Originally Posted by RC Man

That all depends on your batteries. If you have perfectly matched packs then no balancing is required making the charge time the same.

For larger packs (6s, 8s, and 10s) that are made from random cells a higher balance rate may speed things up.

As packs get older they usually need more balancing so a higher balance rate would speed things up for them.

Charging at a high rate with most modern balance chargers is not a safety problem because most will just shutdown if the cells get too far out of balance or one cell goes over 4.2v.

Yep, what he said

Originally Posted by badger-b

Nope, all OK with the board (s ) I have 2 actually and both are the same.
I get individual cell voltage readings fine...as I say I will try a re-install of 3.08 firmware.
So for comparitive IR readings, the best bet is to measure the pack immediately upon purchase, and then "monitor" it as you go along.
Failing cells and packs are however already "visible" through poorer performance and less capacity being put back in, so I still fail to see much benefit in knowing the IR of a battery if there is no "normal" reference figure to compare against.
One starts to wonder - Is this "facility" just another bit of data to drown us geeky types in, and take away the focus from actually using them and flying models !

I have the same experience with my 1010B+/3.08, I get only pack IR, not per-cell, even when the balance leads are plugged in and yes, the balance adapter works fine.

I am not too fussed since IR measurement is indeed simply icing on the cake to keep us data junkies happy. There are many different ways to measure IR and you will get different results for the same cells/pack at different DoD and temperatures so as mentioned, the value is in relative measurements on the same pack over time.

Hi,

I recall someone talking about getting a little zap when touching their power supply and/or the iCharger. But can't remember where it was and can't find it again. I have got two PSU's to use with my charger's and i'm getting this little zap when i touch just about everything and i'm concerned (plus its damn annoying!) and want to see if i can find out if it is dangerous and if i can fix it.

Does anyone have a better memeory and can link me to the start of those posts/topic?

cheers

Search this thread for "tingle" and you will find the discussion, there are about a dozen posts. I urge you to take great care until you determine if your setup is safe.

What PSUs do you have ?

thanks kgfly. I new it was in this thread but coudlnt find it, its to big! The PSU's i got are the A20 from hobbycity http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...y_for_Chargers

When i get home this arvo i'll have a read back through this thread.

prolly has been mentioned plenty times before. Ive done about 20 charges so far on the 300w version. charging 10s 5000mah.

Likes
-charger stays cool
-simple
-well presented
-small
-powerful.

dislikes
-I would like all my cells to be 4.2 volts at the end of a charge, they are always ranging between 4.18,4.19,4.20. As long as they are not over 4.2 im not overly worried, but would be nice if it was more acccurate.

-When charging a 99% full pack, it seems the charger ramps up the current at the begining, then it figures out the pack is full, and slowely ramps the current back down. Bit worried that this high current on a full pack may shorten the life of the packs.

-Also again im not sure how critical it is, but many other chargers like my orbit microlader pro ramp the current up more gently, instead of applying 0 to 5 amps in 2 seconds if you know what i mean.

my 2 cents

Which charge program are you using ? If "Charge" this explicitly does not balance the cells. Use "Balance" to balance the cells. If the cells are still not as close as you would like it is possible the packs are no longer as well matched as some others. You could try setting the Balance Speed to "Slow" and running a "Balance" cycle, which should bring the cells all very close.

Originally Posted by HoffY

thanks kgfly. I new it was in this thread but coudlnt find it, its to big! The PSU's i got are the A20 from hobbycity http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...y_for_Chargers

When i get home this arvo i'll have a read back through this thread.

I had the same problem with the same power supply unit. After hearing the words of caution from many users on this forum, I got quite worried, and ended up ditching that power supply. If you were to look for posts by me (dunno if its possible, but if possible, it wont be too hard; I dont have too many posts, and only in a couple of threads only) you can read about what other forum users advised me.
Right now I'm using a 14v, 5A laptop power supply, simply coz I don't go over 2s in my lipo.

im just using the normal balance charge. The packs are well in balance, I mean at right through the the charge they are very close, for example 4.11, 4.12, 4.12 4.11 etc.

Hi, I advise to set the balance speed to "slow", and the "balance tickle" option (or something like this) to "on".
This will make the charging process last longer, but as the final current is extremely low, all cells will be charged as full as possible.
I use this mode all the time, but I do not neccesarily wait until the charge is completely finished. When I am in a rush, I take the pack although it is only 95% full.

hyperscorpic,

G'day Yep thanks mate. I remember reading your posts as you were dealing with it real time, and its those i was trying to find ( have found them, all good). I know an electrician or two so i'll get them to suss it out and see if they can find a problem and fix it. Don't have any other pSU's and i am TOTALLY sick of using a car battery while charging at home. So yeah, i really want to use them as they seem like great units this issue aside.

If they prove to be no good then here DownUnder the 13.8V/23A unit from Dick Smith for about AUD$70 delivered is good value and has the benefit of much more rigorous safety testing and local warranty.

Originally Posted by HoffY

hyperscorpic,

G'day Yep thanks mate. I remember reading your posts as you were dealing with it real time, and its those i was trying to find ( have found them, all good). I know an electrician or two so i'll get them to suss it out and see if they can find a problem and fix it. Don't have any other pSU's and i am TOTALLY sick of using a car battery while charging at home. So yeah, i really want to use them as they seem like great units this issue aside.

Let me know if you managed to fix the problem. Would be a waste to just let that PSU sit around, not being used.

kgfly, got any links to that PSU u mentioned?

This one (3-15V Regulated 23 Amp Heavy Duty DC Power Supply = 345W, $149) is a nice linear supply, but large and heavy: http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/D3800

This one (Lab Power Supply 13.8V DC 23A = 317W, $99 but often on sale for less) is a nice SMPS. I don't like buying open cage SMPS and then spending money to make them safe with children in the house so am happy to pay for one in a case with a switch and connectors: http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/Q1755 BTW there is a typo in the specifications online which should read: "Current : 23A continuous (25A for 1 min, 50% duty cycle)"


The 345W linear supply should run the iC1010B+ at its full rated 300W output. The small 317W SMPS will probably only support up to about 275W charger output power.

Hi!
I have received my 106B+ from UH. Very interesting toy
I wish to say many thanks to all man who write this very long tread, and make for this charger so many.

Hi Junsi!
may be you will add some function...
As I understand, disharge with external resistor work with only Li chemistry. May be add to all chemistry accu?
When used external resistor, internal not used, that is? May be made as is in Schulze? external added to internal. For example: set disharge rate at 10A external can dissipate 8A, internal added 2A. External 7A- internal add a 3A.
At other side, if used external resistor, charger do not have high temperature, and me is quiet
If I use external resistor for discharge, why I limited with 7A? for selecting or test accu I need at list a 10A, 30A is better

Second quiestion...
When I use LogWiew with cycle function, after first stage chg or dchg, when new stage is begin- the main window of programm when placed chart become clear, and chart start as first run. May be do not clear chart after first stage of cycle?

Third question.
6S- 10A is about 220Wt of power. Maybe redistribute power is possible?
For example: with parallel charging as Jules and phisics wrote, charge current must be combined... Power is I*U, P is constant, Can you increase Current and decrease Voltage? For example 220Wt=7.4V*30A(for 2S accu)
As I known, modern tranzistors marked with not only A(current) but and Wt.


Right now, I thinking about second hand for my Duratrax Ice.
Jog dial is very nice... I will miss without them.
And I think about second charger. First pretender is MegaPower Infinity AKA Robbe PowerPeak III. Three positives have this charger. Big display, jog dial...
and 10A 12S balance charging. Second pretender is 1010b+. Say please, maybe in future, with software update 12s charge is possible?



In any case, thank you very much for your attention and time.
I have recomended your charger to my friend.

Sorry for my bad english.

Pavel. Russia, Saratov.