Originally Posted by Scoob

I have a question. Couldn't you set the ICE to the Li-Ion mode and charge the cells? Hasn't anyone done this?

From what I can tell it will charge them (CC/CV mode) to 3.6v per cell. You can charge at up to 8 amps. The Ice will not let you charge more than 1C
but you can fool the charger by setting the capacity to 8000mah and get the 8 amp maximum that the ICE can give. It wouldn't effect teh peaking of the battery at all. It would be just a little slower than the 10 amps that the A123 charger delivers but still very fast.

I'm asking because I have two ICE chargers and was thinking about getting some of the batteries but don't want or need another charger. I could charge two packs at once with my ICEs.

Originally Posted by BrianG

The only bad thing about the lipodaptor is that it stops the charge as soon as it sees the 3.6v/cell peak, which would be the very end of the CC phase of charging. You'll lose whatever the CV stage would put into the battery. It's not much by comparison, but if you're using 1p A123s with fairly low 2.3Ah runtime, it could make a difference...

Personally, I'd do the manual CC mode thing MetalMan suggested. It just involves you to watch it carefully and make quick adjustments quite often. Also, this assumes your charger will let you adjust the charging current on the fly...

Originally Posted by Scoob

Got it. So the CV mode doesn't kick in untill 4.1v. It would be a lot of trouble to keep the V constant on two packs at once. I was going to run them in series for a M-truck. I'll just have to stick to lipo. Thanks.

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

so if i just bought a lipo dapter my ice would charge them automatically liek it does with a normal batt? how long would the charge time be?

Originally Posted by MetalMan

I agree that the SPTs are great to use, and if I had some extra cash I might have gotten them. But for me, soldering works and I know that the joints between the cells are very strong, and so now the weak links are the tabs that are welded to the cells (I soldered to these tabs instead of directly to the tabs).

However, my soldering setup offers something that the SPTs cannot offer - I can have a 2p setup where there are groups of 2 cells in parallel that are then connected in series. With the SPTs, you would have to have two groups of cells in series that are then put in parallel, which IMO, is not as good of a way to do a 2p setup. Of course if you aren't doing a 2p setup like I am (and I know you are doing a 1p setup, starscream), then SPTs would work perfectly.

As for balancing, my packs are built for this. I had read that A123 packs would come into balance better after the first few cycles are completed, and at this point my packs seem to have done that.
You would be able to balance your SPT'd A123 packs, but it would still require soldering. You would cut slits out of the plastic tubes for each cell, and then you would use aluminum flux to solder wires onto the cells.

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

so many confuysing terms.

i would be running 3s1p 2300mah in my bl rusty so how long should i take to charge it?

Originally Posted by starscream

What is the advantage of running 2P in series as opposed to 2S in Parrellel?

With my 7S setup, I am able to get 15 minutes on the track at my LHS. Given the track is small, the runtime is great for only 2.3Ah. I am considering the Xtrema charger for my A123's so I can get that extra 5-10% charge that the LipoDapter can not provide. I am still considering my options for balancing but will likely balance them one at a time every 10-15 cycles or so.