How to Operate your RC Hobby Grade Balance Charger for Li-Ion vs Li-Po
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2024
- Our hobby grade balance chargers all use the same interface but it's unclear how to toggle between charging Li-Ion batteries vs Li-Po batteries. This tutorial video shows you step-by-step how to do it.
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Been charging lipos for 6-7 years and never knew that I could change up to Li-ion. Thanks!
Yeah the interface is not intuitive at all. It isn't even consistent in itself. The Lion should just be one of the choices like the other ones on the same menu rather than having to go back and then forward again to navigate through it. A bit of a pain but it is what it is.
You should check out new chargers these days. Some pretty incredible stuff. I'm using a Hota D6 Pro now. Dual channel, runs out of a wall outlet but can also be powered by an external XT60 battery. Wireless charging pad and USB out port. For smaller sized batteries though, something called the Toolkit M4Q came out recently too and is worth looking at if you're possibly upgrading.
@@Funcentric me too, i'm charging my 2s lipo in my b3 pro compact charger. Does it have consequences?
@@maestro-rcboat9881 does what have consequences? Can you clarify your question?
@@Funcentric or... is it safe to charge my li-ion bat to my compact lipo charger? Cause its only what i have.
@@maestro-rcboat9881not recommended...try B6 v2 at least
B3 compact charger will easily destroy ur lipo .
Best tutorial ever! Made my nightmares go away after 6 months hiatus from this hobby!
Thanks man! Best compliment ever! Glad things are working out.
@Brennan Noe awesome! Let me know if you need further help.
Great tutorial finally know how to set my old hobby king quattro charger to charge lithium Ion cells. Thanks.
@@alvandergoot7237 yeah, sure thing. Glad you found it helpful.
thanks for the clear cut directions on how to balance charge Lipo and Li-Ion.
You Da Man
Yeah, no problem! I had a hard time finding a video with good audio and lighting for this so once I figured it out, thought it might be helpful for others.
Thank you bro, this really helped me a lot. Grate video
Excellent demonstration.
Thanks, glad you liked it. Figured there’s no other video that clearly discusses it at least with decent lighting and audio. I was trying to find something myself too.
Thanks, that was orsome, I was getting frustrated with my charger and you helped me from buying a new one, cheers
Good, glad it helped. Yeah, the interface is not intuitive at all. I hate these things.
Can't thankyou enough really helpful vid thanks, Glad you mentioned voltage as it was confusing charger saying 7.2 and battery saying 7.4👍
Sure! Glad this is useful for you.
Excellent! Thanks for the info!
No problem. Glad I could help. I had trouble finding a video with proper audio with slow enough video that I could keep up, so made my own for y'all.
Great video. Thanks so much👍
Yeah, no problem! I had a hard time figuring this out. Thought others may be in the same boat.
Free education. Thank you
Thank you so much awesome tutorial. Definitely liked and subscribed
Glad it worked out for you!
Great video!
Thanks! Glad it worked out for you!
Nice Review 👍👌
Glad you liked it! I'm still new to this video making process. I'm just happy that it's helped someone.
Great for old camcorder batteries! 👍👍👍✔
Thank you!
Nice review ! A fair bit clearer instruction than some others that are about as clear as mud. Can this newer unit save settings for a few different setting profiles for those of us with a few different chemistries and specs ? I believe an older version did have that ability.
Hey, thanks for your appreciation on the video. I did do a few takes to make sure it was quality and helpful to others so I'm glad it did turn out that way.
When I was looking for a video myself, a lot of the other ones out there had either poor video and/or poor quality sound. Tried to at least improve on those and go through each step rather than skipping through the buttons that aren't even intuitive.
This unit does NOT have the feature to save profiles for certain batteries. I wouldn't recommend a bullet lead style LiPo charger this day and age. If you already have one, that's totally fine but if you have the opportunity to buy new, I'd recommend something with a XT60 connector. Much more standard, safer, and more future proof than this old stuff.
I use the Hota D6 Duo Pro version. Dual channel, USB output and has wireless phone charging as well. It's pricier but I feel it should last me the foreseeable future.
Amazing
Thank you very helpful
Cool! Glad it worked out.
Liked and subbed !
i totally forgot how to use ma B6mini
and now I have some li-ion's to charge , ma b6 already had the li-ion setting .. bit confusing ,but it's charging now ^^
thanks for refreshing ma memory mate
Cool. yeah, it's not intuitive at all for switching back and forth. It should be part of the menu like the other battery chemistries rather than replacing lipo with lion.
Thx❤
That really helped me alot thanks.. can I parallel charge lithium ion batterys
Thanks buddy
Thank you
Sure thing.
Thanks
Sure thing! Tried to make the audio and visual clear too. Some of the other videos I saw before making this was kinda dark or you couldn't see the buttons being pressed.
How much time will a 7.4 v 1300mah li-ion battery take to charge if the output current of the charging cable is 7.4v 800mah and input current of the charging cable is 5v 1A?
Hi.i have the same battery, but another charger Imax B6. The same like your, but another colors. My battery is like your, but When i made all this like you and i press start, it write connection break. Why?
Sorry to be asking for help on such an old video, this came up in my googling. I have the same charger and a similar Li-Ion battery as in the video which came with my QX7 lite. Problem is, my battery pack only has a 2S balance lead and no power lead coming out the top. The charger keeps giving me a "Battery Connection" error. Is it capable of charging with only the balancing lead plugged in? My charger may just be faulty, I don't even have another battery to test if the charger is at fault.
Your charger is acting appropriately. Many chargers cannot charge w/o a balance lead which is the reason for dedicated 1S chargers on the market. It's possible that you might be able to charge 1S using a parallel board. Not true for all chargers though. It may be a good time to invest in a 1S charger that has storage charging options too.
Will using this prevent my battery's from runaway or would I be better to install bms on each of my batterys
Runaway meaning thermal runaway? That has nothing to do with the charger. Thermal runaway is just the nature and vulnerability of the battery chemistry. A bms for each battery isn’t really a thing.
Also this is an old charger. Much better stuff in the market these days. I have a video on how to choose one.
I followed it step by step but my Li ion battery still wouldn’t charge. It kept saying low voltage even though it’s a 7.4 volt because the only option was 7.2 volt for 2S batteries. Is there anything I could do about that?
I have come across that exact same issue before. I discovered that the balance lead wasn't in good shape. I had to keep inserting, removing and reinserting until it would connect. Basically, the charger wasn't reading it properly due to an old faulty balance lead. I assume it'll work with your other batteries. If so, it's definitely the balance lead that's failed on on the brink.
Dude! Can i buy a friggin coffee? Thank you soo much!❤
Haha. Sure! If you’re in San Francisco !
So as I understood, my 18650 2S1P Sanyo 3400mAh pack should be charged at up to 3.4A? Isn't that too much? Is that formula (mAh/1000=charge current) confirmed by experts?
PS. Another question: What does "storage" mode mean? Is it discharging mode for batteries that won't be used and how it differs from "discharge" mode? When should we use each of these modes (balance, charge, discharge, storage)?
Yes, that’s the common charge rate. We call that 1C. Most won’t recommend charging higher than 2C for a lipo. I personally charge at 1.5c at the most. So a 3400mah pack would be at 5.1amps tops. I’ll typically charge at 1C unless I’m in a hurry or I have a long time. I may go down to 0.8C or 2.75amps in your example. Slower or lower amps is better for longevity of the pack. This is for lithium batteries. SLA batteries should be charged at a much lower rate. Same with nimh batteries. Much slower like 1/10C.
@@Funcentric Thanks ! Btw, what does "storage" mode mean? Is it discharging mode for batteries that won't be used and how it differs from "discharge" mode? When should we use each of these modes (balance, charge, discharge, storage)?
@@brezovprut4431 storage is basically 3.80v per cell. Do that if you plan to store it for more than 3 or so days. It’ll keep the longevity of the battery. It’s not good to leave it full charged or too low.
Balance charge if you have the time. It takes longer than charge but you’ll want your cells balanced out. I use balance every time. Don’t use discharge. It’s not for most situations.
@@Funcentric Thanks a lot for useful tips !
@@brezovprut4431 certainly.
my lithoum ion battery has no balance lead how do I charge my charger keeps giving me a no balance lead message
thanks
gerard
I’m having the same issue with my toolkitrc M4Q. I’m going to need to create a jumper cable that basically connects two ph2.0 connectors on a balance board. I think that might do the trick but I’m not certain. I still need to look into it. Some chargers let you bypass the requirement for a balance lead for 1S batteries since there isn’t anything to balance on a single cell battery. I’ll post a video when I figure it out.
In the meantime maybe use a different charger. One of my videos shows a charge board (not balance board) that will work via an external battery pack like the kind you use to charge a cell phone. $12-17 ish.
Instead of balance charge. you can use charge.
how much vold limit can be charged if using this charger? if i charge the vold 5s 21v is it suitable to use this charger.help me friend.
Sorry for the late reply. Didn't see this come in. Do you mean voltage? You want to charge LiPo batteries to 4.20v per cell actual. 3.7v per cell is nominal and 4.20v is how much volts actually go into the cell when you charge it. I hope that answers your question. A 5S battery is still 4.20v per cell. You don't set the total 21v. It's done per cell only.
@@Funcentric thanks 👌
Can I use the lipo setting because the battery says 7.4v instead of 7.2v?
It shouldn’t make too much of a difference. When you actually charge though, you want to have it at 4.2v per cell.
@@Funcentric Thanks
Hi I'm new to the rc hobby I have the two 4s zee 9000mah batteries an I need a charger will this work
Do not buy this charger. It’s obsolete. This video was only for clarifying use for anyone who already has it. I use the Hota D6 Pro Duo which is about $110 but it is flexible and you can grow into it. The only other charger I have is the toolkit m4Q but I don’t recommend that either. It’s got a few faults which I actually made a video about.
Ok thanks a lot do u have a video on the hota d6 charger so I'll know how to use it
I heard that if you charge li-po batterys you should use it within a few days
Do I have to also do it for li-ion batteries also?
Yes, they’re lithium also. 3.80v per cell. Most people say up to four days. But I storage charge mine every day. I’m just paranoid I guess.
@@Funcentric do I need this special charger? I only have the charger that came in box of my rc car and it just has usb to plug into power adapter
How do I storage charge it
@@BuildTimeMC To storage charge using what you have, you'll need at the very least a lipo alarm which tells you how much voltage in the battery. It costs about $3 + shipping and tax. You'll use that to gauge how much voltage. Then it's just a matter of running the car and testing the voltage to get an idea of how much run time you can have before you're at 3.80v per cell.
To do it the proper way, yes, you'll need a legit hobby grade charger.
@@Funcentric what is the cheapest one for storage charging only?
@@BuildTimeMC you don’t want to go the cheap route. Just guess by using the LiPo alarm.
Then when you’re ready, invest in a good charger under $80 that you can use extensively for at least a year. Do not get the Skyrc imax B6. The banana connectors on those are obsolete. There’s a V2 version that has the standard xt60 connector. I still don’t recommend that. Once you get a legit charger, it will snowball into a lot of items to get: parallel board, connector adaptors. ToolkitRC had some budget ones you can look at for under $50. There’s a few at $30 plus tax and shipping.
Hello! Do I need a special charger for Li-Ion batteries? I'm using just the USB cable that came with my RC Car! Thanks ^^
No, the one you have is fine. It is rated for whatever voltage and amp it needs.
@@Funcentric And what about balance etc? It only applies for LiPo batteries? Thank you very much for the attention!
The amperage of the stock charger is likely very low but safe. The usb can only handle so much. A hobby charger will likely allow you to charge much higher yet within safe limits. I do have a video on how to pick a charger that might help.
@@samucapb2 balance is technically required for all multicell batteries. Anything more than 3.7v. Balancing makes it last longer. There’s no balancing option with the usb chargers so the white balance lead is generally unused unless that’s what is being used to charge instead of the power lead.
@@Funcentric Thanks, bro! So, last question! Do you recommend a Hobby charger for multicell Li-Ion batteries etc?
Is it normal for these batteries to get warm or hot when charging
Warm, yes but it should not be hot. I haven't measured any temperatures so I can't quantify it. But if it's too hot to touch, that's way way too hot. The knockoff chargers do have some quality issues, so I'd advise being super careful with any of those. This charger is quite old as the interface is over a decade old. I'd recommend a better charger though. I have another video on how to select one since new chargers are coming out all the time.
I have a li ion battery and I put it to charge in lipo mode, what can happen?
Nothing horrible. Li-ion and LiPo both charge at 4.20v per cell when full. Storage charge is 3.85v for Li-ion and 3.80v for LiPo.
I tried charging just a single cell , and it showed me , low voltage ....... any idea
With single cell, there’s no balance lead. If the single cell uses a balance lead type of connector for power, it may not work. I’m not sure it would recognize it if only the balance connector style is connected without a standard power lead. Make sure you’re using the single cell charge mode and NOT balance mode. There’s nothing to balance with just one cell. It may be looking for a second cell and seeing the voltage as too low for a 2 cell battery.
Best explanation loose the music tho
Yeah my early videos I was still trying to figure stuff out. No music in recent videos.
The background music wasn't necessary
Haha, yeah old video. I don't do much of that anymore in the later videos. Thanks for the feedback though.
Turn down the background music. The music interferes with your presentation.
Yeah I got a lot of that in the comments. This was one of my first videos ever. Was new to it. Still learning everyday. Thanks for the feedback.
Too damn much background music BS
Yeah old video. I’ve learned since to keep it out when talking.
Thank you
Sure! Hope it helped. I know I had a hard time finding this info so I figured I’d produce something for my own reference and for others.