WhataNut FMA PowerLab8 1000W charger
 

I finally received the WhataNut Charger by FMADirect. It's the PowerLab8 model and it has been out in the field for a bit by Beta Testers.
There is not much to say yet about this charger, as they didn't send the usb adapter with the shipment.
I did get to charge my A123's at 30A! Even cycled them once at a discharge of 30A. It's going through its paces now in my garage. AcePow and Enerland lipos going through a storage charge right now. In unbalance mode, I can charge the A123's at 20A and in balance mode at 30A. However, I cannot do 6s unbalance. But no biggie really. At 30A, the 6s A123 pack is charged in less than 7 minutes. I did some regenerative dircharges. Nice feature to have as the charger doesn't get hot from waisting your mah into heat. My car battery got a nice workout. Next investment is a DC power supply with some big balls. More details will follow later on.
There is a thread about this charger on rcgroups.
http://www.fmadirect.com/images/products/2364.jpg

I bought two, combo #2's, they should be here any day now.
 

I ordered two of these chargers after they sold out the pre-production firts production run of these chargers. I later learned they offered a combo pack that comes with the USB adapter for your computer and a couple different type battery conectors and balance plugs. This is a beast of a charger, and anyone that says they will never fast charge because it takes life from
the batteries, I'll take a ten minute or less 30 amp lipo fast charge at the cost of a little less battery life, even though Thunder Power FAQ's says 6c fast charging reduces battery life zero. These chargers are supose to be able to balance lipo's at up to 1amp, rather than apx 300mah balancing that most balancers balance at. I also like how when your doing a discharge or cycle, to a car battery, the charger puts the juice back into your car battery, that's awesome. I'll be plugging both my power lab 8 chargers into two monster 12volt 64amp 750 watt prototype power suplies I bought from comon sense RC. That's enough power to run each of my chargers at the full 30amp charge for my two, three cell 5200mah Thunder Power Lipo's. Thunder Power already confirmed these batteries will lose zero life, and will take the 30amp fast charge with ease. This should be a ten minute charge time, and my run time is 15 minutes, I always wondered when a charger would be offered with such profound power. I'll plug both these chargers into my Dell computer via USB and run two seperate windows, one for each battery, to monitor every aspect of my charge status and battery condition. I'll be able to keep detailed records of every charge I ever give these batteries. My research into these chargers indicates these are the best of the best, available today. Beta testing has gone on for over one year, and these chargers use the best materials avaiable. I researched online and talked to people for two months before making this purchase. These are great chargers. I will post many detailed pictures of my two powerlab 8 chargers by FMA Direct, CellPro. And of my two 750watt, 64amp, 12volt power supplies, and talk about my experience with these chargers as I experience these chargers. Due to arrive at my doorstep any day now. Have a great day. I hope this information is helpful to you.

I agree that these are the best of the best of chargers currently available. I really don't care for less life of my packs. With this charger you would only need 2 packs to play all day, instead of 4 packs due to the slow charge time. So right there is the savings.

FMA Direct CellPro PowerLab 8, 1000watt 30amp 12 or 24volt Balance Charger.
 

I completely agree with you 100%. the savings is a charge time savings. The worst feeling was sitting there waiting for my batteries to charge. That's why I ran four TC-1030 10amp lipo chargers just to barely keep up with my continuous all day back to back runs. With many batteries now able to safely take a 30amp charge, it's great to have a charger that can actually charge at that high charge rate. I didn't want to settle for a 20amp charger that had to be serviced out of country, ie the Hyperion line of chargers. The PowerLab 8 1000watt 30 amp charger can be serviced right here in US of A, if ever needed. That extra ten amps was well worth the wait time. Plus the fact of over one year of trouble free beta testing is a big plus. As I understand the beta testing process of these chargers, there was a forum open to the public totalk directly with the engineers and beta testers at any point in time. They answered all my questions. I'm totally excited about this charger. I ordered during the second production run which means my powerlab 8 should arrive at my door step the second week of July, that's Today or Tomorrow. My Dual 750 watt 64amp 12volt power supplies are ready for action.

It's true that one 30amp ten minute or less charger/charge time, and two batteries will be all that is needed. I can sell my 20+ lipo's and old five chargers now. This is really great :-)

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0247.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0246.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0244.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0242.jpg

PowerLab 8 Synchronous Battery WorkStation.
 

What are you doing with the Balancing plug? are you making your own? did you take the small wires out of it's original plug adapter? I've never seen a balancing plug with all the tiny wires pulled out like this, unless you did this yourself? what are you doing with those wires at this point in time? Nice Pictures.

I took the wires out from the balance board. I don't feel like buying just the wiring harness either. So I took them out and soldered on the pins, which I just plug into my balancing ports on my batteries. Easy enough for me and I don't need adapters and whatnot. I'll post pics of my batteries balancing ports later on. I use PC connectors. I also made a power output cable with EC5 connector for when I do parallel packs. I'm just waiting for the usb adapter to play with the custom settings. I just got me an HP server 47A power supply. I just need to figure out the pinout to turn the sucker on.

what does "what a nut" mean?
 

Awesome,
is that a 12volt or a 24volt power supply. I know these chargers can utilize both types. But the 24volt is required if you're goiong to charge say, a 6cell or larger battery at 6c or 30amps. I got lucky, and my 12volt power supply has enough watts to power my charger to charge my 3cell at the full 30amps. if I was charging any more cells, I may have to charge at a lower amperage. some of what I've just said was the most difficult for me to learn and understand, but I understand enough to make it happen now, and that's what counts.

By the way, your subject says Whatanut, before the charger model, and it looks as if that has something to do with the charger model. but I've never heard of whatanut before. can you please tell me what the word "whatanut" is related to?

PS. You must really understand electricity quite well to be able to configure your own balancing plugs. any chance you can document your procedure. in other words, pictures followed by detailed explanations of what each wire does and how it balances your batteries. I know many people understand how to do this, but I come from Nitro background and know very little about electricity. But I want to learn and understand as much as is possible. I hope you will do this. This thread would be a good place to show this process of making your own, or configuring your own balncing port plugs for certain lipo or other types of batteries that anyone may want to balance. I find this to be very important and extreemly valuable information. I hope you can do it :-)

I do something similar, except the end of the balance wires terminate in a pin header (pic and pic). This allows me to use any balance plug with the standard 0.1" spacing. The only exception is some older MA packs I had which use the Hyperion pinout; for these, I just resorted the wires.

hehehe The What-A-nut is just a inside joke that I have at my LHS and Formuladrc forum. Anything that's ultimate is referred to WhatANut!:lol:. Castle also reffered to their stuff related to the sized of "nuts":lol:.

The connectors are just pin headers that BrianG uses, but mine are just indivually cut as I use anything from 2s to 6s. This way I don't need to make a bunch of balancing harnesses. And now I can charge my two 4s packs as 8s with serial adapters. Lots of time saving compared when I use to charge them in parallel at 10A.

The FMA pinouts are the same as a blinky, which I also use at times.

here's the FMA link for the Pin Lead connection diagrams
http://www.fmadirect.com/support_docs/item_1254.pdf

I got the HP server power supply to turn on. This is a mod that every RCM member can do. It's just shorting pin 6, 8 and 10 with eachother. You get get the power supply from fleabay for 15 bucks shipped(cheapest I found) and it's rated for 47A@12.5V. Model number is DPS-600PB, part number is 321632-001. Will post pics of it later.

that is a beast! I just bought the new hyperion duo which can do up to 15A per side at once which is impressive to me. All the charger I need at the moment. Yours is definitely the future of chargers

Here are pics of the server power supply to power the beast. I made an easy connector to "turn on". In an emergency I can just jank on the cord to turn off the PSU.




http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0254.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0252.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0250.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0249.jpg

Where can you buy this charger?

At FMAdirect.com.

My Chargers Arrived today, My Chargers Arrived today. Pictures soon to follow :-)
 

I bought my PowerLab 8 Battery Workstation, Package #2(x2) from this link Bellow:

http://www.fmadirect.com/Products.htm?cat=89

PS. I just recieved both my PowerLab 8 1000watt 30amp 10 minute chargers. Oh These are super awesome. Time to sell all five of my TC-1030 outdated 10amp chargers. Anything that charges at less than 15 or 20amps is old technology, so it seems. I'm going to enjoy these ten minute or less fast charges. Super Sweet.

PS. please don't be offended by my excitement over a 30amp charger. I just didn't like waiting for all my 10amp chargers to charge my lipo's, I will not miss those days, they are over for ever. I'm going to sell my old Lipo chargers super cheap! In with the new, out with the old. This is the biggest baddest charger on this planet. and when something better comes out, More Amps, More Fuctions- I'll save up and buy that too :-) That's part of the fun of this hobby. Buying the best.

wow wow wow mister Baller. You bought two of these monsters!

The Most Powerful, Versatile Charger In The World, For the Price.
 

Yes, one of the reasons for this is, if one ever were to need to be sent in for repair, I would still have one to keep me going. Also, I run back to back battery packs all day, when I go to the track. And though one 30amp charger is more than enough, I always like to have a backup. It's the same reason I bought two hyper 9e buggies. nonstop run time is just the right dose of fun. Now if I can just get Monster Mike to make me a quick change battery box for our RC's. One that doesn't require plugging and unpluging the battery each time. Just snap it into the car, and then into the charger. The battery would plug into the soft case that stays with the battery, and also is able to connect to the other part of the tray, that stays with the buggy(two parts lock together). And the tray that stays with the buggy would plug into the ESC. That way we could essentially change a battery out as fast or faster than a nitro buggy could refuel. Monster Mike sure is busy these days. I think I'm near the end of a three month waiting list to have parts made.

I love my twin chargers. These two chargers are going to have a very busy life. And will always be worth their weight in gold. I hear almost every major manufacture of high quality chargers is in the process of making high amp balance chargers, trying to stay competitive with the latest and greatest ie PowerLab 8 Rocks. Problem is, it's not all about the amps and power, it's also about the functions and abilities of the charger. That's what makes this one so great, and also the reason it's called a battery workstation. It can do so many things that no other charger I've ever read about or heard of, can do.

I got the fuim3 in today. After the update I am able to charge my A123's at 25A! That is about 10.8C charging.

where can I get the owners manual. How do I use these chargers?
 

I'm still waiting for mine. it's suppose to be here any day this week. the paper work that shipped with the chargers said remaining parts and plugs will arrive the week of July 19th.

By the way, do you know where I can download the Manual to learn how to use these bad boys? I need to learn how to use these. I wish it came with a manual. I know they said they are trying to be green and that's why they didn't print instruction manuals, but I prefer the manual even if it's on recycled paper.

PS. I would like to charge my thunder power lipo's at the full 30amps. how do I program this charger? also, was it hard to update the software via usb port? did you plug the charger into your computer and load the new software from your computer? did you have to load the software from the site, to your computer first? is this a free download?

wow.lots of questions. Well the manual is in their download section on their website and so is the software. Once the software is installed, it will set itself to download the latest version. You have to install the fuim3 driver too. Once that is down, it's stupid easy to go through the settings on your computer. I have yet to read the manual. All free downloads man. Super easy charger.

BTW, I just shut down the power supply. It was pulling 50A charging the 6s1p A123 pack at 25A. I reset the PSU limit to 47A.

Instructions Manual Download and USB cable use.
 

Wow, that's massive power :)

Cool, Thank you for the info. I'll read that manual right away. I can see that the charger is easy to use, but I like to read the book to get the full scope of information on every function possible. I would like to use these chargers to there full potential. I'll need to learn what that is. It's more than 30amp charging. it's also allot of things I've yet to understand about plugging into my laptop. And I'm not very good with computers either. But I can get the job done. If I have to, I'll call Tech Support. Howard and I talked for months about power supplies. That was a big lesson for me to learn. looking back, it would have been easier to just say, "it's all about the watts" just make sure the power supply can handle the watts. But then I wouldn't have learned all the equations and massive information I learned about 12v vs 24v and price of different power supplies and how everything works together, ie charger and power supply and batteries charged(how many cells). Thank you again for the information. I'll go to their web site right away.

I just charged my 2s1p Acepow 5000mah lipo at 30A~6C.

btw I tweak, start and stop the charger through my laptop. Didn't have to use the buttons on the charger itself.

what PSU are you useing??

I use this one http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27554

now to blow some **** up:lol::yipi:


x2 of them for the same price...
http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-PROLIANT-DL38...item35aa791330

Yup they are nice and cheap.

I recieved my two USB plugs today in the mail, hip hip hurray, hip hip hurray :)
 

Now I can plug my two 30amp chargers into my laptop computer and control every aspect of charging my batteries. But I believe I have to first load some software into my computer to make it communicate with both the USB and the chargers. I know nothing about computers so I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. Howard in Tech Support and I are working closely together on getting me started with my new FMA Direct, CellPro, PowerLab 8, Chargers. Was that one word, wow. I have been looking at the owners manual online, but now that I can plug the chargers into the computer, I think this will make it much simpler and easier to set up the chargers. I will keep this thread updated on all progress. I do know one thing for sure, as soon as I mention ten minute or less lipo charging, everyone at my track ask me to write the name of the charger down because they want one as well. I mention the slightly less battery life as a result of the high powered fast charging and so far, not one person loses interest in the fast charging capability. My thoughts exactly. Thank you FMA Direct and CellPro for making a 30amp charger that can also balance at up to 1amp, rather than 300-350mah(the balancing parameters of most lipo balance chargers on the market today, that I know of) that's a big diference in balancing speed as well.

PS. please keep in mind that not all lipo batteries can take a 30amp fast charge. Be sure to confirm this with your battery manufacturer before charging any LiPo battery above and beyond 1c. If a battery is 5000mah, then one c charging is 5amps. If you charge at 5c, then five times five is 25amps. I run the Thunder Power 5200mah 50c(relates to constant amps available, not charging amps). It's always best to buy a charger with a built in balancer, and always balance charge your lipo batteries no matter what the amps rate of charge. This is the best way to assure a longer life of your batteries, and prevents the overcharging of any one cell, which can lead to battery failure. It's also best to charge batteries in a lipo sak, or lipo charging bag, they are fire proof and I'm in the market to buy one right now. If anyone knows of a good, nice and or low cost lipo charging bag, please let me know. Thank you in advance and thank you to everyone keeping this thread informative and educational. These chargers are truly awesome in every way.

after reading the manual it makes me believe that this charger is only 500 watt capable with a 12v input; a 24 volt input is necessary for the 1000w capability. Is this correct?

You are correct sir. But that if you want to charge a 8s pack or dual 4s packs at 30A.

So where would a jew like myself find a cheap 24v power supply? Can the server p/s be jumpered to push out more than 12v?

(I am not jewish, but my friends like to call me that as I prefer to find stuff cheap or free (preferable) and then spend the money I save on all kinds of cool firearms)

two car batteries and a trickle charger is all I can think of. I guess I'll have to hook the charger to my wheelchair when I'm at the track.

you can convert server PSUs to 24v, but you need 2 of them, and if the cases touch...:drunk:

The Best Balance Charger in the World. The Best :)
 

Because I'm running one 3cell LiPo at a time, and charging one 3cell lipo at a time, my 12volt 760watt 64amp Prototype Common Sense Power Supply I bought for about 125.oo can charge my 3cell 5000mah 40c Thunder Power Pro Race LiPo to 100% charge in 10:34 seconds at a 30amp charge rate. And that's with only a 12volt power supply. This charger is the most awesome, accurate Balance charger I've ever seen, read about or experienced in my life. I'm a very happy young man.

ah yes, but with all your research you missed the first thing that stuck out to me in the owners manual: 12v 500w LIMIT, 24v 1000w limit.

So even though you have a 760w power supply, you can only use 500w of it. You need a 24v power supply to use the charger to it's rated capacity.

Not that anybody requires that (yet), but it's good info to put out there for those that do want to buy this charger and use it to it's full potential.

30amp 3cell charging was my goal, not 1000 watt charging. Goal Achieved.
 

Hi paralysed,
My goal when buying this charger was to charge my 3cell lipo at the full 30amps. Because charging a 3cell lipo at 30amps does not require the full 1000 watts of this charger, I bought the Power Supply I found to be suitable for my specific needs. If I ever need to charge, say a 6cell lipo at 30 amps, I will then need to buy a new Power Supply, At this time, I race my Hyper 9E 1/8th scale buggy with one 3cell lipo and it's quite perfect for me. As I hope you can now see, no detail was missed. I have no need to spend the extra money for a power supply with a capacity I'm not now fully utilizing, thus I bought the power supply most fitting to my specific needs. Now, if the charger need a 24v power supply in order to charge my 3cell lipo at the full 30amps, then I most certainly would have bought a 24volt power supply. I do thank you for clarifying your thoughts regarding the use of the full potential of the charger, but for my specific needs, it's more about utilizing the full potential of my battery. My battery is rated at 6c charge rate. 5000mah. That's 30amp charging, and ten minute charging is awe so sweet :) with my 12volt power supply. But don't get me wrong, I do understand your point, as well; I hope you understand that I have 100% fulfilled my specific charging and power supply needs.

mindthoughts- what are the pack temperatures after a quick charge? And thank you for the info:yes:

My Acepow lipos feel ambient after a 30A charge. But then at nite my garage feels like 100F. I will do a 2 cycle 30A charge on a 4s1p Acepow(5000mah) pack and post the temp result.

10 Minute Quick Charge Lipo Battery Temperature.
 

I've not yet measured the temperature. Though I can say, during and just after a ten minute 30amp quick charge, the battery is not even warm to the touch. I believe this is why I did not measure the temperature, it was only a few degrees above room temperature. If the lipo was very warm, or hot; I can assure you I would measure that tempurature most promptly. I will measure my next quick charge temperature, and post my findings. I should have this data by the end of this weekend. Have a great day :)

30amp charging equals fully charged 5000mah 3cell lipo in under 10 Minutes.
 

My Thunder Power 3cell Lipo 5000mah 40c battery consistantly reads exactly 84degrees after a ten minute, 30 amp quick charge. Room temperature was a few degrees bellow 84degrees. The battery pack is about 16 months old, and apx 100 cycles of use. I experience zero difference in power or run time, if I charge the battery at 1c = 5amps, or 6c = 30amps. Same power, same run time. Much quicker charge. Thunder Power said the 30amp quick charge reduces the life of their batteries, zero. Others say I may or will reduce the life of my lipos with 30amp fast charges. I opt for the quick charge, because I very much like having my battery fully charged in less than ten minutes.