all chargers on HK are a waste of electronic parts

[nechaus]

I am sure most of you have heard of the "connection break" error, either had it or know someone..

iv had 2 cheap chargers and id strongly recommend anyone to stay clear of chargers from hobby king.

My first charger was a turnigy accucell 6 fatal error of connection break.
second charger i got was a hobby king eco 6-10

How ever i can account for the broken turnigy charger, I ONCE reversed the polarity on the charger side. i think a chip exploded inside from what i could observe. ( never happened on any of my sla or BIG chargers..)


The HK charger, i double checked everything, settings, connections ect...

Normally stay outside with my batteries when they charge as im so paranoid with lipo, not so much batteries but these chargers i dont trust.
This time i went inside made a coffee, came out side to a burnt smell....
First thing i thought was oh Fuc* my batteries are gonna go, ran over, none looked puffy,
felt the charger, its smelt like a funny burnt magic smoke smell and was warm.

This particular charger ALWAYS needed an external fan on it from overheating unless you charge as such a low rate its not even worth using.






Im only trying to charge 5AH turnigy lipo's

iv never had faulty products like this but than again i dont normally cheap out on things, I at least expect these chargers to last at least 300 chargers... not 15 to 20 chargers...


Can anyone recommend a good brand of charger? or a FIX for this piece of crap hk eco 6-10 that

maybe it was semi broken when i got it.. as i use to get connection break sometimes during mid charge but then i could just start charging again,
Now it just does checking battery and than annoying beep that tells me there is a connection break.
i dont believe it is the connection or cable as i have tested it with a mutimeter...

maybe i should just slam my fist on it and send the video to HK and tell them ill do this to their face if i get broken products again.
really unhappy

 

[nechaus]

here are some pics of the inside, Notice the 2 wires, they are to go to the power supply ( my thunder skys)
looks like they could short rather easy...

and the other pics, to me iv been applying thermal compound on to CPU's for years,
Do they spend more on thermal paste and waste 20 tubes per charger to try and keep the heat down from the poor circuit design.

i use WAY less than that on my computer chips and never had a overheating problem to date

 

[nechaus]

i cant seem to pull the thing apart only the sides, buttons seem to be attached to the top of the case


Guess i got my self some expensive power leads for another charger

 

[Ricky_nz]

As to your Accucell. It costs a lot more to be idiot proof :lol:.
My Accucell 8 is still running fine after several years so obviously not all charger from hobyking are a waste of parts.

 

[Philistine]

You can't say all HK chargers are rubbish, my 3010B Ichargers are my favourite chargers. Although not as technically good, I actually prefer them to my Hyperion 1420i. I like the layout of the display, and I have been using them to charge 10S sub packs at 15amps for countless chargers with no hassles at all, and I treat them with total physical abuse and negligent care.

 

[nechaus]

like man,

its REALLY BAD QUALITY... iv got cheap stuff b4 but just performed bad, did not break tho..

i have a sneeky feeling the ichargers are just as bad, seen them get the same connection break crap..


its like they all have the same software and circuits and change the outer package
alot of products are same looking different name

i like HK because they ship to my house within 3 days..


I GOT THIS CHARGERS CAUSE SOME FAT IDIOT FROM HOBBY KING ON YOUTUBE SAYING IT WAS GOOD AND NEW AND HAS A NICE HEAT SINK SO IT DOESN'T OVER HEAT.

seems like everything they say is BS

talk about a business that really knows how to milk customers..



i should not be even angry over this cause it was only $45 inc shipping.
but now i have no way to charge my ebike..
i have a Life charger for 36 volts so i could prob series up 2x5s packs, but it charges upto 43.4 volts where 2 5s packs should only max at 42


why sell something if its just going to break for the customers. i would not be proud to own any business that behaves this way

 

[DAND214]

Here you go http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=17&zenid=k1cqraucq46701v1leotqk7716Quick service with a good warranty. Not the cheapest but good service.

I have 2 206b Ichargers. One will not balance due to a shorted connection, Operator error. So I bought a Gt charger as there were cheaper. I didn't like the whine the fan made so I asked if I could retun it. No questions asked and they gave me a refund, so I bought another Icharger 206b. It works great and has a 1 year warranty with EPBUDDY.

I do most chargeing bulk with a http://www.bmsbattery.com/alloy-she...po4li-ionlead-acid-battery-ebike-charger.html 600w LiPo charger. Only need to balance maybe every 3 weeks or so. Used dailyand bulk charged most the time. 15s4p Zippy 5000mah 15c pack or Trunigy same size but 20c packs. Both bulk charge fine but I still balance as needed.

Cheap stuff is still cheap stuff, no matter what it is. Some will work fine or look fine. Others are just junk from the get go.

Dan

 

[nechaus]

My regen Brakes work better than balance charges from hk.... time to get a bulk charger I think.. maybe I should waste another 50 dollars and try to buy a balance charger that will last more that. 20 charges.. I guess if I balance once a month on cold days ill get over a year of use! !!

 

[neptronix]

If it's turnigy or hobbyking branded, 95% of the time, it's some rebranded crap..

Never believe anything other than the user's reviews. If there aren't any reviews, pass over it.

Going off what i've seen on the forums, the iCharger and hyperion lines are the only thing i can really recommend. Even then those chargers do have their little quirks... but they do last.

Sorry you learned your lesson the hard way. If you would have asked beforehand, i do hope that someone would have dissuaded you from buying that crap.

 

[nechaus]

Thanks ..
I will try out the icharger
if that blows ill compile a video of these broken chargers and smash them with my fingers
Not bothering with the refund. Just the way hk likes it lol

 

[geetarboy]

After 100's of charge cycles & over a year of daily use the 5 HK eco-six chargers I have still work fine. A few times a "connection break" error has popped up, but I just unplug it and start it right back up. They have proven to be quite reliable for me.
- Mark

 

[recumbent]

I bulk charge 95% of the time also, and only use my "i-charger208B" at the beginning to check and cycle the cells. However i blew-up the icharger-208 after only a few months use

The part that burnt was a mosfet, totally disintegrated.

Electronics these days seem like a hit-or-miss, even my new Panasonic phone bit the dust after a few months use. Good luck with your next charger.

edit: to change # on charger (208b not 108)

 

[neptronix]

If you have any problems with the iCharger, let me know.
Mine survived reverse polarity and shorting out the balance leads twice.

The logging functions are awesome too, for testing cells.

 

[nechaus]

thank you and thank you.

its good to know that your icharger still works after those things... it seems like normal human error from time to time..
i rev polarity with my accucell because of wrong color heat shrink..

"i double up on heat shrink with rc lipo" might be a waste but i just like extra saftey with my wires as mine are messy atm



When your icharger went... did it go from normal use? or did something happen....

This has been such an annoying thing for me,, since i upgraded my controller i have not wanted to get off my ebike..
saving alot on petrol
What ill do .. ill buy the icharger.. make connections so i can never rev polarity and buy about 2 or 3 Cheapies to store away incase one fails...
may as well get a bulk charger to.. i would like to buy a bulk charger from bmsbattery, but they took so long when i ordered a bms... and then.. the bms circuit diagram had the balance leads numbered incorrectly so i had some smoke when i plugged in the 20 s balance connector


when i order my icharger and if it fails..., may as well ride my last watts off a cliff ... HAHA nah...
may have to make my own charger..

 

[neptronix]

A blown mosfet isn't a big deal. that's replaceable. And while you're at it, you could reinforce the iCharger's bad thermal design.

I found that i had to derate my iCharger by about ~50-75 watts. As it would easily get so hot that it would shut itself off..!
Also they do not like being ran anywhere near their upper input voltage. That is usually what makes them blow. That and disconnecting the battery before you hit 'stop' during a charge.

otherwise they are solid and will last for years. If there was a better RC charger i'd be using it. Hyperion is worth a look. FMAs are supposed to be good but are a bit $$$.

 

[amberwolf]

and the other pics, to me iv been applying thermal compound on to CPU's for years,
Do they spend more on thermal paste and waste 20 tubes per charger to try and keep the heat down from the poor circuit design.

i use WAY less than that on my computer chips and never had a overheating problem to date

It is possible for too much thermal paste to *cause* overheating, after it dries up and leaves an air gap between the part and the heatsink.

The very thin amount normally used on parts would only fill in cracks and scratches in the mating surfaces, so that all other contact is still metal-to-metal, so that when the paste dries out it will not cause any significant change in thermal transfer. Most of the time, if a heatsink and part are mating correctly in the first place, they could be used without *any* paste and they'd be almost as good a thermal transfer as with the correct amount.

i cant seem to pull the thing apart only the sides, buttons seem to be attached to the top of the case

If it is made like my Venom charger (probably) then you can gently pull the front edge of the case away from the top panel, while pulling up on the panel's front edge, and it will pop out. It's meant to slide out, but only if the wires inside are disconnected, and the buttons all held down enough to clear the button holes. (I managed to break two button stems catching the case when I dropped it, so they're kind of fragile; that's probably going to make sliding it off harder than popping it off like I did.)
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=395294#p395294

 

[nechaus]

You have given me a new little project neptronix

I will make a charging stand for the icharger, put on some heatsinks and pc fans... hmm i could actually turn an old PC case into a big charger case think with a power supply...
its funny i have been carefull with my lipo's, but way more carefull with the cheap chargers...


I live in Australia, Queensland, gets pretty hot here, and we are now entering summer...
maybe these chargers are designed and tested where its 0 degrees


I feel wasteful, some poor kid in some poor country could have had this
i dont know if that makes sense

anyway

 

[nechaus]

and the other pics, to me iv been applying thermal compound on to CPU's for years,
Do they spend more on thermal paste and waste 20 tubes per charger to try and keep the heat down from the poor circuit design.

i use WAY less than that on my computer chips and never had a overheating problem to date

It is possible for too much thermal paste to *cause* overheating, after it dries up and leaves an air gap between the part and the heatsink.

The very thin amount normally used on parts would only fill in cracks and scratches in the mating surfaces, so that all other contact is still metal-to-metal, so that when the paste dries out it will not cause any significant change in thermal transfer. Most of the time, if a heatsink and part are mating correctly in the first place, they could be used without *any* paste and they'd be almost as good a thermal transfer as with the correct amount.

i cant seem to pull the thing apart only the sides, buttons seem to be attached to the top of the case

If it is made like my Venom charger (probably) then you can gently pull the front edge of the case away from the top panel, while pulling up on the panel's front edge, and it will pop out. It's meant to slide out, but only if the wires inside are disconnected, and the buttons all held down enough to clear the button holes. (I managed to break two button stems catching the case when I dropped it, so they're kind of fragile; that's probably going to make sliding it off harder than popping it off like I did.)
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=395294#p395294

Sounds like your venom charger almost... the way im picturing it ...
i think if i pop the top off, the buttons will break... im still deciding if i should attempt to fix it, or send it back. They will most likely credit me, but it may give them a good reason to not credit me by saying i played with it and broke it. i dunno..
does not look like capacitor damage, it smells like cooked transistors . kinda the same smell as silicon solar cells.. (tried to overvolt/overamp some solarcells with a magnify glass, works well for a few seconds) but yeah kinda smells the same

 

[neptronix]

here is a relavent thread:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24801&hilit=icharger&start=15

I find that getting it propped up helps a hell of a lot.
I run it at 200 watts, which is OK for me. The meanwell does most of the charging these days anyhow.

 

[nechaus]

im glad yours is ok,

Ill post some pics when i make my cooling box for the charger.
I should send them into hk as well( so they can see the stupid extremes that customers have to do), Its going to look like David and Goliath
David is the charger
Goliath is the fan

looking at the other thread, they look like a bugger to open right up.
but i think ill put massive heat sinks on the mosfets, if i can open the charger without breaking it.

I think another problem happens when I charged batteries one after another, no real cooling period.
although at the end of charges is does cool what i thought was enough

 

[Philistine]

If you can afford it (and have a power supply that can feed the current), don't get the 1010B, get the 3010B. It can put out 1000W, it is insanely powerful. Which is another thing about HK, the reviews on HK all talk about how their 3010B exploded into flames the minute they turned it on, which put me off ever touching them. In the end I bought two, and I have been charging daily with them for about 8 months, and they are my favourite chargers. I also have 2 x Hyperion 1420is, they are, in my opinion a technically better charger, but I actually prefer the readout on my 3010Bs and they are more powerful. I charge daily at 630W, and I have never had a slight issue with either of them (they don't get even slightly warm). Maybe if you ramped them up to closer to their 1000W rate they might get more stressed and the fireworks might start, but I find 15amps charge rate plenty fast enough for a 10S pack. Just make sure you have a ballsy enough PSU though, mine is 26V 30amp, so you need some balls in your PSU to get the grunt out of the 3010B.

 

[nechaus]

Hmm...
its a bugger with the ratings on these chargers..
yeah i heard about the 1000 watters going up..
would not be nice

 

[dogman dan]

FWIW, I bought HK chargers in pairs figuring the real cost was the price of two. Dammit all if both cheap B6's and both Turnigy 150w chargers have worked flawlessly for over a year now.

Had plenty of HK batteries have one cell go tits up a bit earlier than I wanted though. Guess for me it's batteries, for you it's chargers.

 

[wineboyrider]

FWIW I use my eco 6 charger more than my hyperion 1420i, mostly because I am using my lipo as lipo boosters at the moment and don't use more than 6s pack. The Eco 6 is a bit slow 2.7 amps, but that's fast enough for me at this point.

 

[veloman]

my HK eco 6-10 has been working ok, but makes weird noises when started up. I typically watch and stop it at 4.15v a cell