Acc-Cycle Pro Series Elite charger

[RussCA]

I have recently purchased one of these and it does a great job with all my Nicad and Ni MH batteries. However i've just started using Li-Po's and this charger claims to be able to charge them BUT there is no mention of any balancer built in.

I have sent the manufacturer an e-mail asking them but it could take a number of days for an answer.

Is there anyone out there that has faced this and what the answer might be?

thanks

[Shaun Hendricks]

You can buy external balancers for LiPo's. The charger just provides the baseline 'charge' current and the external balancer actually controls the charging of each cell in the pack.

[RussCA]

Thanks Shaun.

Hobbico's response in a nutshell said it depends on the battery i have, wired for balancing or not..

Personally i thought they were all wired for balancing. Shows how much i know.

[Shaun Hendricks]

Well, some chargers DO have built in balancing circuits and the issue is that there is no common standard for a balancing connector so you have all this little fiddly balancer pigtails to mate with different batteries. You'll go through this no matter what you do unless you choose to buy batteries that natively mate with your charger!

It's a mess right now.

I'm starting to look at LiFe battery's. They look like they might be the perfect solution for boats. Not as light as LiPo's or as energy dense, but they beat the heck out of Pb Gel Cells for rechargability and weight.