Ninja_Maple Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) another day, another question. so i was all over INTERNET researching about chargers, one thing i have noticed and confused about is: do chargers need a power supply? can you just not plug the damn thing on the wall and charge away? i saw this guy http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__45114__IMAX_B6_AC_Charger_Discharger_1_6_Cells_GENUINE_with_UK_plug.html i watch/read about it in the review videos but when i saw at the bottom of the sales page. it says "Note: Power supply not included." huhhhhhHH? i thought the standard uk wall plug included was the power source no? I also saw this guy with a built-in power supply http://www.modelsport.co.uk/etronix-powerpal-ac-dc-balance-charger-discharger/rc-car-products/369852 Edited January 9, 2015 by Ninja_Maple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capri-boy Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) Forum search would help here bud. Lipo chargers come either with or without mains power supplies (PSU's) - this is because many people will use them in the firls, powered of a 12v leisure/car battery. The popular Imac B6 for example comes both with a built in psu, and without. External psu's can be quite expensive, although a good option is to buy a good 90w+ Laptop psu off ebay, or an early XBOX360 psu as they can be had cheap (not the later ones though as they got progressively more power efficient over the iterations). Personally I'd get this: http://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsp-80watt-7a-output-ac-dc-charger/rc-car-products/379060 Pretty comprehensive all in one unit. Edited January 9, 2015 by capri-boy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakes2514 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hey bud, Yea chargers are all over the place personally I got the Core RC charger works well and can both mains power as well as 12V inputs. http://www.modelsport.co.uk/core-rc-uac50-charger-12v-110-240v-6a/rc-car-products/365880 TBH if you go with any of the 'known' brands you should be fine check your budget and read a few reviews... Good luck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) I'm gonna go ahead and make the assumption you want to charge lipos. The main thing to consider with a charger is it's watt rating. just cos it says up to 6s does not mean it will meet your needs. It's a mathematical thing really. Volts x Amps = watts. You ideally want to charge your packs at a 1C rating. This is the amp rating of your pack. eg: 2s lipo 5000mah eg: 2s 5000mah pack = 5a x 8.4 volts (2x fully charged cells = 4.2 x 2) The above eg: requires a charger than can output 5ax 8.4volts = 42Watts. (you could say that 7.4 volts is the number here though) this means a cheap 50watt charger that you plug into the wall can charge this pack in just over an hour with balancing, it will take around 40-45 minutes from storage level But what if you have 2 packs with the above spec, a 50 watt charger can still charge em, but it will take nearly twice as long because it just don't have the grunt. Most charge multiple packs in parallel which means for each identical pack you multiply the total number of packs by the 1c charge applicable to the pack. eg 3 packs of 2s 5000mah charge in parrallel will require a 15a charge rate to charge at 1c. As above this means you need a charger that can,.. 2s pack = 8.4 volts 3 packs at 2s 5000mah = 15A The charger will need to have : 8.4Vx15A = 126watts output. I mainly use 2200mah 2s packs at the moment. I use this charger with this PSU Which stack together: An hour before going to the track I charge four 2s 2200mah (2200 divided by 1000 = 2.2A) packs in parallel at a 1c rating. From storage level it takes less than 45 minutes to charge all 4 packs This means I set my charger to 4packs x 2.2 amps = 8.8A Because I am charging in parallel voltage stays the same. So my charger must be capable of 8.4v x 8.8A = 74Watts clearly I have head room. THe PSU also is rated higher than the charger for head room though mine is only just above the chargers max. Clear as mud? Edited January 9, 2015 by Deafty 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stilli Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 That's a neat charger Deafty, most setups are a right mess with non-stacking power supplies and cables all over the place. Are you happy with the charger or looking to change sometime? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 More than happy. I was using crappy imax's before fyi,. lipo volt checker goes to 0.000volts check the size too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja_Maple Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm gonna go ahead and make the assumption you want to charge lipos. The main thing to consider with a charger is it's watt rating. just cos it says up to 6s does not mean it will meet your needs. It's a mathematical thing really. Volts x Amps = watts. You ideally want to charge your packs at a 1C rating. This is the amp rating of your pack. eg: 2s lipo 5000mah eg: 2s 5000mah pack = 5a x 8.4 volts (2x fully charged cells = 4.2 x 2) The above eg: requires a charger than can output 5ax 8.4volts = 42Watts. (you could say that 7.4 volts is the number here though) this means a cheap 50watt charger that you plug into the wall can charge this pack in just over an hour with balancing, it will take around 40-45 minutes from storage level But what if you have 2 packs with the above spec, a 50 watt charger can still charge em, but it will take nearly twice as long because it just don't have the grunt. Most charge multiple packs in parallel which means for each identical pack you multiply the total number of packs by the 1c charge applicable to the pack. eg 3 packs of 2s 5000mah charge in parrallel will require a 15a charge rate to charge at 1c. As above this means you need a charger that can,.. 2s pack = 8.4 volts 3 packs at 2s 5000mah = 15A The charger will need to have : 8.4Vx15A = 126watts output. I mainly use 2200mah 2s packs at the moment. I use this charger with this PSU Which stack together: An hour before going to the track I charge four 2s 2200mah (2200 divided by 1000 = 2.2A) packs in parallel at a 1c rating. From storage level it takes less than 45 minutes to charge all 4 packs This means I set my charger to 4packs x 2.2 amps = 8.8A Because I am charging in parallel voltage stays the same. So my charger must be capable of 8.4v x 8.8A = 74Watts clearly I have head room. THe PSU also is rated higher than the charger for head room though mine is only just above the chargers max. Clear as mud? very helpful sir, thanks for writing this also ill definitely add that charger to my "potential to buy" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 No worries,.. as always check what was said,. I'm confident what I wrote is correct but when it comes to this kinda thing always double check the links in my post are from an excellent if not the best shop I have ever used. They will be getting more stock and they have the best price,. anywhere (including HongK asia etc..). I have a good relationship with them so will ask when it's due back in stock for you What packs are you looking at charging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean-vrs Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 ive got the same charger, its a very good bit of kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomlad Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'd also suggest this http://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsp-80watt-7a-output-ac-dc-charger/rc-car-products/379060 Comes with UK plug and a load of leads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja_Maple Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'd also suggest thishttp://www.modelsport.co.uk/overlander-rc6-vsp-80watt-7a-output-ac-dc-charger/rc-car-products/379060 Comes with UK plug and a load of leads looks good do you know if the uk mains plug is detachable from the charger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomlad Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Yeah it is its a 3 pin clover leaf type of lead. I just got mine and it is a good bit of kit plenty of features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 What packs are you looking at charging? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja_Maple Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 I;ve got a 2200mah nimh that came with the car which takes like 6 hours to charge so i can only pretty much do two 5mins runs everyday. i will be buying another nimh battery when i buy a charger, but will eventually upgrade the car to lipo & brushless in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stilli Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 More than happy. I was using crappy imax's before fyi,. lipo volt checker goes to 0.000volts check the size too. Does it come in different power outputs or is this the only model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deafty Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Different power outputs Not sure exactly what you mean ? If you want more watts then you'll need a different charger. PSU has banana plug sockets, xt60 and USb out Charger has xt60 in, banana in, banana out, and mini USb for software (smart phone or PC optional charging monitoring) SKY RC chargers can be seen here. SKY RC PSU's can be seen here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stilli Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Not sure exactly what you mean ? If you want more watts then you'll need a different charger. PSU has banana plug sockets, xt60 and USb out Charger has xt60 in, banana in, banana out, and mini USb for software (smart phone or PC optional charging monitoring) SKY RC chargers can be seen here. SKY RC PSU's can be seen here Just wondered if they do more powerful chargers in the same series ie with stacking power supply. Problem is I need 225w on occasions but I do like the compactness of this charger. Guess I'll have to stick with what I've got for the time being but it's such a mess with all the cables and the power supply is very bulky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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