I’m not on my laptop at the moment but I’ll post my shopping list tomorrow. I have the IMAX B6 already in my shopping bag.
I like the idea of having a switch of some sort to turn it on and off easily. I don’t want to unplug the battery cables each time.
Seems like a good enough reason to add the anti-spark but just keep in mind you’ll still need to disconnect batteries when charging unless you get a charger that can deal with all the cells in series (high voltage chargers tend to get expensive since they are pretty niche). People tend to go with a BMS in part for that reason but I personally think it’s not worth having extra components on the board to shake free or start acting up while I’m out on the road… think everyone becomes a minimalist once you are relying on the board and something fails.
So I need some advice for the charger. I don’t want to be ordering from different warehouses on HobbyKing. I’d like to place an order for UK based products and then have them sent on a premium delivery service.
I currently have the IMAX B6 selected which as we know is a good charger but it’s an EU product. I’m wondering if one of these products would work:
They’re UK based and both have a UK charging plug which is perfect for me.
Note that I will be using the following products in conjunction with it. Will they all work together? I want to be able to charge the 3 batteries at once.
HobbyKing livechat couldn’t help because they didn’t have a product specialist available so hopefully you guys can help!
Cheers, Daniel
First one won’t work only does 2-4S the second one might be okay. I’m a bit suspicious of the auto charge when balance leads are connected, usually you want to set the charge rate to 1C maximum or up to the wattage limit of the charger.
Take charger wattage 50W for second one, divide by battery max voltage, for 5S it’s 21V (4.2x5) so 50W/21V = 2.something amps. So to charge 5Ah you divide 5Ah by the 2A charge rate and you get basically 2.5hrs. Also have to multiply the time by 2 so it’s really 5hrs if they are totally drained. Bad side with that is then it’s tempting to charge overnight which is risky at best. With my 80W one I was limited to about 3.6A before it would start overheating and cut off while charging (this means 5Ah/3.6 = less than 2 hrs per battery).
With my 500W (keenstone ar1) one I’m just limited with how fast I want to put charge into the batteries I go with 1C or 5A charge rate and each battery is done in an hour, if I parallel charge could kick the charge rate up to 10A and have them both done in an hour, haven’t tried that though it may max out my bench power supply feeding the charger the DC input it needs. Usually with my batteries partially drained it’s more like 45-50m per battery but I don’t like to completely discharge them really.
Feel a bit like I’m writing an ad for the keenstone I have no relationship but have used a couple of their chargers and been good so far. Just wanted to add the AR1 one I have will also show the internal resistance on each cell which is nice so you can see how healthy they are or compare between mfgs C ratings with measured IR during charging.
Chargers
Long story short I think it’s worth thinking about this and shopping around a bit for a good charger that will handle 5S and supports enough wattage to charge at a rate that’s acceptable to you.
? he has 3S lipos…a balance board does not change the cell count. Those chargers will work…if you are willing to wait for a few hours to charge 3x 5000. Already gave my advice above. If you want to charge lipos fast, the cheapest solution is ISDT. You can connect all three and be done within the hour.
2-5A max chargers have been awfully frustrating in the past. Just takes way too long. They are typically also crap at balance charging, thus near the end of the cycle charging takes ages.
@wafflejock I’m not going to need a massive setup like you’ve got, nor am I looking for something that will charge the batteries extra fast. I’m looking for something mid range that’s “cheap” because this is a temporary solution. Give it a few months and I’ll be ordering my more permanent battery setup.
@telnoi so with them Zippy batteries and the balance board you would suggest the iSDT? I think I’ve found the right one on the Hobby King website (below) but would like to make sure. £40 seems to be a reasonable price to me. It looks like I’d have to re-wire an XT90/60 plug onto the balance board and then it’s good to go? Any ideas how long it would take to charge the 3 batteries using this?
Thanks, Daniel
Also, will that charger cut off automatically once the cells have reached a “full” capacity? That would be a nice little feature to have!
Ah right saw the 5Ah and was thinking 5S.
Regarding my “massive” setup it’s just a bench power supply being used to give ac-> DC transformer cause I didn’t realize when I ordered the balance charger it didn’t have a built in transformer and I had the bench power supply for testing other projects… Was just showing the AR1 and some features it has.
Anyhow I gave you all the information I can do whatever makes sense to you at this point.
Good luck
The ISDT Q6 light is 8A MAX, where the plus goes up to 14A. I personally own the Q6 plus. Typically, lipos are charged at 1c (for 3x 5000mah, that means 15A). Lipos are typically discharged until 30%, thus you will have to charge a total of 10,500 after each ride.
You can calculate here how long that is roughly going to take.
You’ll have to decide yourself if 8A is going to be fast enough. P.S. They both require a separate power supply. The Plus requires a 24V 15-20A power supply to be able to deliver 14A. The lite should be good with a 12V 10A power supply.
The charger cuts off at a certain voltage, which is considered full capacity. This is determined by the cell count.
@wafflejock Thank you so much for your help. I want a stand alone unit which I can plug into the wall and leave to charge and then shuts off once it’s finished. I don’t think I need anything fancy or fast, just something portable.
@telnoi I honestly don’t have a clue what any of that means. I just want something that will take no longer than a few hours to charge the batteries fully.
Side question: 10 AWG to AMPS? I’m from the UK and all our wiring is in AMPS. Just trying to figure out what cabling I need to create the additional bits like loop key etc.
in that case the Q6 lite will do. Worst case, less than 3 hours. Q6 plus, less than an hour.
I think the normal Q6 will be fine for the time being. As for the power port - what have you done with that? Looks like it uses an XT90/60 input. Did you make your own?
Chart on this page is useful for seeing what gauge wire you can use. Personal experience has been 12AWG is good enough on my setup but can go 10AWG if it’s a concern and should be in the safe zone: https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437
Nice calc here too if you can calculate voltage drop on a segment of wire can multiply by the amperage to get the heat dissipated by a wire/component but I can’t seem to find info on what a safe wattage is given a particular insulation type (suppose again it depends on the length of the wire as well since it is dissipating that wattage across the length of it).
or
Asus 90XB01QN-MPW000
for example. You’ll have to create your own xt-60 adapter.
@wafflejock That link is really good. Thank you. I can now go to the shop and get the correct wire!
@telnoi I wanted something a little less bulky. I’ll look on the internet for something that does the job. Either way, I’ll be getting the Q6 Lite.
Thank you both so much for the help. You’ve been amazing. I’m very grateful!!
Just make sure it’s roughly 200w/delivers 10a or more to ensure that the charger reaches 8a output. 8a or less input will lead to issues (power supply operating at its limits/heating up/burning your house down. Not kidding). I think the Toshiba notebook supply will be the smallest format capable of pushing out high enough amps.
Change of plans with the iSDT - I’m going to go with the IMAX B6 v2:
The main reason for this is because it comes with a wall plug. It’s one entire unit. I don’t want to be buying multiple charging stations.
After going through all this hassle I see why Li-Ion Is better. This was meant to be a cheap solution so I can get out and ride - it’s turned into half the price of the battery and twice the faff. 
Understandable. I’ve got a power supply at work and one at home. The small ISDT goes into my backpack. All I need, but demands are very personal.
If it’s your main setup and you don’t plan to move away from that setup then what you’ve got is ideal, but as I’m only having this for a few months I don’t see the point in investing loads of money. Once I’ve got the proper setup I’ll probably use these bits for a slower board and give it to my girlfriend. Might even make her a scooter, I’m not sure!
Either way. Thank you so much for the help. You too @wafflejock, you’ve been a massive help aswell!
I’m back! And naturally I’m stuck in a predicament 
I was going to order the IMAX B6 V2 along with a wall plug converter (US to UK, or something) and a lipo safe bag to charge the batteries.
However, I would need to buy these from the EU warehouse on HobbyKing which means shipping charges, wait times, etc.
However, I remember someone (@telnoi or @wafflejock maybe?) mentioning the keenstone charger. This only works out about £5 more expensive to buy and it already had a UK AC lead with it (I assume I don’t need to have a power converter of any sorts for this?). It is. 100w charger compared to a 50w charger aswell. Not sure if that’s good or not, but would it be worth while getting that instead? I’ve found it on Amazon and it’s included in the Prime service so I’ll get it next day (winner!)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072WRGV6M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_KjisBb81VH4ZB
Thoughts? I know it doesn’t have a lipo bag but I’ll order that at the same time on Amazon which is next day delivery again.
Side question with lipo safe bags - I’ve found one that will fit the 3 zippy batteries in but it’ll be a “tight fit”. Do the batteries heat up while charging, and if so - does that mean you shouldn’t place them close to eachother?
Cheers, Daniel
