This is my set up. I have this charger:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1378498

I'm connecting a turnigy 5000mAh 25C nano tech directly to the charger. I'm not using a balance connector expander so lead length on the balance connections are very short. A few inches. The main wires from the 206B to battery are 6" banana to XT60 connector and I did an ohm reading on it now and am getting 12.1 ohms on both leads.

When I do a balance charge on it and then test the individual cells with a extech rms mm I get the following readings.

cell 1 (4.19)
cell 2 (4.09)
cell 3 (4.15)
cell 4 (4.15)

but when I read the volts with the 206B I get the following readings:

cell 1 (3.65)
cell 2 (4.1)
cell 3 (4.2)
cell 4 (4.2)

And this is with all the batteries I have of various capacities. And after I do a balance charge the SECOND cell is always .1 or more low compared to the rest. This is testing with my meter because the 206B reads other voltages.

I charged now a 3S 3000 turnigy and got these readings on the charger after completing a balance charge. Actually it didn't complete. It does what it's been doing lately which is stopping with a message BALANCE PORT NOT CONNECTED, even though it is connected and if I stop and start again it will charge for some time and then usually stop with the same error.

Cell readings from 206B
cell 1 3.56v
cell 2 4.1v
cell 3 4.15v

readings from mm
4.16v
3.96v
4.17v

So again the second cell is undercharging and my flights are stopping short because my onboard battery monitor starts beeping when that second cell gets too low even though the others are still ok.

And my 4S 5000mAh after landing my quadcopter and resting the battery for 15 minutes gave these readings on my multimeter.

cell 1 3.71v
cell 2 3.45v
cell 3 3.68v
cell 4 3.69v

I think continuing like this will start to damage the batteries.

Is it possible to charge a 1S and do you need to use the balance port? I'm thinking of a way to charge up the second cell that is always finishing with too little charge. Can I connect it's yellow (-) and blue (+) which is the second cell to the main charge port and not connect anything to the balance port. Then would I choose lipo charge (not balance charge) and select 1S. Would that be a work around for now?

I have a question about regenerative discharge. I got a 65Ah 12V AMG Pb battery that I will use as a source for my iCharger. I have been told it's safe to charge this pack at 6.5amps, but I have no idea what to use for voltage limite. I think I have heard 10v and 14,4V, but I'm unsure about both values. Could anyone please tell me what is correct?

Originally Posted by Felborn

I have a question about regenerative discharge. I got a 65Ah 12V AMG Pb battery that I will use as a source for my iCharger. I have been told it's safe to charge this pack at 6.5amps, but I have no idea what to use for voltage limite. I think I have heard 10v and 14,4V, but I'm unsure about both values. Could anyone please tell me what is correct?

Use this limits: 6,5A and 14V

Originally Posted by f11music.com

Is it possible to charge a 1S and do you need to use the balance port? I'm thinking of a way to charge up the second cell that is always finishing with too little charge. Can I connect it's yellow (-) and blue (+) which is the second cell to the main charge port and not connect anything to the balance port. Then would I choose lipo charge (not balance charge) and select 1S. Would that be a work around for now?

Yes, it should work, but best solution is don`t use pack with weak cells or with cells with different internal resistance. Work around is buying a new pack.

BTW, the cell which finishing with less charge then others, is in better condition then the rest.

Hello, guys! Sorry my reply is a bit off-topic, but I'm looking for a capable charger for F3A setup. I don't mind if I'd have to charge a pack as 5S2P 10000mAh or as 10S1P 5000mAh pack and also most probably I'd charge at 1C. I'd prefer buying from Hobbyking, but am open to other offers, too. I'm thinking about the iCharger 3010B for now and would really like to hear your opinions on this one. How precise is it's balancing? How accurate does it charge the batteries? I was thinking that if I buy one of these, I might be albe (power supply permitting) to charge a couple of 10S 5000mAh packs in parallel.
I'm willing to spend under 250$ incl. shipping for a charger. For now, I may be charging packs at home, because I don't have a steady power source for the field.

Thanks in advance!

Nickolay

How long can I wait for the charger from backorder at hobbyking? I was order icharger 208 but its OOS -3

Originally Posted by dando

Hello, guys! Sorry my reply is a bit off-topic, but I'm looking for a capable charger for F3A setup. I don't mind if I'd have to charge a pack as 5S2P 10000mAh or as 10S1P 5000mAh pack and also most probably I'd charge at 1C. I'd prefer buying from Hobbyking, but am open to other offers, too. I'm thinking about the iCharger 3010B for now and would really like to hear your opinions on this one. How precise is it's balancing? How accurate does it charge the batteries? I was thinking that if I buy one of these, I might be albe (power supply permitting) to charge a couple of 10S 5000mAh packs in parallel.
I'm willing to spend under 250$ incl. shipping for a charger.

The more cells in series, the harder the balancing problem and the longer the charge cycle will take to complete. I would recommend charging as 5s2p rather than 10s1p.

To charge 5s2p 10000 at 1C requires about 200W of charger output power. So if you are sure that is all the power you need, then the 3010B is overkill and since you are on a tight budget, you could be happy with a 206B together with a P350 power supply. Together they will be around $190 plus shipping.

The balancing is within 10mV which is as precise as is practically needed. If you want the closest possible you can set the balance mode to Slow and Trickle = On. Some other charger brands claim balancing to 1mV but even if it is true, it is no real value. There is no meaningful capacity difference between two cells at 4.200/4.190 compared to 4.200/4.199.

I hve been using the 3010B for at least 6 months. I find the balance cables and connector to be a real let down. Junsi, would you please look into this as i feel it lets the whole system down.

Hi Guys

I have just taken delivery of my new icharger 208B and have a question about Lead Acid Batteries as a power supply.

At maximum i plan on charging 4x 3s 3300 packs in parralell but will probably only charge 2x 3s in parralell or maybe series.(Can anyone give pros and cons of either?)

Can you guys recommend what is the minimum size of lead acid battery i shoulds use?

I was thinking of using 2x small 12 volt motorcyle batteries in series to give 24 volts or 3x 6 volt motorcyle batteries in Series to give 18 volts. I assume I will need at least 18volts to getthe full 350 watts this charger is capable of?

I dont really want a big Leisure battery to haul around. Do you think the smaller motorcycle batteries would give me enough juice for a few charge cycles?

What do you think?

I am also planning on using my IMAX B6 to charge the lead acid batteries.

Any advice would be gretefully recieved thanks

Ben

Originally Posted by xener

Yes, it should work, but best solution is don`t use pack with weak cells or with cells with different internal resistance. Work around is buying a new pack.

BTW, the cell which finishing with less charge then others, is in better condition then the rest.

Xener, ok but I'm doubting my IR readings on the 206B also. I've always seen it with low values like 1-3 and now even brand new turnigy nano tech that I just got are showing similar readings of 20 on the first cell and some less on the next cell and the later cells always show a very low value of 0-2.

I have a good multimeter so can I just connect it to the first two wires on the balance plug and then walk my way down to check resistance of each cell?

Originally Posted by xener

BTW, the cell which finishing with less charge then others, is in better condition then the rest.

I'm not sure if that is correct. The cell finishing lowest is that way because it's not fully charging. The 2nd cell ends up at about 4.0 or 3.98 because the other ones reach 4.2 and the charging stops I guess. Usually I get an error near the end of the charging saying "balance plug not connected" even though it is. When I read the voltages with my mm I then see the 2nd cell at about 4 and the others 4.15-4.2V and sine my onboard warning alarm is set to go off if any cell gets below the minimum then I land and the 2nd cell is what tripped the alarm but the other cells still have a decent charge left.

Originally Posted by kgfly

...and since you are on a tight budget, you could be happy with a 206B together with a P350 power supply. Together they will be around $190 plus shipping...

kgfly, thanks for the advice! I think I could find a capable server power supply locally inexpensive, so I'm only looking for a charger. The problem is I'd probably be charging at home and maybe either 4 or 6 5s 5000mAh packs in parallel at once (if of course this isn't a problem for them, but they'll most probably be all discharged about the same), or 2 or 3 10S 5000 mAh packs in parallel. This way I'd be able to use only one charger instead of two less powerful ones and it would be a cheaper way to achieve the same effect I think. Of course, both options do have their pros and cons (for example, when you have two chargers, you are able to use your time at the field better, but at home, it doesn't matter that much I assume).
Thus I'd like to hear some opinions on a charger and pack configuration for "home" charging 3 or 4 10S 5000mAh packs (not necessarily at the same time), and occasionally charging at the field (maybe 2 10S packs in parallel), as well as some feedback from users who use the 3010B in similar conditions or who have any advice why to buy or not to buy this charger, and, finally, how good is Hobbyking at providing and servicing this charger.

Thanks!

Nickolay

I have a good multimeter so can I just connect it to the first two wires on the balance plug and then walk my way down to check resistance of each cell?

A multi meter checks volts,amps.Ohms not internal resistance of cells.

IR of cells are determined by taking no load and loaded readings or loaded readings at two different loads and using Ohms Law.

There are several threads on LiPoly Internal Resistances ,how to obtain them and how to evualate them.

iChargers do a fair job of calculating cell IR most of the time. If the IR of one cell is many times that of the others in a fairly new LiPolys then there is likely a leads / connector problem.

Like with the connection break errors most of the time it is the leads / connectors not the charger.

Charles