Whats the best lipo charger to charge multiple packs?
I have built a harness for an Astro 109 ,but it won't complete the last charge cycle when charging more than one pack with mutiple balancers (Blinky,Common Sense).
Marc

Why don't you just balance after the last "cycle" of charge?

Challenger413

I didn't think of that because I thought the best way was to have the balancer attached during the whole charge cycle.
Do you get as good results just balancing before or after charging the lipos?

I read many posts about the non-benefits that balancing a pack after a cycle (flight) so I stopped and only balance during a charge.

When I am parallel charging (4) 4S1P 2100 or 3S1P 2100 packs at the same time when (I am in a hurry), I will use the (2) LB6A's as "bleeders" where I will charge thru the Deans and switch the balancers between packs. If I am only parallel charging (2) packs, then I will balance charge thru the LB6A's.

There are problems associated with using them as bleeders where a cell could still be over charged, but I am willing to take that risk, also I am charging at 1.75 amps on each 2100 pack as my 109 will max out at 7.55 amps, I back it down to 7 amps when parallel charging (4) packs at the same time.

Challenger413

Sorry for my electronic ignorance. What is a Bleeder?
LB6A's? Is that either the Blinky or Common sense balancer?

Polycharge4
4 independent (though not isolated from each other) charging circuits.

Originally Posted by marcwv

Sorry for my electronic ignorance. What is a Bleeder?
LB6A's? Is that either the Blinky or Common sense balancer?

The "Hyperion LB6A" can be used 2 different ways:

1) You can charge thru the balancer to packs balancer tap,

2) You can charge directly to the main taps and use the balancer as a voltage bleeder like the "Blinky" is.

Challenger413

only balance during a charge.

me too.

I don't know what the best is, but the Poly4 has been working great for me. I use the 109 to check packs once in awhile, but for general purpose charging the Poly4 is hard to beat for 2 or 3 cell packs.

I use the accu cycle elite charger. It does 2 at once up to 3s. I also use the csrc ultra balancer. It's kinda like the blinky. I balance before or after a cycle. I did try balancing during a charge but it took forever to "peak". due to the constant change in voltage or something. Blinky going on and off, charger going on and off it was all screwed up. I didn't like it and it seemed like a waste of good electricity. It was also hard to determine how much went back into my packs due to the constant bleed during the charge cycle. Once my charger timed out so I quit balancing during charging.

If I needed a new charger, I think I would buy the "Extrema" as it is A123 ready and has a temp. probe. It is not a balancer charger, but since I have (2) LB6A's, I really don't need one.

Challenger413

FMA direct cellpro and balance pro chargers will charge packs that are 12C+ at 3C. Thats 90% in 20 minutes, 100% in 28 minutes...so its kinda like you could charge two to three packs in the same time..just not at once.

Originally Posted by GigaahX

FMA direct cellpro and balance pro chargers will charge packs that are 12C+ at 3C. Thats 90% in 20 minutes, 100% in 28 minutes...so its kinda like you could charge two to three packs in the same time..just not at once.

That's a bit misleading. The 4S is a 4A charger, so you could theoretically do a 2100MaH @ ~2C, but the charger ramps up during charging and ramps down during balancing. The charge time does not directly correllate to the capacity added to the pack, and is not linear. It actually sits at 100% and 4.2v per cell for 5 minutes or more before beeping "complete".

The CellPro is a fine charger, but it's not going to work miracles and charge everything @ 3C.

What website can I go to for the LB6A -LB10A?

What would be the best charger for 11.1V lipo 2500 mah?