I received this in my email this morning.

From FMA:

PowerLab 8 Version 1 vs Version 2.
 

I do not understand, I specifically asked FMA Direct before I bought my chargers if they could ever be upgraded to charge at a higher amperage at some point in the future, and Howard in Tech Support said it's not a software limitation but rather a harware limitation. The reason I had asked is I had already discovered several Max Amps Lipos which can take a 70amp charge rate and I thought it would be nice to have a charger which could at least charge at these higher rates.

I'll have to call and confirm, this notice seems to indicate they are saying we can upgrade our v1 PowerLab 8 chargers to charge at rates of 40amps. Or am I reading this incorrectly?

I'd sure like my next charger to charge at 100amps, that would be like a 4minute charge. Pretty soon Our charge times will consist of plugging and then almost instantly unplugging our batteries almost imeadiately thereafter.

I downloaded the new software and it stated Version 2. I haven't actually updated my charger yet, but will do so this afternoon.

What I get out of it, is that it can do 40A now.

40 Amp PowerLab 8- Most powerful lipo charger in the world- for the price.
 

Thank you snellemin-
I just got off the phone with Howard at FMA Direct where I originally ordered and purchased two powerlab 8, Combo Number Two Balance Chargers. Howard help me step by step, upload the latest Firmware via my laptop windows 7 computer via internett- and it only took a few minutes and now the charger can charge at the full 40amps. This higher amperage charging has been in bata testing now for many months, Howard explain to me that this information was top secret because they knew once they came out with a 30amp charger, everyone would follow suit and that's exactly what happen. It was further explain to me that all these companies which are now sudenly offering high powered 30 amp chargers- or at least many of them- have not done proper beta testing which is why the chargers are blowing up on people, whereas not one such malfunction with any of the well tested PowerLab 8 chargers. Nate, short for Nathan- is one of the main electrical engineers that has made this new firmware possible. My PowerLab 8 now reads- Version 3.2 when I turn it on. And I now have access to charge lipos at rates up to 40 amps. I would have like the Maximum Charge Amperage to be at least 80 or so amps, but I'm certainly happy and very grateful for the extra ten amps now possible. After all, my old TC-1030 chargers maxed out at ten amps each. The fact that A CellPro PowerLab 8 metaphorical tune up has given us an extra unexpected ten amps to charge with is sure a truly great suprise indeed. Great Work FMA Direct- keep up this great work- Your company is certainly a true leader in the RC industry. And I must say, I've only had to bring one of my two powerlab 8 chargers with me to the track, and may sell my second charger because I have no need for two of these chargers going at once. After all, as soon as I come back to the pit after runnig my buggy back to back battery packs charge after charge all day- my batteries are always fully charged well before I even finish my marathon daily practice runs. I've never been so happy with a charger. But now i'm actually suprised that my brand new Thunder Power 50c 5200mah 3cell lipos can only take a 32amp max charge rate. I will need to find a new set of lipos which will fully utilize the full 40amps of charging ability. As for a power supply- I'm using a just over three pound- common sense RC 43amps 12volts Power Supply which only cost just over 100.oo dollars. This is a great day indeed. By the way- my lipos continue to charge in less than ten minutes at 30amps, and not even get warm doing so. Although I do use a lipo safe charging bag as a precaution. Have a great day ;)

pm me if you want to sell it:whistle:

CellPro PowerLab 8. Now 40amps 1344 watts- from a simple update :)
 

If I decide to sell it, you will be the first person I will contact. And I'll contact you via PM. Thank you for your interest. There's no doubt in my mind this is the most advanced- easy to use- most powerful charger in the entire RC industry. Yes, I cannot stop smiling :)

*waves hand....

"you will sell this to me at an amazing price":angel:

*waves hand*

you will sell it to ME at his amazing price + $5 :lol:

CellPro PowerLab 8. 1344watts 40 Amps. How sweet it is.
 

I honestly can't believe FMA Direct has reduced the pricing on these chargers to now selling the combo number two for example, for what the charger alone use to cost. That's truly awesome and makes me happy to know these reduced prices mean more and more people will be buying these chargers. I must say, when I show people this charger at the track and explain that it balance charges at 30amps(now 40 amps ;) they always have a look on their face of complete shock and find it impossible to believe. What are they going to say when I show them the charging graph on my laptop that I'm now charging at the full 40 amps from the recent firmware update, I hope they don't pass out. And furthermore- not one of the people I've shown that the lipo doesn't even get warm from the high powered charging- can understand how this could be. They all imagine the lipo would be burning hot and in danger of melting. When in fact the lipo doesn't even get warm. In fact, the temperature increase of the LiPo battery while being charged is quite minimal. Usually 3 to 8 degrees above room temperature. That's quite amazing indeed. And seems to validate Thunder Powers no life loss when fast charged- Statement on their web page :)

PS. I can do 250.oo if you're willing to pay for shipping. This offer is extended to anyone interested in buying this charger in combo number two package. The charger has not even been used. Brand new in the box it shipped in. Please PM me for any further questions regarding the sale of my extra PowerLab 8 combo 2. Thank you for your interest. Have a great day/evening.

It's nice to charge the Acepow 5000mah @ 40A in less than 9 minutes. That is 8C charge rate. 4584mah went back in. Man do I love this charger.

Be sure to use 10 Gauge(55 Continuous Amp- Max ) Wire- Charge Leads On Your PL8.
 

That's truly and completely awesome snellemin.

As a side note, for anyone just now buying your PowerLab 8 Balance Charger, it's important to upgrade to the Version Two Charge Leads, which are 10 Guage 55 Amp Max Continuous Power. The original Version 1 charge wire leads were meant for 30 Amp charging. With the new Firmware Update, it's important to also update our charge leads(which are the wires that connect the charger to the battery). FMA Direct is in the process of offering their own version two 10 Gauge Charge Leads to be used with the new Firmware Update, Or, we can make our own from 10 Guage wire, with 4mm Bullet conectors at one end, and a male deans plug at the other end(plugs into our battery). Have a great day ;)

I used regular 12 AWG wires. The wires do get a bit warm though. I'll get me some 10AWG soon enough.

I am looking at getting one of these chargers soon here and I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with the IOTA DLS-27-25? It looks like a nice, easy, and clean power supply for $200.

I think for the price you'd be better off doing the server power supplies found in the "General Electric" section (also linked in this thread). Or Buy one from MaxAmps if you don't want to wire it yourself (but be prepared to pay quite a bit more, although still less than the one you are looking at) Then you can have 47A @ 24V.

24volt 47Amp Power Supply For Only 160.oo + 1year warranty.
 

I believe this model(see the link just below) is the one simplechamp is referring to. And this will be my next power supply as well. I'm really happy to see MaxAmps offers these ready to go with the minor modifications already complete. And I must say- I do like the look of the wrap :) Thank You MaxAmps. Great Job- Well Done :) MaxAmps also sells the PowerLab 8 Chargers as well- so you can buy both your charger and your power supply from the same place without the need for separate shipping. This is a first in this industry for extremely high powered chargers and power supplies. In the past- we had to hunt around for a power supply which would sufficiently power our PowerHouse Chargers.

Direct Link To 24volt 47Amp Power Supply:
http://www.maxamps.com/Power-Supply-24V.htm

So I've been using the charger at 40a with a 40 blade fuse. The 8awg still got hot and the fuse was melting. So the fuse was no good. Ebay to the rescue and got a fuseblock for 7 bucks shipped. This time I use dual 40A glass fuses. Wires don't get hot no mo' at 40A.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/PB160001.jpg

40Amp Balance Charging With The PowerLab 8.
 

Thanks A Million For This Update :)
This is extremely important information and I'm very grateful you post this information up onto this thread. Please keep us up to date on your experience with your CellPro PowerLab 8 Balance Charger :)

PS. Happy Holidays Everyone :)

It was the cheapest solution for me. And I get to add as many connectors as I like to the output. Next up is making an extension for the balancing wire harness.

I'm charging the 2s 5000mah Acepow packs at 40A. The 4s pack at 35A. The A123 1p packs at 20A and the 2p packs at 40A. It's so nice not having to wait 10 minutes for a battery pack to charge. But my 8 year old son still complains after 5 minutes of waiting for his packs to finish.
I cycle the lipo's and A123's with 40A regenerative discharge.

I found that cycling the packs once or twice has the same effect as warming them up before usage. Resistance of the cells go down, especially the A123's. To achieve this, I don't do the cooldown between cycles.

40amp Balance Charging + Zero Cooldown Between Regenerative Charge/Discharge-Cycling.
 

This is really great to know- Thank you for all the details and specific information.

How many amps are you discharging the LiPo and A123 cells when you cycle them?

40 Amps. I wonder if I could discharge a total of 80A if I had two chargers in parallel.

40amp Discharging With The CellPro PowerLab 8- Battery WorkStation.
 

I did not realize the PowerLab 8 could discharge at up to 40 continuous Amps- that's truly awesome- and furthermore- at this point in time- I do not know of any other Balance charger which can discharge at 40amps.

PS. I never thought I would be so happy with any model charger- this charger is extremely powerful- extremely accurate- and very easy to use- and I really like plugging my PowerLab 8 Balance Charger into my Laptop Computer and using the free and very easy to use Charge Control Software. This charger is a dream come true- that's for sure :) Special Thanks To FMA Direct- and anyone and everyone that has been involved in the Beta Testing of this model charger for the past three years- perfecting the software and every aspect of these awesome balance chargers. The CellPro PowerLab 8 Battery WorkStation Is Truly In A Class Of It's Own- In Every Way :)

The charger is a Nut for sure. The 40A limit came about after the firmware update bumped the limit from 30->40A charge/discharge rate.

I figured that with a parallel balancing connector I can use dual Powerlab 8 to discharge at 80A, or use triple Powerlab 8 for 120A discharge rate. That should put a battery to test of true advertised C rating.

That would be insane. Let us know if you do. :yes:

Lol, I wish I had to money for such a setup. That is buying two more chargers and 3 deepcycle batteries.

LiPo C Rating Tests. Continuous Amp Discharge.
 

I'm very interested in your test results for any and all LiPo and other chemistry batteries tested. Please do post your findings.

PS. Is it also possible to use two PowerLab 8 chargers wired in (series or parallel) to charge at- for example- up to 80Amps? For example- some of the High Mah(capacity) LiFePO4 chemistry batteries say they can be charged at up to a 15c charge rate- which for this model and capacity(6750Mah 3cell LiFePO4) = a 100 Amp Balanced Charge Rate. In which case we would need three PowerLab 8 Chargers Wired In (Series or Parallel?). Is it possible to wire the 40amp PowerLab 8 balance chargers in series or parallel- in order to achieve the 100amp balanced charge rate? I can see that though a 40amp balance charger is awesome and great- I agree with your son- we need more power from one charger :) a 100amp balance charger would be quite nice- and I'm sure FMA Direct is already beta testing them as we speak. Howard in tech support at FMA Direct- where I purchase my two PowerLab 8 Chargers- said they were Beta Testing the PowerLab 8 chargers for three years with zero major problems.

Here is the direct link to the LiFePO4 Chemistry Battery which can be charged at 100 Amps and comes with a 5 year 1000 one thousand cycle warranty. This link is to the 3cell variety. I may try the same capacity in the 2cell variety to reduce weight, or even try the 4cell 2250mah LiFePO4- considering that I'm running a 3600kv motor and my Mains/club races are only 7 minutes. I'm running an Ultra-Light Full Carbon Fiber(By Matrix Concepts Inc) Hyper 9E with a 3600kv 1/10th scale motor which is very fast on one- 2cell LiPo(on a medium size indoor- high bite- clay track). I realize the LiFePO4 Chemistry Battery is a little lower voltage compared to the LiPo chemistry battery- but I should be able to gear up(add one or two or maybe three pinion gear teeth) in order to compensate for the slightly lower rpm produced from the apx 1volt difference between batteries :)

http://www.maxamps.com/Life-6750-99-Pack.htm

Just got mine in the mail today! Woohoo :yipi: It's the 30A version so I was able to get it as part of the Combo No. 2 TP/PQ package for the bargain basement price of $236 shipped to my door by a seller from another forum. BNIB too. Upgraded to V2 firmware already and going through the manual. This is going to be fun.

All I need to do now is to build a pair of charge leads to handle 40A discharge. Thinking of using the 4mm bullets that some on CC 1/10 motors and some 12awg wire. Is this OK for 40A? I opened up the stackable 30A connector and looks like the connector in there has a much smaller contact patch than the CC 4mm one.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...113_124415.jpg

Oh, and here's the fuse block I'll be using on the charge leads.

12awg are enough for 40A. The bullets have to be long enough as well.

Do you think the CC motor bullets are long enough? What are you using? And the fuse block is good? Thanks Romano.

What are the dimensions on this charger?

About 6"x7"x4"

The fuseblock is nice, as you can attached multiple charge leads/connectors to it.

I use the 4mm bullets from the cheapo Chinese lipo packs that come with 10AWG wires.

Thanks! Im still dreaming about getting this charger. Someday.....

I'm going to give the ones I got a chance first. Then I might have to go to what you're using. Good thing the fuse block is good: I ordered two of them.

40amp Safe Charge Wires For CellPro PowerLab 8 Balance Charger.
 

These 40amp wires are also available now as well :)

Direct Link:
http://www.fmadirect.com/detail.htm?...410&section=91

Below is a copy of an E-Mail I received (I signed up to receive new product notifications).

New Stock at FMA Direct
Cellpro PowerLab 40A Banana Plugs
$14.95
New 40A cables are required when parallel charging 2 or more packs on the new PowerLab 8 V2. The new V2 firmware is available to download if you want to upgrade a PowerLab 8 V1 model to get the full 1344W output power of V2.

Free V2 PL8 Charge Control Software (CCS)

Now shipping Cellpro PowerLab 8 V2 chargers and combos on the Revolectrix website.

Saw them Joseph but it will be cheaper to build my own. Heck, I might even do stackable ones since I've got two fuse blocks coming. My local car stereo shop sells 12awg and 10awg wire for cheap and I've got a ton of male and female 4mm bananas so I'm all set.

So I've been playing with the charger for the last couple of hours... LOVE IT! Discharging two packs at a time at 40A (total) is amazing. Dumping it into a car battery so the fans rarely come on. It's very eerie to see 35A - 40A on the CCS on screen but no noise from the charger! Just finished discharging two 5200mAH 2S packs in 17 minutes or so... ridiculous :yipi:

Amazing... pulling 46.5 Amps from the fleaBay power supply at full voltage doing a 40A recharge from storage (3.8V) on two 5000mAH 3S packs. Packs hooked up in parallel/daisy-chained. Took less than 13 minutes, with a total of 7311mAH stuffed back into both packs in that time frame. EC5 connectors between the charger and the power supply were at 95*F and same for the stacked bananas going to the batteries from the charger. Should be fixed with the new ones I plan on making soon.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...X/Misc/PL8.jpg

You can see your 1.1s allready heh.

Oh yes! gonna be interesting.

How To Charge At 40amps 1344watts. Powerlab 8 Battery Workstation.
 

Very very nice :)

Can anybody tell me if this charger can measure the internal resistance of the cells like my friends iCharger. I like the PowerLab8 more but would really like that feature as well. Just want to know before I hit the "BUY" button.:lol: