Lithium care?

[MetalMan]

Yes, that works except that the LBA6 can only handle 6 amps. You need to do the wire mod (post #10) to it so that it can handle up to 6amps, though.

[squeeforever]

Is there another balancer that will work at 7 amps?

[MetalMan]

The problem with the Hyperion balancer is that for it to be most effective it should go between the battery and charger. The TP-205V balancer can drain more current, so that would make it a more capable balancer than the LBA6.

[squeeforever]

Can either of them balance 2 packs at a time? I would prefer to balance and charge them both at the same time.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by squeeforever

Can either of them balance 2 packs at a time? I would prefer to balance and charge them both at the same time.

That's what I'm looking to do as well, which is why I want a 5s balancer. I will be using (hopefully) one 3s pack and one 2s pack, and I heard you aren't supposed to charge two seperate packs in series due to pack variances. I figure if I have a balancer connected to both packs all the time when charging, it won't be an issue. Using one 5s balancer, I'll be treating two packs as one when charging. I guess I would just have to make sure I plug in the balancer connectors in the correct order.

[squeeforever]

I have never heard that charging in series is a problem...Pack variances shouldn't be a problem because there will be variances in the cells as well. This is just a thought though, I'm not sure though.

[BrianG]

Yeah, I would think so too, but maybe they (manufacturers) somewhat match Lithium cells when assembling the packs? That would account for slight pack inconsistencies.

[MetalMan]

Sometimes companies do match cells, sometimes they don't. It just depends on the company.

I'm not exactly sure how the TP-205V works, but I don't think that you can plug two packs' balancer connectors into it at the same time. I made a solution to this that I'm using for two of my packs right now, I'll see if I can get it posted later if there is interest.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by MetalMan

Sometimes companies do match cells, sometimes they don't. It just depends on the company.

I'm not exactly sure how the TP-205V works, but I don't think that you can plug two packs' balancer connectors into it at the same time. I made a solution to this that I'm using for two of my packs right now, I'll see if I can get it posted later if there is interest.

Yes, there is interest! :)

Why won't plugging two packs into one balancer work? As long as the batteries are in series when charged, and the balancer connectors are connected properly (based on how the packs are connected together for charging, the charger and balancer should see the two packs as one, right? Of course, the last wire on the balancer connector for pack one should be in direct parallel with the first wire on the balancer connector for pack two. Physically, they are two packs, but electrically it shouldn't matter I would think...

[MetalMan]

You have the right idea on hooking them up, but you can't just plug both batteries' balance connectors into the balancer at the same time. I just came up with a (simple) way to be able to balance two packs as one. Here's a picture of my version:

The only downside is that I can't balance the packs separately, but that's not a problem for me (they'll always be charged together). If you want me to draw up a detailed explanation of the wiring I can, but basically you can see that the power wires for the separate packs are connected in series using the series adapter, and the two wires can be disconnected from the balance connector so that the packs can be split apart in an application where they can't be so close together.