Opinions on Hyperion EOS 1210i charger for 10S A123s/ or 8S lipos
 

I am finishing up getting my HV setup together, and I am (maybe) in need of another charger, but def a balancer. I have a TP1010C charger/ 205 balancer, but the 205 is limited to 5 cells. I plan to run 10S A123s & 8S lipos. I can get the 210 balancer, but its $100 (!) and I am considering just going a diff charging route. I like the charger well enough, except it has a long "initial charging" trickle charge when the pack voltage goes low (say below 15V on a 4S lipo.)

It does this even when the pack is connected to the balancer and dataport and it knows the pack is 4S. It won't go to fast CC mode until ~15.5V, and on a 8K batt, that is a long time... This is a "safety" feature to the TP charger, and its not just mine.

For the money, I am just considering selling off the 1010C combo and getting the hyperion w/ 2 lba10 balancers. How are people liking this setup, and how friendly is the charger to use, esp w/ A123s?

hyperion is very friendly to use.
dont forget to get A123 version of the lba10. the standard version works but you wont see individual cell values through the data cable on hyperion charger

BTW, I got a MGM 9032 esc, a Neu 1515/2Y, and just waiting on a couple things from Mike and I should be ready to go. That is once I get the truck patched up from the RCM Bash war wounds, and figure out how I'm going to mount the MGM. Its quite a bit bigger footprint w/ those big caps than the MM. The Neu motor feels so much stronger just spinning the shaft than the XL that I can't wait to see how it drives.:diablo: I would have been clearing that monster triple w/ no probs I think (tho I doubt I would have finshed the race then:lol:)

I was looking at the one @ b-p-p. It says its A123s ready, but the downloadable manual does not mention it, so I could tell much.

I am using the hyperion 1210 with my 2 5s1p A123 connected in series. With 10s A123 the charger starts at 5,4A and finishes at 4.4A. A full charge takes around 32 minutes (without balancer). The more the cells are out of balance the longer it takes (even witout balancer).

But the hyperion 1210 also starts slowly when the cells are below 29-30V. Therefore i charge 1 minute in 9s mode @ 5A and then switch to 10s mode.

Although A123 cells do remain quite good in balance, they are not perfect and do start to drift in voltage. I too now will buy a lba10 or a Astro blinky for A123. Balancing during every charge cycle is not necessary. So one balancer should suffice.

As of april 2007 the LBA10 "net" balancer is compatible with A123 cells.

Hmm good info. Too bad to hear about the slow start tho, but 1 min of 9S isn't too bad. w/ my 5S2p A123 batt, 4S A123 is too low, and even 4S lipo just goes to cv mode quickly. Way too much fiddling needed when these cells are uber safe. I do have a blinky FWIW, tho I rarely use it. The cells go out on full charge, but then even off after a bit

In time I would like to convert my 7s2p pack to 14s pack... oh what motor/esc to use?! :neutral:

The only time I have ever used 'balancing' was some PC ATX connectors (check my pics), but they were never out of balance... plus it was a little time consuming doing each cell individually, as I had no balancer, just the taps and my trusty BK prog. power supply.

We should have a STICKY THREAD on A123 cells... sources (A123 racing, dewalt packs, etc), benefits (safety, life, lower cost, especially over lifetime), balancing , and what not. That would be very useful, IMO.

hey you might already know about this charged but this is the one i have. http://www.rcaccessory.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=203

its my first charger other then the ones that just charge the transmiter battery so i cant really tell you lots about it other then i havent blown up any batteries yet lol. but it does have a 8 cell balancer for the a123 battery and it can charge them. im waiting for my batteries to show up (ordered them 2 weeks ago) so i cant even tell you how well it charges them lol.