I’ve been using my PowerLab 8v2 for five years, and it has been bullet proof charging at 40a whenever I’ve gone flying.

I had a Dual PowerLab 8 Touch on order, but obviously…that is not happening anymore.

So where do I go from here? The obvious answer is an iCharger Duo 406/4010, but after having read the entire 500 page thread on these chargers, I am not a fan. *Countless* problems and hardware failures (a large portion NOT due to PSU failures or user error/accidental reverse polarity), a messy GUI and outdated/complicated menu/interface, and iffy technical support.

Yes, there are obviously iCharger users that will have had no issues and who are happy, but the relative percentage of hardware failures is scary. There appears to be two types of iCharger Duo owners: those who have not yet had a hardware failure, and those who have.

There are also many reports of problems and failures on the new iCharger X6/X8/X12/S6 models, and I suspect it’s fair to say that Junsi’s quality control is not bulletproof.

What the iCharger Duo line does have is boatloads of power, and a fully customisable firmware like I am used to from my PowerLab 8, giving the end user full control of how their lipos are charged.

I’ve now owned an ISDT P20, a HOTA P6, and a Toolkitrc M6D. These are modern, easy to use, and have great colour screens/interfaces. However, their charging algorithms are poorly thought out compared to PowerLab/iChargers (imo), with basically no control over settings for balance behaviour, balancing precision/accuracy, or termination current. For me these are basic parameters that any balancing chargers should allow the user to change.

Where to look next for our powerful, dual channel charging needs…?

Stock up on FMA units while still available.

Or go with iCharger. I think many of the failures come from people not investing in a good single PSU to get to the V/A needed. And the usual bias of only people with problems being visible online.

Hota, Hyperion, Hitec, ISDT are the only others left now, but I think do not offer those big-Kahuna power levels.

No matter what, need to accept the risk of failure, and impracticality of repairs on most continents, unless you are a skilled electronics DIYer.

I’ve personally bought an iCharger 4010 DUO. I couldn’t find a single other charger comparable to the PowerLab but it’s close. I’m still hoping I can get the defective one I received fixed by Howard and am waiting on a response to my email. It’s truly one of a kind and I really don’t want to trash it.

The only charger to best the PowerLabs is the Pulsar 3+.

Yes, it's not a dual-port charger, but it is a 2.5kW charger capable of charging up to 14s LiPo/16s LiFe. Yes, it comes in a real metal case. Yes, it can balance at 2A/cell. Yes, it has quite a few other unique features that sets it apart from all the other chargers in the marketplace. Yes, it's extremely reliable and yes, it an be serviced. Yes, it's expensive.

https://www.pp-rc.de/CHARGING-TECHNI...&a=catalog&p=3

780€ plus shipping

wow

Looks like a 40 amp max though so less power if you’re using 6 cell batteries in comparison to either the iCharger or the Revolectrix. Seems the 2500 watts is only a benefit for the 14s packs.

52V, could work as an eBike charger.

So yes compared to Satiator + dedicated balancers, looks like decent value

Originally Posted by rudyd54

Looks like a 40 amp max though so less power if you’re using 6 cell batteries in comparison to either the iCharger or the Revolectrix. Seems the 2500 watts is only a benefit for the 14s packs.

iCharger 4010DUO is 40A/2kW max/70A in Async mode and still limited to 2kW. PowerLab is also 40A max/1350W/port. Yes, Pulsar 3+ ideal for those flying flying > 6s. It also has significantly more balancing power than any other RC charger that I'm aware of.

Originally Posted by John61CT

Stock up on FMA units while still available.

Or go with iCharger. I think many of the failures come from people not investing in a good single PSU to get to the V/A needed. And the usual bias of only people with problems being visible online.

+1. I have been using an iCharger 308B for almost 10 years now with no issues knock on wood. I am using a 24V 1500W TDK Lambda Industrial PSU with output set to 27V (to avoid buck boost transition when charging 6S packs) to power it. Some of the issues people have with iChargers DUO line occur when powering the units with PSUs in series and when one of those PSUs fail.

I also have ISDT Q8 and Q6 chargers but the DUO, especially after you have programmed settings, is faster and more convinient to use... Balancing is also faster using the default settings. I also like that you can set one channel to discharge to a load (hair dryer in my case) for fast discharging of lipos without stressing the charger.

Please remember that in order to get some of these really powerful chargers to do their advertised "thing", you'll have to feed the PS with 220 AC.

I have 8 x 6S 8100's that I use in a 35% 3D plane and I had ordered a dual power lab 8 that was DOA. Fortunately I got my money back so I guess I'm one of the few lucky ones. Anyway, after talking to some heli guys, I decided to go with multiple smaller chargers and will be moving away from parallel charging 4 large packs at once via a paraboard.

I've ordered 2 x ISDT P-30 chargers which will allow me to charge 4 packs at once (1 per charging channel). The highest I will charge is 2.5C which is right at 20 amps. The P-30 is rated at 30 amps per channel and with a 24 volt/75 amp power supply, I should be able to balance charge all 4 packs at 20 amps each. Time will tell if I made the right decision, but I did come out better price wise compared to the cost of the Dual Power Lab 8.

MLT

Originally Posted by Zeeb

Please remember that in order to get some of these really powerful chargers to do their advertised "thing", you'll have to feed the PS with 220 AC.

You can generally get ~1500-1600W out of a 120V AC power supply. Depending on the charger, you may need a 48V DC power supply as well.

I got my iCharger 4010duo up and running today. Definitely not as user friendly as the Dual PL8 Touch II but it does what I was looking for it to do. As a test I charged up 8 6s 5000s from storage to full charge in a just under 16 minutes. I’m powering it with 4 HP 750 watt power supplies in series for 3k watts at 48v. Each pair is plugged into a separate AC circuit in the garage to avoid tripping a breaker.

Originally Posted by rudyd54

I’m powering it with 4 HP 750 watt power supplies in series for 3k watts at 48v. Each pair is plugged into a separate AC circuit in the garage to avoid tripping a breaker.

Just know you are quadrupling the chance of failure doing that.

The iChargers are liable to burn if one of those drops out.

Top notch ex-server room / telecom 48V PSUs can be found on eBay pennies on the dollar.

Or invest in a single Meanwell, other Ali sold units can be reasonable too

Originally Posted by Ohmic

You can generally get ~1500-1600W out of a 120V AC power supply. Depending on the charger, you may need a 48V DC power supply as well.

That don't mean squat. All these people who advertise a 1000W per channel, CANNOT do that without a 220 VAC PS supply, all you have to do for an example, is look at the Meanwell PS requirements.