I need a new lipo charger, which one is the best?
 

I am looking at getting a new charger for my lipos. I have a MRC Super Brain 989 that is not even a year old, but I read this on Apogee web site,

"WARNING: We will not warranty any pack charged with an MRC Superbrain charger. The MRC Superbrain series chargers do not use a proper lithium charging schema and have been known to cause lithium battery failures. Due to this, if you wish to use their products, go to them for lithium pack replacement when your battery fails."

Now this worries me as half my packs are Apogees and half are Neu's. If the charger is not good for Apogee packs, it cant be good for the Neu's either.I originally got it because it did 8s just like my MGM and BEC, so I figured it would be good to have that option covered. The price was also cheaper than most of the 6s chargers at the time.

Question 1) has anyone else heard anything negative about the MRC chargers or had first hand bad experience?

I would like to get the best charger I can and be covered for the future. I did that in the rc dark ages of ni/cd and still have it, of course I had to send it in for a firmware update just to do ni/mh.

I have been looking at the Hyperion EOS0610i, either the duo or the net model. The duo gives the ability to do 2 packs at once or higher cell counts, but a net now and another later will spread the cost and give more overall power. I also really like the fact that the hyperions can use up to 28v input, since I work in instrumentation and control systems and 24v power supplies are easy to come by. In fact if I got a 12v model I would have to mod an old pc power supply or drop voltage on one of the 24v power supplies I already have to run the charger at full capacity. Although I do have a couple of smaller 12v power supplys that would be able to run the charger at lower (1c on most of my current packs) charge rates. But now that Neu has new 5s batts, which I plan on getting when I get more batts, I will need the most bad azz charger to do the high rates.

SO
Question 2) Is the hyperion the best (have I already made up my own mind , lol) or is there better chargers out there?

Thanks for your input:yes:

FWIW,I love my 1210i.

Hyperion 0610i is my charger of choice it has a power output of 250 watts which is about double what you need to charge a 6s 5000 pack

never heard of 989s having problems, i never had any trouble out of mine.

i use a cellpro 10s its a very nice charger and can charge 2 5s packs at the same time

Another vote for the Hyperion.

fwiw, i have had my eye on this one;
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...r_&_discharger

200w/10a at under $80 :neutral:

seems like a good deal.

i guess it comes down to what you mean by "best"

for me... best = biggest bang for the buck

BrianG's calculator says it will do 9.9 amp on 6s, good enough for 2c on a 5000 mah 6s. I can't see needing more than that for quite some time.

I have never had any trouble with mine either...that I know of.

I like to save a buck too, but I hate to buy twice, no savings there, lol.

well if your gonna sell or trade your 989 let me know id like another.

NP, you will get first dibs

another +1 here. i love mine, not the cheapest charger by any means, but it is feature rich, and can charge any type of chargeable battery out there including lead acid car batteries.

That charger is a knock off of the Bantam E-Station BC6-10, which is a very good charger (I have one myself). As far as the knock off goes I cant vouch for quality but I have a buddy thats looking at buying one right now as well. If its as good as the Bantam and comes with all the accessories that is a steal for the price.

I'm very happy with Hyperion chargers, I started with a 0606i but wasn't powerful enough for me so I upgraded to the 0610i duo, will charge pretty much whatever you want as long as your PS will provide enough power

I really like my TME Xtrema (10s/8A/180w), but if I was looking now, I'd be eyeballing the FMA Cellpro 10s/10A/250w charger: http://www.fmadirect.com/new_applica...0s_charger.htm

+1 on the extrema. great chargers, great support, made in usa

I'd have to seriously recommend the Mega Power 960SR:

http://www.aero-nuts.com/product_inf...roducts_id=570

I've had one for several moths, and it's stunning. It's actually the same charger as the Robbe Power Peak Infinity 3, but rebadged and at a lower price (it's made in the same factory).
It is fantastic, though. Compatible with NiMH, NiCd, LiPo and A123, it'll charge and balance up to 12S in one go, 180W of charge power (you'd have your work cut out to use all that), has a 50W discharge ability, displays temp and voltage graphs in realtime (you can even scroll about and zoom in on them), it balances very accurately, and also has a second output so you can charge your transmitter pack at the same time as you charge your main pack.
The balancer is external, but fully hooks up to the charger. This thing is ridiculously programmable, and also has a whole host of safety features. You can even program your name and choose from a choice of "charge finished" melodies. No joke.

I know you'll probably ignore this and go for a more well-known brand like Hyperion, but honestly, this is an amazing charger at an awesome price and will do stuff that the Hyperions can't. It's also very well built with an aluminium casing...you just need a DC input for it. I'm incredibly happy with mine.

The Hyperion 0610i is still a good choice, but my recommendation goes for the 960SR. :smile:

Incidentally, I'd suggest steering clear of the chinese knock-off chargers; I had one and so have some of my friends (various models) and they've all failed...some dangerously so. My friend's Imax B6 actually had its internal output solder joints melt off, and almost caused a short while my eStation 501DX knock-off (X-Power, it was called) died a silent death whilst being used perfectly within spec.

Doesn't sound like you have actually used a Hyperion.

The Hyperion has all of the features you mentioned including 5 different "charge finished" melodies and aluminum casing.

What does the Mega Power offer that Hyperion doesn't?

P.S. the Duo is 250W max. Much more for the new battery chemistry that is on it's way in the near future. Neu energy has some 5C charge capable packs that can use a lot of power to cut down charge time.

Well, I'll admit that I've never had first-hand experience with a Hyperion charger, but I'm fully aware that they're excellent; I'm not denying that. The 960SR does have some features that the 0610i doesn't, though, like the ability to charge and balance up to 12S Lithium packs in one go (or two 6S packs, etc); the Hyperion can only manage 6S. The Duo can do 12S, but at a higher price. The 960 can also display various realtime graphs on its graphic display, which is useful for checking on the pack's charge, discharve or temp curves. It also has a second separate output for charging Nickel transmitter/receiver packs, amongst other minor things.

It's difficult to actually find a decent full spec list (google it...you'll find lots of info), but it's a very fine charger. I know the 180W output seems low next to the Hyperions, but it's still a big chunk of power.

And the price, in comparison, is fantastic IMO. It's just a suggestion anyway; The 0610i is still a great choice. :smile:

Thanks Dagger Thrasher!

I am always looking for information on new products and have never heard of the Mega Power charger before.

I am looking forward myself. I see how fast battery chemistry changed during the 90's when 1/10th electric had it's hey day. It seemed that a new capacity or version (SCR-SCE etc.) was coming out every month. I think this is going to be a returning trend as 1/8th electric peaks the interest of others. And I think low cost packs with higher charge rate ability, will become common and lower in price than what we are seeing currently. So our chargers will have to be more powerful to accommodate this future.

Keep the suggestions and info coming my friend!

No offense to our members over the pond, or to the north, but +1 on this. I LOVE my Duo (except for the lack of a dedicated discharge ability), but if I have to do it again, I'd purchase one of the Extrema's to keep my money local.

Wait, where are hyperions made?

I believe Hong Kong....but I may be wrong.

+1 on the FMA Cellpro 10s Best charger money can buy IMO.


BTW: I have an Xtrema I'm looking to sell. Perfect condition.