Charger for 6s high capacity lipos

U

UgashikBob

Member
Can not find a charger that will effectively charge a 6s 6000mah lipo without a DC power supply input. Live in a remote area with all Renewable energy input so concerned about input power requirements. Any recommendations for 6s charger/power suppy combination ?
 


U

UgashikBob

Member
  • Each output includes built-in balancing for 2-3S lithium packs (both outputs).Specifications for Each Output:
    Battery Types: 4-8 NiCd or NiMH (4.8-9.6V) 1-3 LiPo or LiFe (3.7-11.1V)
  • Each output includes built-in balancing for 2-3S lithium packs (both outputs).
  • Maybe I'm reading it wrong but looks like the largest lipo size it handles is 3S .
 

CdA D

CdA D

Member
Looks like I might have misread it. There are balance boards for some 6s. Sorry to get your hopes up. I wonder if you could use the ports in series? That would be a question for the manufacture or at least someone with more knowledge than myself. The only problem is that it is going to take quite a while to charge those batts at 5A. Do you not get at least 20A service where you are at?
 


CdA D

CdA D

Member
I think you could adjust the charger to charge at say, 10A max and that would give you some cushion. You would need a good quality charger. The PS could be a 40A, which means it would supply up to 40A of power, but the charger governs how many amps you charge the batts at. So your draw would be 10A. I think that is how it works.
 

U

UgashikBob

Member
I agree. This is the combo charger/supply I am considering:
http://www.buddyrc.com/ep-buddy-1150w-57a-25v-server-power-supply.html
http://www.buddyrc.com/icharger-306b.htm
I know its overkill but I think I could charge two of my 6s 6000mah lipos concurrently at the recommended 2c rate of 12a*25.2 volts=302.4 watts * 2 =604.8 watts which is within the range of both the charger and supply. My best guess is around 7 amps draw from the 110 wall socket which shouldn't start any fires. When I ordered the 6s lipos I only checked that my 50 watt charger did 6s and wasn't smart enough to figure out a 2 amp charge rate would probably not complete this year. Good thing the high cost of a charger/supply is a one time thing with 6s. Appreciate your input.
 


Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
UgashikBob said:
Can not find a charger that will effectively charge a 6s 6000mah lipo without a DC power supply input. Live in a remote area with all Renewable energy input so concerned about input power requirements. Any recommendations for 6s charger/power suppy combination ?
Click to expand...

isn't renewable energy generated as DC current? If that's the case then you'd need a regulator and not a power supply. The "power supply" we talk about is actually an AC to DC converter because most of the chargers are made to use 12 or 24 DC current. If you're making DC with solar panels or something then you should already have the DC and you just need to knock it down to 12 or 24 volts for the charger.

to charge a 6000mah lipo safely you only need 6 amps. you can go as high as 12, 18, or higher with the amps but it depends on what the max rated charging current is for your batteries.

does that help at all?
 

U

UgashikBob

Member
Charger/Power Supply

Bartman said:
isn't renewable energy generated as DC current? If that's the case then you'd need a regulator and not a power supply. The "power supply" we talk about is actually an AC to DC converter because most of the chargers are made to use 12 or 24 DC current. If you're making DC with solar panels or something then you should already have the DC and you just need to knock it down to 12 or 24 volts for the charger.

to charge a 6000mah lipo safely you only need 6 amps. you can go as high as 12, 18, or higher with the amps but it depends on what the max rated charging current is for your batteries.

does that help at all?
Click to expand...

Bartman:
Both my wind generators and solar panels generate DC which is stored in 10,000 AH @48vdc battery bank. The 48vdc is fed to two inverter/chargers that provide 110/220 AC just like the grid. I have several low power items that run directly off the 48vdc battery bank with a step down transformer to 12vdc but don't want to run the heavier guage wire to use as a Lipo regulator input so ordered the charger and power supply below. Because of our logistics and unseasonably warm weather we have not received any mail since early October.
http://www.buddyrc.com/icharger-306b.html
http://www.buddyrc.com/ep-buddy-1150w-57a-25v-server-power-supply.html
 

Bartman

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
UgashikBob said:
Bartman:
Both my wind generators and solar panels generate DC which is stored in 10,000 AH @48vdc battery bank. The 48vdc is fed to two inverter/chargers that provide 110/220 AC just like the grid. I have several low power items that run directly off the 48vdc battery bank with a step down transformer to 12vdc but don't want to run the heavier guage wire to use as a Lipo regulator input so ordered the charger and power supply below. Because of our logistics and unseasonably warm weather we have not received any mail since early October.
http://www.buddyrc.com/icharger-306b.html
http://www.buddyrc.com/ep-buddy-1150w-57a-25v-server-power-supply.html
Click to expand...

Bob,

That charger will serve you well, it's what I use and it's been very reliable. I also happen to like the Hitec X2-400 but you'll be fine with the I306B.

Regarding parallel charging, if you decide to try it with all that power you've purchase, batteries need to be at a similar state of discharge before being hooked up to a parallel charging harness. The reason is, when they're hooked up in parallel they all share their charge with each other and if one is at a higher current it will attempt to discharge into the other packs at an unrestrained rate possibly causing a fire.

Other than that, you're good to go. A smoke detector/alarm by your charger is never a bad idea. :)

Bart
 

U

UgashikBob

Member
Bartman:
I understand parallel charging as it has commonalities to all multi cell battery systems in that the weakest cell always drives the show. My battery charging station is directly under a smoke detector and I have a special fireproof bag I put them in. I had a lipo fire once after a crash and it made a believer out of me.
 

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