting to hear that charging from the car battery isn't great, I might have to re think that. It was just so that i could have a longer run time on the feild. I had a car battery spare and noticed my charger can run on a car battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen mark Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 i got a 50 w charger{bmax 6 it cost under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilllad83 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I use a 50w channel charger an charge 6600 In 30/45 mins at 1c reliably, seems odd it taking that ammount of time tbh that's from a car battery, at 40ah it's not massive but gives me 8-10 charges (2s) before its spent which is enough for a race meet or days practice.. No noticable diffenece to a mains charge until the last battery which usually takes a tad longer.. if you have a car batt already try a charge off that see if its longer/shorter than a mains charge? shouldn't be taking that long from an 80w charger :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Allen Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I have a couple of turingy 6000mah 2s 25c batteries that I charge at 6.0amps on my overlander RC6-VSP charger. A balance charge of either battery typically takes 2 hours 30 mins give or take. Is this normal? I thought at the 1c charge rate they would be charged in about an hour? If I do a normal charge it takes around 2 hours. I have a fast charge setting on my charger but haven't used it, will using it degrade my batteries quicker? I am planning on connecting my charger to a 12v car battery and charging batteries while I am out so I can take two packs out fully charged run one down, put it on charge and run the other one down and have as little downtime as possible, but if the battery is going to take 2.5 hours to charge and the run time is only around 20 mins then its not really going to be worth the hassle of charging while I am out. Would I be better getting some smaller more capacity batteries to charge while I am out or will they just take the same amount of time to charge? I also noticed when I run the car to the LVC and put the battery checker on the cell voltages are around 3.2 to 3.4. Would it be worth my while getting the programming kit and increasing the limit so my packs aren't as flat and therefore wouldn't take as long to charge? Any advice would be great. I would watch a charge and see what is happening with the current as time goes on. Your charger should be able to charge a 2s pack at 6A with no problems, and as you say it should only take an hour from flat. Some packs will take a long time to balance, sometimes it can be an issue with the charger, sometimes it can be that the cells inside the pack are well out of balance. But it is unusual for the normal charge to take so long. The chargers will tend drop the current towards the end of the charge to try and prevent overcharging in non-balance mode, watch and see when the current starts to drop. A charger issue can sometime be overcome by checking the contacts on the leads. I'd be wary of any battery that regularly takes a very long time to balance, it suggests that there is a weak cell in there. 3.2-3.4 is a nice safe cutoff voltage, don't change it, and you will gain very little by doing so, the cell voltage will drop very suddenly towards the end of a run and very little capacity is left to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big turbo Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I would watch a charge and see what is happening with the current as time goes on. Your charger should be able to charge a 2s pack at 6A with no problems, and as you say it should only take an hour from flat. Some packs will take a long time to balance, sometimes it can be an issue with the charger, sometimes it can be that the cells inside the pack are well out of balance. But it is unusual for the normal charge to take so long. The chargers will tend drop the current towards the end of the charge to try and prevent overcharging in non-balance mode, watch and see when the current starts to drop. A charger issue can sometime be overcome by checking the contacts on the leads. I'd be wary of any battery that regularly takes a very long time to balance, it suggests that there is a weak cell in there. 3.2-3.4 is a nice safe cutoff voltage, don't change it, and you will gain very little by doing so, the cell voltage will drop very suddenly towards the end of a run and very little capacity is left to be used. +1 on that. ^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesd Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Thanks for the advice. The charger I have is new as well as the two batteries which were bought the same time. It was my first charger and pair of batteries and has taken this long from Day one and I have had them about a month now. At first I though this was possibly normal but the more i read up the more it seems there is a problem. The contacts appear to be clean and don't show evidence of a poor connection, I am using the lead that came with the charger. Do you think there is a problem with the charger and that I should return it? I will watch the readings on the charger and see when the current drops. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big turbo Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 See how you get on with the next balance charge. Have you done a normal charge to compare charge times? There's every chance they will get better after a few cycles. I've got a 5s pack that takes ages to balance up gets to around 4.16v-4.18v in around 45 mins the another 45-1 hour to balance out to 4.2v/cell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belms Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I also have the overlander RC6-VSP charger - on mains it charges 3300mAh NiMH sticks in about 35-45 mins, and takes around 45 mins - 1hr to balance charge Overlander 5000mAh 30c 2s sticks. It does take much longer to run a discharge/charge cycle on the NiMH sticks (1.5hrs, depends on charge remaining). Times are approximately the same running from a 12v source - which I dol find useful on race days, I run fine with 2 LiPo sticks and the field charge setup, 12v car battery was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesd Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Thanks for all the comments, I will do a full charge from flat tonight if the weather clears up and I get to run a battery down in the car. I did a charge from storage voltage last night and that took 50mins. I am charging from the mains just now and haven't tried to charge via a car battery yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everclear1984 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I know this thread is over year old but I'm having the same issue as James. I have the same charger (Overlander RC6-VSP) and am charging 6000mah 2s and 4500mah 3s packs. After approximately 40 minutes the charger is showing 4.20v per cell but then continues to charge at around 0.3a for another hour! Should I just stop it when the cells read 4.20? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gouldypg Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) My overlander charger does the same thingSometimes it balances within a hour from dead flat, then sometimes it takes over an hour to finally balance after they've reached 4.2v Edited November 12, 2015 by gouldypg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turok007 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I know this thread is over year old but I'm having the same issue as James. I have the same charger (Overlander RC6-VSP) and am charging 6000mah 2s and 4500mah 3s packs. After approximately 40 minutes the charger is showing 4.20v per cell but then continues to charge at around 0.3a for another hour! Should I just stop it when the cells read 4.20?your lipo is charged but the charger is trying to do it 100% so while it is sorting cell 1 cell 2 might of dropped a little so it has to top up cell 2 thats all it is. next time when all cells hit 4.20 remove the lipo and check it with a voltage tester. and it the cells are all the same or very close. then you know it is safe to stop the charger at the same point every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everclear1984 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Thanks Turok, I'll pick up a voltage tester and do as you suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turok007 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 it's just a waste of a hour waiting for about 0.1v or so to sort it self out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fontie Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Trouble with voltage testers they will all give different readings, as an experiment I tried 5 all different ones guys at my club use, varying in price all 5 gave different readings with as much as 7% which one was right who knows...only use for a rough estimate whats left in the battery, I try never to go below 20% gives me some wiggle room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadMeatUK Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I stop the charger when it gets to 4.15v/cell how much run time do you think you'll gain from 0.05v? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I don't know the specs of this charger, but some mains chargers are only 50 Watt when on mains, but 80 Watt when on car battery or external 12v power supply. Worth checking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everclear1984 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Just checked and it's 80w at the mains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Then it definitely shouldn't take 2+ hrs to charge, something ain't right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everclear1984 Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Well I did as Turok suggested and removed the battery as soon as the charger read 4.20v per cell (around 30 minutes from storage). I tested each cell with a voltage tester and got a reading of 4.17 4.17 4.18. I then charged another battery but let it finish charging completely (1hr from storage) and got an almost identical reading. Thanks Turok, you've just halved my charge time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noj Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Separate charger and PSU. It really is the future for everyone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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