I've got a credit with Horizon Hobby that can be used only on one of their proprietary chargers. This does not include any charger on their website, but only the ones they make. Brands include EFlite, Dyanmite, Team Orion, and Onyx chargers.

Right now I only fly ultra-micros, so I absolutely require the tiny 1S pico molex, the Powerwhoop (aka JST-PH 2.0), and the 2S UMX connector (the one where the balance and power leads are one and the same). So I need to support those, but also would like to be future proof for 3S+ batteries, and it would be great if it is a multi-charger.

At the end of the day though my biggest concern is safety. I want a charger that absolutely will not overcharge my batteries or otherwise damage them, and provides a good feature set. Any suggestions?

This might take care of the 1S/2S requirements but not the 3S.

Depending on how much the credit is you might do better going with something from Hobby King that will take you all the way to 6S for the same amount you will have to pay yourself and forget the credit.

Originally Posted by Rhea

This might take care of the 1S/2S requirements but not the 3S.

Depending on how much the credit is you might do better going with something from Hobby King that will take you all the way to 6S for the same amount you will have to pay yourself and forget the credit.

It's in the $50 range because that was the cost of the defective charger. So highly doubtful. Besides, I'm not sure how much I trust Hobby King branded stuff either.

Also, what you just linked to is my defective model. I wish it has not been defective though because it is a unique and very useful feature set. There is nothing else like it on the market. I realized I forgot to mention the backstory: the charger was defective during the warranty period and because of other prior problems with it they agreed to allow me to pick my own replacement model by giving me a credit. I don't think that usually happens but this had an unusual history.

So let me see if I understand this.
You got a defective charger from HH and you want to use the credit you have from that one to buy another charger from HH.
You don’t trust HK so you want to stick with the business that sold you the defective product.
The charger you had does everything you want for now but you are looking for something else.

Why not just get a replacement of that charger from HH and be happy. The first one was faulty and HH would have replaced it in the first place so. . . . . . . .

I absolutely love my Hitec - too bad it isn't on the list, it will do the 1S but not the 2 and 3. But this is a great charger for the 1S cells because you can stick a flown pack in there and get a voltage reading on it, the 1S are the hardest to find a good voltage reader for, I have tried many and they always give up their life early. Well if this one is possible get it for your 1S https://www.horizonhobby.com/helicop...arger-hrc44212

I don't see any eFlite I would use, no readout just DUMMY Lights.

This one would do all you need but you will need parallel or single harnesses for it, it is 4 button and looks similar to my 50W Hitec X1 AC/DC, it gives you 10 more watts but no DC input capability for charging at the field (so again the Hitec is better) ..... https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...arger-dync3015

This one might fit the bill, but I pass most things HH sells that they can't even get a readable spec page on .... duhhhhh what is the wattage on this junk HH. https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...arger-ori30220

Don't see Onyx listed.

Hopefully they would let you buy what you want and use that credit on another of their products, like a UMX plane or a drone, etc. You don't have many good choices in the $50 range to fill the bill, and you will need another $50 worth of cables to charge all from the best they have. At least the Hitec Micro would take care of you for most of your needs.

BTW - Parallel Charging 1S's SUCKS, too hard to get the voltages close, the packs have such different IR's it is hard to get them all fully charged correctly ... and serial charging them isn't any better - I have tried both with not much better results than using multiple USB 1S chargers until I bought the Micro from Hitec.

Originally Posted by SilverSport

I absolutely love my Hitec - too bad it isn't on the list, it will do the 1S but not the 2 and 3. But this is a great charger for the 1S cells because you can stick a flown pack in there and get a voltage reading on it, the 1S are the hardest to find a good voltage reader for, I have tried many and they always give up their life early. Well if this one is possible get it for your 1S https://www.horizonhobby.com/helicop...arger-hrc44212

I don't see any eFlite I would use, no readout just DUMMY Lights.

This one would do all you need but you will need parallel or single harnesses for it, it is 4 button and looks similar to my 50W Hitec X1 AC/DC, it gives you 10 more watts but no DC input capability for charging at the field (so again the Hitec is better) ..... https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...arger-dync3015

This one might fit the bill, but I pass most things HH sells that they can't even get a readable spec page on .... duhhhhh what is the wattage on this junk HH. https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...arger-ori30220

Don't see Onyx listed.

Hopefully they would let you buy what you want and use that credit on another of their products, like a UMX plane or a drone, etc. You don't have many good choices in the $50 range to fill the bill, and you will need another $50 worth of cables to charge all from the best they have. At least the Hitec Micro would take care of you for most of your needs.

BTW - Parallel Charging 1S's SUCKS, too hard to get the voltages close, the packs have such different IR's it is hard to get them all fully charged correctly ... and serial charging them isn't any better - I have tried both with not much better results than using multiple USB 1S chargers until I bought the Micro from Hitec.

These are excellent points. I agree I want a quad charger because I don’t want to parallel charge.

I also agree there’s not much in the $55 price range that is good. Honestly, there aren’t a ton of great options in the HH proprietary charger lineup either... my current one was the best except for the safety issue.

I’m hoping they will let me buy anything they sell on the HH website), such as this one from Venom (I'd have to invest quite a bit additional, but I would have a quad charger than can do 1s and 2s like I currently can). Any thoughts/experiences with the Venom line?

https://www.venompower.com/collectio...ance-charger-1

Originally Posted by MrEFlyer

So let me see if I understand this.
You got a defective charger from HH and you want to use the credit you have from that one to buy another charger from HH.
You don’t trust HK so you want to stick with the business that sold you the defective product.

HH is a distributor - they sell a lot more than just HH made chargers. I don’t mind sticking with them as they’ve always provided good support. I just don’t trust this specific model.

I do buy some stuff from HobbyKing but when I’ve had issues their service and support has been comparatively lousy, at least for me.

Originally Posted by MrEFlyer

The charger you had does everything you want for now but you are looking for something else.

Why not just get a replacement of that charger from HH and be happy. The first one was faulty and HH would have replaced it in the first place so. . . . . . . .

If you do a google search on the history of this model, you will find that they were all recalled a few years ago for dangerously overcharging batteries (which as you probably know leads to fire and explosion). A new model number was issued which was basically the exact same visually but was supposed to have that flaw corrected.

The one I bought last fall is of the newer, corrected model. But what does it do? Dangerously overcharge batteries. When it comes to LiPo safety, two strikes and you are out IMO.

HH’s first response was to send me a replacement, and while I do want a charger with that feature set, I told them given the history here I could not trust it. That’s why we are doing the credit.

And this could all be coincidence too. Maybe it’s just my unit and something failed. But a charger that doesn’t stop charging freaks me out. I’m done with this model.

Parallel charging is not a problem if you start with packs with very close (.01V) cell voltages, do the math right and as they always say "don't leave unattended." I will not charge multiple 1S on parallel or serial anymore as they never work right. That's why I got that micro quad charger.

I use an iCharger 206B 300W for most of my charging and regenerative discharging to my deep cycle when I set them back to storage after fly day. I also use the X120 Hobby King 20$ touchscreen charge they had a few years back, great charger for 120W and less charging, and the HiTec X1 AC is now mostly used to recharge my PB battery, and I use it from the field to charge when I have the iCharger tied up on another pack(s). I am looking at the iCharger X6 to add to the collection.

About parallel charging - The only problems I have ever had is when I plug the balance cable into the parallel board, have missed and plugged in backwards a few times when other cells or just the mains for the pack were already plugged in, that lets the smoke out of the board and the balance wires, I have since begun using parallel cables instead of boards, with the 2S or 3S or 4S or6S balance 6 connector cables, that way I don't accidentally plug a 3S into the 4S slot in the smoke position.

I really don't think a full size quad charger is a great idea though. For the price of that, you can almost get the micro I mentioned, a 350W power supply an iCharger 206B and a 35AH deep cycle battery for the field and to storage charge you flown packs.

But that is not the point of the thread. If they are forcing you to use one of those specific products lines - and they really do not offer you anything acceptable in any of them, even the unknown max watt Orion can only charge up to 4S packs at up to 6A is not as good as the Hitec RDX1 60W charger that can do 6S. Hopefully they will let you shop elsewhere and use your credit on a model from them.

ProgressiveRC has always been great to me for chargers, power supplies and especially cables.

I wouldn’t mind getting a Venom or HiTec micro charger, except they only do 1s. That’s why I’m looking at the bigger quad chargers. I need to do 2s now as well, and eventually larger size. So I figured I’d get a quad charger and make charger cables for 1s, with one on each channel (no parallel). And then I could still do 2s.

What do you think of HH's Dynamite brand chargers? Are they safe and reliable? I'm specifically interested in the Prophet Sport Quad 4x100 (DYNC2050).

Reviews seem good but there aren't all that many of them, and I can't find an RC Groups thread on this one.

Get the charger sell it new on rc groups or e bay and use the money to get a quality charger

Dennis

Originally Posted by Dennis C

Get the charger sell it new on rc groups or e bay and use the money to get a quality charger

Dennis

Is it low quality? Have you had experience with it? This Dynamite model looks like it would have everything I would want feature-wise, if it is decent, so I don't think I'd have to necessarily sell it.

I just never liked the dual and quad chargers, expensive, one common thing breaks and you loose 2 or 4 chargers - and the price is always way more than getting 2 or 4 chargers of similar output and quality. If you are gonna suck it up for almost $250 you just as well get a separate power supply and a charger that has Regenerative Discharge, so you can offload packs that have more volts than storage into a car battery, or better a deep cycle battery. Keeping packs at storage after use promotes the longevity of your $1000's worth of packs.

I would say just get a decent power supply from them on that credit .... but they don't sell any good ones, well just one but it is too expensive, too many watts and amps for what you need.

Have you asked if they will transfer the credit to allow you to purchase a BLADE or eFlight aircraft, then go where the better selection is for charging. Otherwise the previous suggestion to get a decent one and sell it is best.

Originally Posted by SilverSport

I just never liked the dual and quad chargers, expensive, one common thing breaks and you loose 2 or 4 chargers - and the price is always way more than getting 2 or 4 chargers of similar output and quality. If you are gonna suck it up for almost $250 you just as well get a separate power supply and a charger that has Regenerative Discharge, so you can offload packs that have more volts than storage into a car battery, or better a deep cycle battery. Keeping packs at storage after use promotes the longevity of your $1000's worth of packs.

I would say just get a decent power supply from them on that credit .... but they don't sell any good ones, well just one but it is too expensive, too many watts and amps for what you need.

Have you asked if they will transfer the credit to allow you to purchase a BLADE or eFlight aircraft, then go where the better selection is for charging. Otherwise the previous suggestion to get a decent one and sell it is best.

No, I haven't asked them. But I don't think they would. The credit is specifically for replacing an E-Flite charger that failed under warranty, and in which the failure was concerning enough to me (and it wasn't the first time either) that I didn't want to use a replacement of that model because I thought it was risky. I wouldn't feel good about using the credit for anything else since it is specifically a charger warranty replacement benefit, and besides I really do need a replacement charger or I won't be flying.

I understand you may not like quad chargers and I can see the reasoning there, but I'm dealing with a couple factors that make it a necessity.

1. I'm living in a 1960's house, and they didn't build many outlets back then. I simply don't have enough outlets to deal with four individual chargers unless I spread them throughout the house, and then I can't keep an eye on them.
2. My wife would not like this idea of having four of them out, as we have limited space and too much stuff already.

As for the power supply idea, that's a pretty smart one, although for me personally it doesn't fit where I am at in the hobby. I only have, and only fly, UMX or mini planes or micro quads. I don't fly from normal flying fields and don't use car batteries, so I wouldn't be able to make much use of regenerative discharge. I just get a bunch of the tiny batteries (I have twelve of the 1s batteries for example, and multiple of the 2s batteries as well), so I just need a way to charge them all fast. I charge as many as I will need before leaving the house. Then I have no need of a car battery because I don't charge any additional batteries wherever I am flying at. So I'm just in a place where the power supply would be unnecessary for me, although it might be a great use case for others.


For me, then, it really comes down to:

1. Is this dynamite charger safe and reliable?
2. Does it support multiple user saved charging programs, and how many?

Originally Posted by AlgebraicMirror

I understand you may not like quad chargers and I can see the reasoning there, but I'm dealing with a couple factors that make it a necessity.

1. I'm living in a 1960's house, and they didn't build many outlets back then. I simply don't have enough outlets to deal with four individual chargers unless I spread them throughout the house, and then I can't keep an eye on them.
2. My wife would not like this idea of having four of them out, as we have limited space and too much stuff already.

For me, then, it really comes down to:

1. Is this dynamite charger safe and reliable?
2. Does it support multiple user saved charging programs, and how many?

Can't answer on that charger, never heard of the brand until brought up here and don't know anyone that uses one.
As for user saved charging programs .... I thought I needed them 4 years ago when I got back in the hobby and decided on electric as my powerplant source. Have never used them or created them, I may be lying, I think I did create a few in the two week I had my iCharger before shorting it out and having to have it replaced .... my fault, but never used them for other chargers. I parallel charger as much as possible, which is almost always as long as I have the appropriate cable. It is not a hard process to understand and since I charge at 1C to 1.5C it is just don't charger different cell counts at the same time, have the packs at a similar voltage, withing .02 they say I go for .01V, add up mAh and multiply by the C rate I will use and be sure the charger is set for the correct cell count. A good charger will determine the cell count automatically when you connect the balance cable - my $20 touchscreen one does not.

I live in a 1955 house. When I purchased 14ish years ago most wall jacks were 2 prong and the few 3 prongs do not have ground. I had grounded jack added in each room and service updated, but not everyone is ready to do that I understand. I have 121 lipos in my arsenal, 35 are 1S 130 - 800mAh and another 35 are 2S 200-450mAh plus 2 3200's for my RC truck. I have a lot of small helicopters, 1S and 2S, about 12 of them, a UMX Habu, several AirCore airplanes with 3 Cores and a few other 700mm or less 300 size airplanes that use 2S.

It sounds like you really do not need a 400W $250 charger.

The best suggestion I can give you is to purchase if you must the HiTec X4 Micro MultiCharger and a few JST cables for it if you have any 1S packs with the red JST connector .... about $50 for that setup plus and S&H. For the size packs you have 2S and 3S a 60-80W charger should fill the bill and get some parallel charge cables from Progressive RC for whichever packs you have. I still use a few boards but prefer the cables nowadays.
Prophet Precept 80W LCD AC/DC Battery Charger is a 1S to 6S charger for $70 and they should honor your credit toward, if it's no good you can always get rid of it. I still use my 50W HiTec 4 button charger, I bought it in desperation when I killed my first iCharger after 2 weeks, you can move on later to the higher watt stuff when you need it.

Then you will need a few charge cables, This is the one I use to charge up to 6 of my UMX 2S batteries (mCPX BL and 130X heli's - 2 of each - and UMX Habu use this) https://www.progressiverc.com/parall...beast-umx.html
The 2S and 3S balance cables I use are https://www.progressiverc.com/parall...e-adapter.html - I use 4S and 6S also.
Then you need some mains parallel cables depending on the plugs you use, I use EC3, XT60, micro Deans and Deans mostly
https://www.progressiverc.com/parall...rge-cable.html
https://www.progressiverc.com/parall...rge-cable.html
https://www.progressiverc.com/parall...rge-cable.html
https://www.progressiverc.com/6x-mini-tplug-charge.html

I still use a board for my 2S and 3S JST packs, but should switch that over to the cable too, that board is the one I plug the balance into wrong the most often.

Sorry for the long post. But 2 outlets to do all you need and for less than $150 out of your pocket. I would hate to see a 400W charger charging 1 150mAh 1S on each channel and already know, 1S don't charge well in parallel or series.

There are a lot of parallel charge videos on UTube ... look up some.