Charger
 

My buddy is looking for a lipo charger. He is going to need something that is ac/dc and also suggestions on what balancer to get to work with it. I mentioned the Hyperion but he does not want to spend that much. He is looking to spend around $80 at the most. Any suggestions?

Thanks

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...6&ParentCat=85

They've got some decent chargers there. Not top quality, but if he doesn't want to pay for a Hyperion those are good for the money.

He could get a dtx onyx 230 + an external balancer for around $100
or
a dynamite ac/dc lipo charger + ext balancer for around $80-90. The dynamite is not digital and only has 3 pre-set charging values (.5, 1.5, & 3.5 amps) so it may be a pain in the a$$ to charge high capacity lipos. Both only handle up to 3s.
or
used chargers from ebay, rctech, rcu, etc...

Imo, you should try to convince him to save up for a decent charger. If he's really interested in this hobby, he'll want a charger he can "grow" into.

As a word of warning, I'd suggest staying away from the cheapo, generic chargers on HobbyCity...basically anything that isn't Bantam there. A lot of those come out of the same factory, and many are poorly-made rip-offs of other chargers. I bought a cheap charger from there about 2 years ago (not knowing any better), and one day, whilst on a normal charge, it let out a puff of smoke and died.
Two of my friends also bought "Imax" B6 chargers from there more recently. On one of them, the charge output leads actually came unsoldered internally and shorted out:surprised: ...and other cases of the same kind of thing happening have been reported. Luckily he was "only" charging NiMH, and was able to disconnect the pack before anything too bad happened. Most of them also use inferior-quality components - like resistors - so they usually don't balance very accurately, either.

Don't get me wrong, HobbyCity is great for many things, but I'd suggest steering clear of their re-branded chargers. Maybe they've improved quality since, but there's a reason why they're so cheap. It's not worth taking the risk with a LiPo IMO. Sorry Unsullied_Spy, I'm not trying to rain on your parade...:oops:

No problem, you get what you paid for. I bought a Hyperion 2 years ago and it's still working flawlessly.

I got a second hyperion actually now and love it too. That is what I want him to get. I got a lead on a good used one for him just have to see if he wants to boot the extra loot. I had a duo when I had my E Revo then sold it. I now have a 610i net and will never part with it. I am the first to say never skimp on a charger. Especially when using it for lipos.

Thanks for the information guys!

lol, is this friend me? i heard hyperion cam out with newer version of the 610i, any1 know where to fond one?

Do you mean the 720i? Same 250 output, it can do 7s, up from 6s on the 610i. And I think it has the yellow backlight. Not much difference for my uses, and it made the 610i cheaper...

sweet, i wouldn't mind finding one of those 610is for 'cheaper'