Best value Lipo charger

[scotticeberg]

What is the best value lipo charger out there? I realize the iCharger, and hyperion, are the very best. Unfortunately, for a newbie like me, I'm a little hesitant to shell out $200 for a charging setup that I could easily fry.

I'm looking for something 6s, or greater, to get my foot in the door. Once I learn the ropes first hand I will use this setup as my portable charger, and upgrade to a hyperion 14s, with requisite meanwell power supplies.

I will likely be running 10s or 12s of lipo.

What do you crazy bastards think? I mean that in the most endearing way.

 

[dogman dan]

I think I did pretty good in the value dept with my choices. Two cheap 150 watt chargers and one 350 watt meanwell clone power supply. I get to charge two packs simultaneously at 7 amps. The chargers were about $40, and the PS about $60. My chargers happened to be turnigy brand, but don't count on exactly the same thing being in stock at HK.

It's capable of charging two completely discharged 5 ah lipo packs in about an hour, longer for balancing.

Others will tell you to bulk charge with just the meanwell, but I'm happy with my setup. Don't bother with any 50 watt chargers. Just waaaay too slow. Carry one, what for? So you can get a quick 12 hour recharge?

 

[AussieJester]

Yup, bulk charging is definitely the best way to go, charging individual packs is ridiculous IMO, when you r using large packs made of multiple lipo..Buy a cheap nasty charger, in car balancing is ever needed, its a simple no fuss one plug charging setup...once you bulk charge, won't look back

KiM

 

[neptronix]

How many cells are you charging in series?

I'd say get a high quality 6S-8S charger for balancing and a meanwell or two for bulk charges. High quality, high amperage lipo chargers are a waste of money.

For the price of another cheap lipo charger after the first one fails, you can get 1 good one with nice functions like cell logging, variable calibration, etc.

 

[yopappamon]

If you watch you can find deals on eBay. I just picked up a 320w 24v meanwell for $20 including shipping.

 

[scotticeberg]

I was planning on running 10s2p or 12s2p, splitting the packs in half to charge. I guess if I end up bulk charging most of the time I wont need to break them down.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[dogman dan]

I dig the bulk charging idea, especially for the really large packs. Even as small as 20s 2p is can be a hassle to charge with regular lipo 8s chargers. But 4 batteries is not a big deal to bring inside, plug into a paralell harness and charge. You likely have already permanently paralleled them anyway.

Man, that is soooo much trouble to bring in two little batteries and charge a 10s or 12s 2p pack.

The main reason I persist in bringing lipo in and charging at 5 or 6s is I often run a wide variety of voltages. 72v on one bike, 48v or 36v on two others, 24v on my lawnmower. Nothing is ever permanently part of a vehicle for me. No telling how I'll configure them tomorrow. I never build a battery box it takes more that 2 seconds to remove batteries from. If on fire, I may want to get em off the bike even faster.

If I had one bike, and charged it twice a day, I'd want to bulk charge for sure.

I'm not trying to start a whats the best way argument so much as say that one of the fine things about lipo is that there are numerous best ways to manage the pack. So for eachperson, there is a very individual pack configuraton and best way for that person to charge. Unlike pingbattery for example, where you buy a certain voltage battery with a set voltage bms, and now you are stuck with that voltage for 3-4 years. Not flexible. With lipo I can run 4 different voltages in the same day with the same pile of lipo bricks. Wonderfull!

 

[Ykick]

I was planning on running 10s2p or 12s2p, splitting the packs in half to charge. I guess if I end up bulk charging most of the time I wont need to break them down.

Thanks for the replies.

I use SP320-48 Meanwell (MW) for bulk charging 12S. It's perfect for 49.5V averaging about 7A using Fetcher mini-limiter. I understand you can mod S350 MW for current limiting but the Fetcher board is so easy and works with the often cheaper SP models. My commute uses about 6AH so I can turnaround in about an hour charge time.

I started with an iCharger but the MW replaced it for daily charging although I still use the iCharger for many other applications. No regrets, great piece of gear to own and if anything like me you'll use it for many other battery service purposes.