how to charge a123 w/ ice charger

[glassdoctor]

Just wanted to mention on this topic:

What I would like to do is run a 6s A123 pack (equal to a 5s lipo) which is a very good fit for charging on a 5s lipo setting.

BUT... my chargers only go up to 4s lipo so I can't do that anyway....

[t-maxxracer32]

hmm... does the ice go up to 5s lipo?

and when i went to charge my second pack it said...

output voltage is lower than selected cells or voltages please check proper cell or voltages

what exactly does that mean?

[glassdoctor]

hmmm... how low is the dumped 2s pack? Must be under 6 volts... I didn't know if would be (stay) under the ICE's 'smartness'... I'm not sure what the minimum voltage is for the ICE to start a charge.

If this is going ot happen all the time, then it would be best to just buy a lipodapter...

For now you can put the pack on nimh charge for a minute to bump the volts up.. then switch to the lipo setting as planned. That should get it to work.

[t-maxxracer32]

alrighty ill try that!

ill let you know how it works

thanks!

[MetalMan]

The ICE will charge a 5s A123 pack in 10cell NiMh mode with peak sensitivity to maximum. A LipoDapter could be used to stop the charge, or you could manually end the charge by decreasing the current to maintain the voltage at 3.6v/cell (18v for a 5s pack).

[zeropointbug]

actually 5s LiPo setting charging a 6s A123 won't get you full charge, anything below 3.6 volts will get you about 80-85%, and takes longer to charge, but if you want to do that, go ahead.

If you want to spend some money, you could buy a good power supply like mine, and have 10A charging, and 100% charging everytime. But, again, only if you want to spend the money.

[BrianG]

zpb, how big is that power supply? It's probably kinda big to take with you to a track isn't it? I'm sure it's perfectly fine for at home though...

[zeropointbug]

It's small, it's 22 x 22 x 9 cm dimensions, and weights 2.8kg. It's actually very decent, easy to carry (one hand). It would prob be safer than using a LiPo charger, as this thing is lab quality. It has a very nice LCD screen that shows all the running parameters, and PC programmable, and can be run from PC.

[t-maxxracer32]

that is what im using. a pc power supply. brianG helped me convert it. it actually works suprisingly well.

[BrianG]

t-maxxracer32: Actually, ZPB is talking about an actual CV/CC programmable power supply, not just a PC power supply.

I'm glad that the PS is working for you. :)

[t-maxxracer32]

yep yep!

thanks!