Which lipo balance charger should I buy?

[agosb]

Hello
I´m travelling these holidays to United States so I´m making an upgraded part list.
I have two 2s 2200mah lipo from traxxas and a 3s 1400mah from another brand. I charge them with the 2-Cell & 3-Cell LiPo Charger (#2935) from traxxas also but it tooks 3 hours to be fully charged and I don´t like that. So Im wondering wich charger could I buy. I´ve been looking and have some options like the Traxxas ez peak plus, this one is an option too http://www.ebay.com/itm/Venom-0657-A...item1e70ed655a but I don´t know if it has all the required wires to charge my lipos.
I´ll be glad if you help me. Im expecting to spend 50 - 100 dollars on a decent charger

I already have this upgraded parts: HS-85mg+ (after buying 3 stock ones, I realized there were crap), Aluminum Body Posts, aluminum toe links and pushrods, RPM arm set (front and back), gtr shocks and tan and black spring, and Im waiting some shim to shim my diffs
And Im going to buy these: Center differential (7014), RPM axle carriers, steel hollow balls, and new tires and wheels (dirt hawg maybe mounted on hpi wheels). Do you consider that I should buy something else?

Thank you for reading all, and help me!

[boston2612]

Whatever you do don't by onyx I have gone through a couple of them the one I got that works awesome is a hitec x1 Ac it owns and the price is low I payed 62.99 US

[agosb]

I like the one you mentioned! Do you think these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hitec-X1-AC-...item53ecb02ee6 is the one you have? How long does it take to charge your lipo? are 2s or 3s how much mah?
Thanks!!

[traxxasman25]

A really cheap but good quality balance lipo charger is the http://www.nitrorcx.com/thac6smlibac.html I have been using this for years and have had no problems, even comes with a balance board all the plugs you will need, can charge from 7.2v to 22.2 volt lipos and also receiver batteries and transmitter batteries and also has a built in fan and led light up. you can save settings in your charger so you dont half to keep programing it. this is a great charger overall and very cheap!

[agosb]

A really cheap but good quality balance lipo charger is the http://www.nitrorcx.com/thac6smlibac.html I have been using this for years and have had no problems, even comes with a balance board all the plugs you will need, can charge from 7.2v to 22.2 volt lipos and also receiver batteries and transmitter batteries and also has a built in fan and led light up. you can save settings in your charger so you dont half to keep programing it. this is a great charger overall and very cheap!

They have a good price, I cant find a similar price in ebay, all are between 59 to 80 dollars :S.
Do you say that with the kit that the chargers brings I wont have to buy another wire or connector. It has all I need? Sorry Im asking all these cuestion but in my country is extremely expensive to buy these kind of stuff

[traxxasman25]

Well this charger comes with dc power cinnectors or ac power the plugs you receive are a whit timiya connector and a bannana connector, you can always either solder connectors or buy them at a lhs the plugs it come with are http://www.nitrorcx.com/79p-10227.html AND http://www.all-battery.com/standardf...FemiPAodmHgAbw wHAT CONNECTOR IS ONT THE END OF YOUR LIPO? if its one of these that is all you will need to charge and balance your lipo batteries, unluss you have an adapter you can have all sorts of connectors to this charger

[Jimdog]

triton eq. its about 100 on sale but it is ac/dc, charges at up to 5A, balances 6s lipos, and charges all types. works good for me so far.

[agosb]

Well this charger comes with dc power cinnectors or ac power the plugs you receive are a whit timiya connector and a bannana connector, you can always either solder connectors or buy them at a lhs the plugs it come with are http://www.nitrorcx.com/79p-10227.html AND http://www.all-battery.com/standardf...FemiPAodmHgAbw wHAT CONNECTOR IS ONT THE END OF YOUR LIPO? if its one of these that is all you will need to charge and balance your lipo batteries, unluss you have an adapter you can have all sorts of connectors to this charger

I have the traxxas connector, but if you say that I can solder connectors I have a parallel connector that I don´t use so I can take the connector that I need, and solder it to the timiya one?

[traxxasman25]

yeah you could do that. once you solder that then you will need nothing else and you can easily charge your batteries nimh, nicad, lipo, and receiver packs.

[agosb]

yeah you could do that. once you solder that then you will need nothing else and you can easily charge your batteries nimh, nicad, lipo, and receiver packs.

thank you!! your answers really helped me, Im going to buy that charger!

[50togo]

Buy an icharger can't go wrong!

[mtc777]

+1 on iCharger. Best charger I ever had

http://www.progressiverc.com/icharger-106b.html

[Ken448]

http://www.nitrorcx.com/75p-t6-multi-charger.html

IM actually contemplating getting rid of my 2 ICE chargers for one of these. Giving me the ability to charge 4 batts at once is nice since I am usually charging 2 and waiting to start more when the kids drive with me. Does anyone have any experience with this charger?

[Jimmie Neutron]

iCharger + ParaBoard = 6 LiPo's at once.

The charger you linked above is basically 4 50watt battery cookers shoved into one case with a higher price tag. I believe I have read where one of those chargers is responsible for burning down either a garage or an RC shop... KSB51rl is the one with the story if I remember right.

[Ken448]

This is why I ask and is good to know!

[Jimmie Neutron]

I suggest reading the following:
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...rger-vs-cooker
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...charging-setup

[50togo]

Here is a good place to buy http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15

[Jimmie Neutron]

That is where I bought mine... they have good prices on wire too.

Also, iCharger is not the only affordable line of good chargers...
Hyperion, Revolectrix, and ThunderPower also make good chargers. Just be weary of knockoffs.

[agosb]

I suggest reading the following:
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...rger-vs-cooker
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...charging-setup

iCharger + ParaBoard = 6 LiPo's at once.

The charger you linked above is basically 4 50watt battery cookers shoved into one case with a higher price tag. I believe I have read where one of those chargers is responsible for burning down either a garage or an RC shop... KSB51rl is the one with the story if I remember right.

So the thunder ac6 is a cooker?
Ok if you say I will spend more money and buy a good gone, perhaps the icharger 106b http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_pa...&products_id=1 that is a trusted page? what else should I need to charge my traxxas 2s 2200 and 3s 1400? wich paraboard is for traxxas?

Oh i just realized it doesnt have an ac power, and I need it to be connected to the wall to 240v :S

[Jimmie Neutron]

EPBuddy is a trusted site... Dale is a great person to deal with.
As far as I know, ProgressiveRC is the only supplier of a Traxxas ParaBoard.
http://www.progressiverc.com/paralle...h-traxxas.html

It was once said by a wise man that you don't ever see someone selling their high-power charge system for something smaller and cheaper... but you always see people selling their cheaper smaller systems for something larger.

[ksb51rl]

iCharger + ParaBoard = 6 LiPo's at once.

The charger you linked above is basically 4 50watt battery cookers shoved into one case with a higher price tag. I believe I have read where one of those chargers is responsible for burning down either a garage or an RC shop... KSB51rl is the one with the story if I remember right.

It was the garage/workshop for the LHS. The charger in question was an AC version of a very similar-looking charger. The second one to catch fire may have burned down another accessory building if a black lab did not sound the alarm bark.

[Jimmie Neutron]

Thanks for clearing that up, K.
I suppose the point of the story remained true: Cheap chargers are not all that cheap in the long run.

So the thunder ac6 is a cooker?
Ok if you say I will spend more money and buy a good gone, perhaps the icharger 106b http://epbuddy.com/index.php?main_pa...&products_id=1 that is a trusted page? what else should I need to charge my traxxas 2s 2200 and 3s 1400? wich paraboard is for traxxas?

Oh i just realized it doesnt have an ac power, and I need it to be connected to the wall to 240v :S

I can walk you through converting a power supply for just about any charger. I have done a few build threads over in the Alley of this forum.... and I have personally helped a few members via PM and email with their conversions.
A supply can be converted for less than $25 that can power all but the most powerful chargers out there.

[Jimmie Neutron]

Merged with above post.

[Ed_72455]

I have had absolutely no problems at all with my 2b6 DC only charger.
It has balance board built into the side and can charge 2-6s lipos at up to 5 amps per battery simultaneously.
It will charge two batteries at one time, and you can also setup the auto cutoff timer for up to 240 minutes.
It has storage and discharge capability, along with fast charge for practically any type of battery out there in the rc world.

It has female banana plug connectors on the side, so you only need banana connectors and whatever end you would need to connect it to your battery.

I have had great success using it in my big truck, so i would highly recommend it, even if you only use it while at the local park or someplace like that..

Good luck with your search, and we hope you find what will keep you satisfied and in the rc hobby for a long time to come.

Also, if you can find a place, grab some extra parts for your vehicles while here.

[traxxasman25]

great glad i could help, i think you will be happy with the charger

[funnya1b2c3]

http://www.hobbypartz.com/60p-dyc-1004.html
Its cheap and you need an adapter and a traxxas adapter but it charges lipo nimh nicd maybe life and pb

[agosb]

Thank you all with your help! I have a lot of information right now about chargers, I just have to make a decision.
I'm traveling to the US in January, to Los Angeles, so if anyone knows a good RC store that has lot of stuff for the revo I'll be glad if you tell me where.. I'm going just for 3 days so I don't have so much time, I need to go to right place.
And again thank you all, it is an awesome community.
I'm just entering in this amazing hobby and I'm impressed how much I learned because of you guys! I don't know if I told you but I'm a girl enthusiast, so I don't know a lot about mechanic and that, but I'm learning! ☺

[robl45]

icharger like people said, its reasonably priced and can charge anything with the right adapter up to the parameters of the charger. it will charge up to 6s lipos and you can actually charge that 6s lipo at 6amps because its 200W or so charger, not 50w like most of them. I forget the exact formula now, but basically with higher voltage batteries, you will be stuck charging at very low amps if you don't have a charger that can put out enough watts.

as for ac/dc chargers, there are very few that are any good and they are usually rediculously expensive. The powersupplies usually are too. You can buy one, usually not cheap, build one if you can find the parts or use a car battery.

[50togo]

Thank you all with your help! I have a lot of information right now about chargers, I just have to make a decision.
I'm traveling to the US in January, to Los Angeles, so if anyone knows a good RC store that has lot of stuff for the revo I'll be glad if you tell me where.. I'm going just for 3 days so I don't have so much time, I need to go to right place.
And again thank you all, it is an awesome community.
I'm just entering in this amazing hobby and I'm impressed how much I learned because of you guys! I don't know if I told you but I'm a girl enthusiast, so I don't know a lot about mechanic and that, but I'm learning! ☺

Depending what part of LA you go to but hobby people is a good one .from where I live just 20 minutes north of LA there is 3 hobby people stores within a 20/30 minute drive. In burbank Gizmo's hobby and Robin's hobby little drive from la

I have my 13 year old daughter driving with me. Has her own lil revo and 1/10 scale e maxx.

[Jimmie Neutron]

icharger like people said, its reasonably priced and can charge anything with the right adapter up to the parameters of the charger. it will charge up to 6s lipos and you can actually charge that 6s lipo at 6amps because its 200W or so charger, not 50w like most of them. I forget the exact formula now, but basically with higher voltage batteries, you will be stuck charging at very low amps if you don't have a charger that can put out enough watts.

as for ac/dc chargers, there are very few that are any good and they are usually rediculously expensive. The powersupplies usually are too. You can buy one, usually not cheap, build one if you can find the parts or use a car battery.

The "parts" for a power supply are very readily available. Servers are retired almost constantly, and the "old" power supplies out of those make darn near perfect supplies for RC use. I have converted dozens of supplies and even have a few write-ups in the Alley... one of which does not require any soldering. Using this method, you can get into a 24v 41a 984w supply for less than $25.

[Ed_72455]

icharger like people said, its reasonably priced and can charge anything with the right adapter up to the parameters of the charger. it will charge up to 6s lipos and you can actually charge that 6s lipo at 6amps because its 200W or so charger, not 50w like most of them. I forget the exact formula now, but basically with higher voltage batteries, you will be stuck charging at very low amps if you don't have a charger that can put out enough watts.

as for ac/dc chargers, there are very few that are any good and they are usually rediculously expensive. The powersupplies usually are too. You can buy one, usually not cheap, build one if you can find the parts or use a car battery.

Volts x amps = watts

[agosb]

thank you for all your opinions and options. I'm glad to said that I just bought an iCharger 106b+ with a 220W power supply with a traxxas parallel board from ProgressiveRC http://www.progressiverc.com/the-sta...20w-combo.html and ordered it to my home . Jimmie walk me trough choosing the best option for me so I'm very grateful with him, and also all of you guys that helped!
I can't wait till it arrives home!

[f687s]

go for ez peak plus, cant go wrong there!

[trax de max]

don't forget the Powerlabs,. Yes there expensive, but so is 3 cheap chargers.

[50togo]

did you miss the part where she says she bought an icharger!