Hi MSUK.
its been a while..
After some advice on a new Charger.
Basically, here is my story.
I bought an Etronix Powerpal 4 80w version in september 2012, it was the newer, cheaper, cost saving model, instead of a nice metal chassis, it was a nasty plastic lined box with flimsy panels on the side. and... I have to be honest, its complete and utter garbage!!
(note :- I have friends who have the older versions in the metal chassis design of this charger, and there still going strong 3+ years later)
Basically i only used it to charge upto 5000mah 3S lipos as an absolute maximum, and usually no more than 2 at a time, after about 6 months though, I got a couple of 5600mah 3S packs, and tried charging them at 6A and one of the chargers blew and released its magic smoke, the other 3 were seemingly unaffected., when i demonstrated this to a mate the following day, a 2nd bank blew!!
I got straight onto modelsport and sent it back and paid the extra for the JP Lipro 6 Quad charger, ok, it was only 50W but it appeared to be a quality product so i was willing to sacrifice a slight ammount of power, however, this unit was on backorder for some time, when it came near to the Bank Holiday Bash Fest, i simply needed a charger as my 2 back up Imax B6's just wouldnt cut it! so i reluctantly asked Modelsport to send me another Etronics Powerpal 4 80W. This arrived with a week spare to BHBF,
i was a lot more carefull with this one, (and it was actually cheaper & nastier again! with silly screw fastened bababa plugs on the power cord.) i never charged this one above 5A on any battery after my previous experience.
These days, i mainly use 5000mah 4S Packs. and on sunday evening i had 2x 4S 5A packs charging on my car battery when my charger litterally started pouring out its magic smoke, by the time i got it and disconnected it, the charger was totally dead!! by my reckonning i have had the replacement perhaps a month short of a year, so i dont know if its still under warrenty or not, i will be contacting modelsport to find out, but either way, i will be buying another charger.
Bearing in mind, at some point in the future i will likely require the need to charge 6S Packs of above 5000Mah due to my interest in multirotors, i was looking for something with a little more guts to it than a 50W or 80W charger.
I found one that looks promising, the iCharger 406-DUO 1400W dual channel 6S charger.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__56096__iCharger_406DUO_1400W_Dual_Channel_6s_Balance_Charger.html
This looks like a lot of charger for the money, i am curious weather or not anyone has any experience with the iCharger range, or can reccomend any other suitable chargers.
Many thanks guys.
iain.