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IPV3 Charger?
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This post may have been "over looked" so I'll move it on up.
Can you explain this then? I completely understand the point and have been against this charger the entire time. But these tests do not lie. If this doesn't have battery balance charging then why is it balance charging the batteries?
VaperGlock checked the batteries every hour, for a total of 8 times, just to make sure, and it consistently proved that the batteries were charging at the same rate, and also finished at the same voltage.
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Egh. Saw a local B&M just got the IPV3 chargers in stock (they posted the announcement on Instgram). I left a comment mentioning that I wasn't sure that the IPV3 chargers were safe to use, that the IPV3 doesn't have balancing circuitry, and that people are probably better off just pulling their batteries out to charge them.
My comment was responded to by a few people, and then my comment (and the responses) were all deleted.
Thanks a lot. Really promoting safety and education..
I sure hope nobody gets hurt.
My comment was responded to by a few people, and then my comment (and the responses) were all deleted.
Thanks a lot. Really promoting safety and education..
I sure hope nobody gets hurt.Egh. Saw a local B&M just got the IPV3 chargers in stock (they posted the announcement on Instgram). I left a comment mentioning that I wasn't sure that the IPV3 chargers were safe to use, that the IPV3 doesn't have balancing circuitry, and that people are probably better off just pulling their batteries out to charge them.
My comment was responded to by a few people, and then my comment (and the responses) were all deleted.
Thanks a lot. Really promoting safety and education..
Ya, that is stupid. I have been on the fence this entire time about the balance charging, but with the current tests above, it does seem to be working correctly.....I went ahead and ordered a charger and will be performing these tests as well. Its only $20.
I mean, the price is right. Just seems not worth the risk to me. Maybe it'll charge right 300 times consistently, but then that 301st something happens where one cell gets charged and the other does not..
Idk. Seems a lot more reliable to just pull the batteries out. The safety features of my charger give me great peace of mind, compared to a China-made, potentially hazardous charger.
Completely understandable. But if you put it that way, the charger could charge 300 times perfect and on the 301st time something happens and over charges a battery. Technically it is a lot safer to use a wall charger but any electronic device has the power to fail.
What kind of charger do you use ?
I suppose you're right. I use a Luc v4, which is totally China-made, but it does have temperature protection and other safety features that I'm 99.9% sure the IPV3 does not.
So I mean, I'm anticipating that (in the event of failure), the charger would at least be able to cutoff charging a cell, or do something if the temperature is getting hot. The IPV3 will most definitely not.
ETA: Actually, just google'd real quick, and I'm not sure if the Luc v4 has temp protection (or any sort of temperature reading ability at all). It was, however, sold to me with that description.. Hm.
I completely agree with you, and I also agree that pulling the batteries out and using a standard charger is the best way to do this, and the safest way. But, when I get this charger, the first 3-5 charges I will test with this new plug. If the tests are the same, as above, then I won't worry that much. Technically any brand new, or used, battery can fail at any point in time, whether or not a specific charger is used, but its always best to be knowledgeable on battery safety.
But if my tests are similar as above, I won't have a problem using the new charger, because it indeeds charges at the same time/rate and ends both batteries at the same voltage.
Quote from reddit:
[–]K1ssMeJudas
From the testing I have done using VTC 5's, they seem to charge evenly. The biggest difference in balance I have seen using a multimeter was .03 volts. Meaning one of my VTC's showed 3.93V and the other showed 3.96V. This I believe is normal as the device pulls slightly more power from one battery; this is why it is recommended to marry two batteries and switch their bays after every charge. However I don't believe that difference is anywhere big enough for concern.
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I'm going to try again.
When charging the batteries in a series the charger see's it as an 8.4 battery (one cell or ten cells it doesn't matter, just 8.4 volts)
With two "good" cell they both charge to roughly 4.2 volts each (2 x 4.2 = 8.4)
I'll exaggerate this a bit here: Lets say one of the cells is old and defective and will only charge to 3.2 volts while the other cell is still good and will charge to 4.2 volts.
so when these two above cells are placed in a series they create a 7.4 volt battery, mean while the charger is charging for an 8.4 volt battery. So the good 4.2 volt cell ends up being over charged.
As long as the cells involved are in good condition and alike there isn't a problem charging in this configuration. I'm not trying to recommend charging the batteries on-board the IPV3 just state what's what here.
When charging the batteries in a series the charger see's it as an 8.4 battery (one cell or ten cells it doesn't matter, just 8.4 volts)
With two "good" cell they both charge to roughly 4.2 volts each (2 x 4.2 = 8.4)
I'll exaggerate this a bit here: Lets say one of the cells is old and defective and will only charge to 3.2 volts while the other cell is still good and will charge to 4.2 volts.
so when these two above cells are placed in a series they create a 7.4 volt battery, mean while the charger is charging for an 8.4 volt battery. So the good 4.2 volt cell ends up being over charged.
As long as the cells involved are in good condition and alike there isn't a problem charging in this configuration. I'm not trying to recommend charging the batteries on-board the IPV3 just state what's what here.
Quote from reddit:
[–]K1ssMeJudas2 points 7 days ago
From the testing I have done using VTC 5's, they seem to charge evenly. The biggest difference in balance I have seen using a multimeter was .03 volts. Meaning one of my VTC's showed 3.93V and the other showed 3.96V. This I believe is normal as the device pulls slightly more power from one battery; this is why it is recommended to marry two batteries and switch their bays after every charge. However I don't believe that difference is anywhere big enough for concern.
I have a Sigelei 100 watt box with no charging port. Best way or not if it had an on-board charger I would use it, at least part of the time. That's providing it appeared to work OK.
Battery safety needs to be the first consideration here so I can't recommend charging on-board but still I probably would use the on-board charger myself.
Battery safety needs to be the first consideration here so I can't recommend charging on-board but still I probably would use the on-board charger myself.
I plan on using my charger throughout the week then on the weekends put a full charge on them then pull them and test to see if they are still charging equally. As long as they continue to do so I will keep using the charger. As with all batteries and chargers you still need to test them occasionally cause they will fail at some point. I never meant for anyone to assume I meant to just throw some batteries in and never test again.
with my sig100, I have 3 dedicated sets of VTC5's, that I just rotate between my unit and the charger. The sets are labeled 1,2,3 and each pair stays together. real easy to pop out the drained set out of my mod, pop them into my D4 charger, and pull out the next set of batts from my batt case. I see no need to have on board charging, personally.
With the IPV3, I would modify it to have magnets on the back plate, and just change batts.
With the IPV3, I would modify it to have magnets on the back plate, and just change batts.
not sure if you already go an answer on this or not, but there are two (sometime 3 if the charger is smart enough to recover an undervoltage cell) charging phases for LiPo/LiIon batteries -- the first stage is constant current -- the second is constant voltage. So you may have measured in the recovery or mid portions of the charge. Or maybe your charger just uses constant current but sets a cap on the output. I'll see if I can find a good video on youtube to explain this and modify this post if so.
here ya go this guys channel is pretty good if your in to the electronics building thing.
http://youtu.be/A6mKd5_-abk?t=6m35s
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I found a video of his that also addresses balance charging as he tears down a turnigy RC charger. its pretty breif but goo for people who are looking for info on the required wires and possible issues if its not balanced.
EEVblog #397 - Turnigy Accucell 6 Charger Teardown - YouTube
He is done talking about it at about the 6 minute mark in the video -- so a nice couple minute summary.
EEVblog #397 - Turnigy Accucell 6 Charger Teardown - YouTube
He is done talking about it at about the 6 minute mark in the video -- so a nice couple minute summary.
This post is too old to edit so I'll correct the figures here. When I measured the battery's voltage while in the charger I must have broken the positive connection with my probe resulting with the reading of the charger's unloaded voltage.
The correct reading of "a" full charged 18650 while in the charger and charger on is in the 4.2 volt area (4.19 on this one)
And a question, does the IPV3 have an on-board charging board or do the wires from the charging jack go straight to the batteries.
The charger board has two wires coming off it straight to the middle of the SX330 board -- the only wires going to the batteries are two wires one for + one for ground that go to the top and bottom of the SX330.
a balance charger for two cells requires three wires coming off the batteries -- one on ground, one in between cell 1 + and cell 2 -, then one coming off cell the + side of cell 2
It's hard to say if the SX330 actually controlls the charge, they could of just passed the charger connections to the voltage and ground planes, which is likely since there is a microcontroller on the charger board... or they could just pass the power to the SX330 -- unlikely in my opinion since they are unlikely to invest in two microcontrollers without a need to do so. They covered the connections from the charger board with potting material (black epoxy) so its hard to say for sure where they plug in -- but likely just the power and ground planes...
a balance charger for two cells requires three wires coming off the batteries -- one on ground, one in between cell 1 + and cell 2 -, then one coming off cell the + side of cell 2
It's hard to say if the SX330 actually controlls the charge, they could of just passed the charger connections to the voltage and ground planes, which is likely since there is a microcontroller on the charger board... or they could just pass the power to the SX330 -- unlikely in my opinion since they are unlikely to invest in two microcontrollers without a need to do so. They covered the connections from the charger board with potting material (black epoxy) so its hard to say for sure where they plug in -- but likely just the power and ground planes...
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