HK Eco 6-10 charger fail

[Hillhater]

Anybody have one of these HK 10 amp Eco 6 , 200W, chargers ?
mine is only a few weeks old and has now failed mid charge .
It wont charge again, indicating a "connection break" message which would suggest some issue with the pack or wiring connections but another charger works fine on the same connections, so i am guessing its an internal problem with the charger.
There is also a strong "magic smoke" smell around this charger now.
Note:- also it never would charge at more than 6A , on 5s pack without the charger getting very hot and shutting off on "Over temp" error.
Anyone else have issues with these chargers , or did i just get the lemon ?

 

[neptronix]

Reminds me of my iCharger.
Specced to run at 300watts, in reality runs at about 180watts before hitting thermal limit after about 30 mins.
Before that it was overheating at ~150watts because i didn't have it raised off the ground...

But think of what people usually use them for.. little 800mah-3000mah packs usually, so they don't get hot enough to blow..
It's just that the thermal limits set on the eco6 sound like they are a little too liberal.
Bummer, but at least you didn't fork over $121 for it like i did my iCharger.

Always underrate stuff from China.

 

[neptronix]

BTW i kinda have a thread on this that i started a bit ago.

I have a feeling it applies to a lot of the cheaper chargers too.
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24801&start=15

 

[amberwolf]

Based on teh smell and the connection error, I'd guess a failed output FET, but I've never troubleshot one of these things. (I've only even ever opened up one, a Venom).

 

[dogman dan]

Not true of every charger though. My cheapies are still cranking hard at full watts. It's only 150, but I hook 20 ah up to em at a time and charge at full power.

That can take several hours, and no hint of overheating. I have the Turnigy accucel 150 watt. I have read of them smoking right away too though, so the same luck of the draw on chinese made components applies. Lucky me, bought two and both are good.

 

[ericslai]

Both of my ECO 8 got too hot when they were charging at full power. In cell balance mode, the little fan runs at full speed to cool the chassis adequately. Now I only charge in cell balance mode.

 

[sandos]

My eco 6-10 has been working perfectly for my RC-helicopter needs for 100 charges or so.

I routinely "max" it via charging 6 cells in series (2x3s1p packs) and I have noticed nothing abnormal at all from those sessions.

My normal charge is to charge at ~110 watts though, 10A into 3S.

 

[Hillhater]

What are you guys using as power supplies ? voltage ??

 

[heathyoung]

Bear in mind that a lot of these things run an unisolated buck/boost topology, so the closer you can get to the charging voltage of whatever you are trying to charge (within the input voltage limits of the chargers) will produce less heat. Ie. higher = better.

 

[Hillhater]

OK, a warranty replacement Eco 6-10 has now been received and tried.
Charging 5s @ 10A the charger gets too hot to touch within a few minutes !!
Output is 19v @ 10 A but the input is taking 27A continuous from a 12v supply.
So its dumping 130W in heat ( seems like much more !)
If i restrict the charge to 6A @ 19v, it only draws 12A @ 12V from the supply ( 30W heat loss )
Is this normal ?
Would a higher voltage supply (18v) help keep the charger cool ?
or am i expecting too much from a $35 charger

 

[neptronix]

DC-DC converters do waste some power, but that's pretty bad.
AC-DC converters ( power supplies ) are not so great either.

I say derate it some, run it on a bit less amps :/

OR... get a meanwell and do bulk charges over 90% of the time, keep the eco charger as an occasional balance charger.
A meanwell is so much more efficient. Only one stage of voltage conversion there, AC to DC, rather than AC to DC to DC.

 

[Hillhater]

Yep agree !
working on the bulk charger with a pair of 12v, 40A power supplies, but still cannot figure the best way to loose a few volts to make the 20.5v required ( no Vr in these Dell units !)

 

[heathyoung]

Of course there is a voltage regulation on those - you just need to find the voltage divider section for the output.

 

[Hillhater]

Yes, I did find a small adjustable resistor pot inside , but it did not seem to make any measurable difference to the output ??
This is a Dell DPS 500CB.

 

[heathyoung]

It won't neccesarily be a pot, since it is a fixed voltage power supply, you will need to find the voltage feedback section for regulation - there will be a TL494 or a TL431 (3 pin) that will be doing the voltage regulation duties... Photos would help