Hobby charger? Looks awesome!

[ericdjobs]

So, doing some research about charging batteries in a series and in parallel... I ran across this excellent little post over on the candlepowered forums (It's amazing to me how closely related the PV modding and Flashlight modding communities are....)

The post was about using a hobby charger to charge the lithium ion batteries flashaholics normally use.... and considering we are now using those same batteries like crazy, I thought this information could be useful to anyone considering a hobby charger....

I know I certainly am now...

Turnigy Accucell-6...Am I missing something?

And the fact that it can charge pretty much ANY rechargeable battery.. including my car battery... really appealing to me lately

was very informative!

 

[brewsterfrank]

yes they are good charges but the price of a good hobby charger is something that is not, IMHO, economical for most vapers or modders. well unless your mods drain your batteries like a hummvee drains it gas tank, lol.

 

[CraigHB]

The hobby chargers are a lot more expensive, but also very flexible.

One other benefit with a hobby charger is you could easily use a hobby LiPo pack in your mod. The hobby LiPo packs have the extra connector for a balancing charger. Balanced charging is an issue when charging cells in series. The hobby chargers and hobby LiPo packs address that.

I have yet to find an inexpensive balancing charger in module or chip form you could stick in a mod with a couple series LiPo cells. They're probably out there, I just haven't come across any. It's the main reason I've been sticking to single LiPo cells. With a single cell, on-board charging is simple, cheap, and USB compatible. However, the boost converter you need has its disadvantages with respect to a buck converter. With boost, you get a smaller voltage range and lower output capacity. Plus, you're limited to a high drain battery.

Did some looking around for balancing chargers and came across this one. The price is right.

Oh yea, and I also find myself browsing the candlepower forums on occasion. Great resource and we do have lot in common with the guys over there.

 

[Java_Az]

Wow 22 bucks almost makes me want to buy one. Good thing they are backordered or i might have hit the buy now button. Not sure if they get you on shipping though. Another place had it for 40 bucks and change.
HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer/Charger w/ accessories

 

[ericdjobs]

Wow 22 bucks almost makes me want to buy one. Good thing they are backordered or i might have hit the buy now button. Not sure if they get you on shipping though. Another place had it for 40 bucks and change.
HobbyKing Online R/C Hobby Store : Turnigy Accucel-6 50W 6A Balancer/Charger w/ accessories

Wow for $22 damn, nice find.

 

[CraigHB]

Not too happy with HobbyKing right now. Placed an order for some batteries and it's been sitting in the queue with order status stuck on "Received" for a week now.

 

[WillyB]

Here ya go.

Mystery Balance Charger for 2/3-Cell Lithium Ion/Polymer Batteries - Free Shipping - DealExtreme