Lipo Charger

divemasterphil · Mar 11, 2016

Decide to create another lipo charger for my Solo that would charger fast and do a storage charge. I did this with my last Solo but with an extension cord end. This is much simpler, just need a couple of your favorite EC3, XT60 or Dean's to complete. Full charge take less than a hour for a dead battery. This charger cost $56 shipped from Hobbypartz.com , four of these might be cheaper and more reliable than a four battery charger and their AC/DC, just waiting for the 3d printer .stl file for the ends to surface.

PdxSteve · Mar 11, 2016

Is 5A as high as you can go with that charger? That's about 1C for the Solo battery (5.2A). According to 3DR, the solo battery can be charged at up to 2C, which would be about 10A for that battery.
Battery Charger Interface | 3DR Solo Development Guide

Just curious if you are able to or have tried it. I have a 20A CC/CV variable supply on order and will be able to test at whatever V/A I set it at but I'm probably a few weeks out on that.

You can also just order the exact plug 3dr is using (for about $5/ea) instead of printing them.
Here's the Molex part:
http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0464371087_PCB_HEADERS.xml
And here's one place to get them:
46437-1087 Molex - chip1stop.com

divemasterphil · Mar 12, 2016

The "Smart" battery is too smart for itself. It will only take a 5.2a charge max. So an 80w charger is all you need. The Hobbypartz Thunder AC680 is a simple as they come. $56 shipped is not a bad price either. The original extension cord mod works also but not as clean of a look.

Thunder AC680 Professional Dual-Power LiPo Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo/ 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software

divemasterphil · Mar 12, 2016

The "Smart" battery is too smart for itself. It will only take a 5.2a charge max. So an 80w charger is all you need. The Hobbypartz Thunder AC680 is a simple as they come. $56 shipped is not a bad price either. The original extension cord mod works also but not as clean of a look.

Thunder AC680 Professional Dual-Power LiPo Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo/ 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software

Ketchup · Mar 18, 2016

Does the official Solo battery charger do any balancing of the Solo LiPo battery? I'd be concerned about getting imbalanced cells.
I have a 4-way charger (can charge 4 at a time - LiPos, NiCard, Pb, etc) and I'd like to use it to charge my new batteries. I do want to make sure they stay healthy, though.

Pedals2Paddles · Mar 18, 2016

Ketchup said:
Does the official Solo battery charger do any balancing of the Solo LiPo battery? I'd be concerned about getting imbalanced cells.
I have a 4-way charger (can charge 4 at a time - LiPos, NiCard, Pb, etc) and I'd like to use it to charge my new batteries. I do want to make sure they stay healthy, though.

Yep. All you need to do is feed the battery 16.8 volts. The battery does all the current/voltage regulation, balancing, and start/stop on it's own.

Ketchup · Mar 18, 2016

Perfect! Thanks for the info! Going to grab a few of those connectors and make an interface!

pyrate · Mar 18, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
Yep. All you need to do is feed the battery 16.8 volts. The battery does all the current/voltage regulation, balancing, and start/stop on it's own.

Wouldn't you need an AMP spec too?

Ketchup · Mar 18, 2016

Assuming a 5200 pack, a 1C would be 5.2A. 2C would double it. Just wondering how to set the charger for the battery type. Probably a Pb or NiCad due to the way they charge and peak.

pyrate · Mar 18, 2016

The hitec one people recommend for 4 ports is 200 bucks.
At that price I can just buy 3 more 3DR and be done with it.
not have to worry about plugs

divemasterphil · Mar 18, 2016

I set it to "Lipo" and "Charge" or "Storage". Don't not use balance as the battery's own balance circuit does the balancing and also regulates the amps so that it can't take more than a 1c (5.2a) charge.

Ketchup said:
Assuming a 5200 pack, a 1C would be 5.2A. 2C would double it. Just wondering how to set the charger for the battery type. Probably a Pb or NiCad due to the way they charge and peak.

Ketchup · Mar 18, 2016

Yeah, I got the X4 on sale last year. They do get pricey. I charge a bunch of batteries at once with it all the time. I have it connected to a massive DC power supply. X4 AC Plus 4 Port AC/DC Multi-Charger | HITEC RCD USA

Ketchup · Mar 18, 2016

divemasterphil said:
I set it to "Lipo" and "Charge" or "Storage". Don't not use balance as the battery's own balance circuit does the balancing and also regulates the amps so that it can't take more than a 1c (5.2a) charge.

Great! Thanks!

Pedals2Paddles · Mar 18, 2016

Correct. Use LiPo Charge, not LiPo Balance. Regarding a current setting, the battery apparently limits itself to 1C. It will never draw more than 5.2 amps no matter how high you set the charger's limiter. In fact, you can just use a 16.8v power supply with no brains at all. It will still work just fine.

Maddog · Mar 18, 2016

I've had good luck with this charger (haven't used it with Solo) but you do need to provide your own power supply:
Balancer Charger 80W 10A Battery Turnigy Accucel-6 Accucell LiPo LiFe NiMh LiHV

I use this power supply- was cheaper when I bought it last year!
Mean Well SE-350-15 AC/DC Power Supply Single-OUT 15V 23.2A 348W US Authorized

RolandS888 · Mar 18, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
Correct. Use LiPo Charge, not LiPo Balance. Regarding a current setting, the battery apparently limits itself to 1C. It will never draw more than 5.2 amps no matter how high you set the charger's limiter. In fact, you can just use a 16.8v power supply with no brains at all. It will still work just fine.

Have you actually done this or have you just read it somewhere?

PdxSteve · Mar 22, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
Correct. Use LiPo Charge, not LiPo Balance. Regarding a current setting, the battery apparently limits itself to 1C. It will never draw more than 5.2 amps no matter how high you set the charger's limiter. In fact, you can just use a 16.8v power supply with no brains at all. It will still work just fine.

@Pedals2Paddles I don't think your description is entirely accurate. You can't just throw 16.8v with whatever amperage you want. The battery won't accept it if it's over some threshold that I haven't determined yet. It's not "self limiting" or it would take whatever amps you threw at it and only "use" max 5.2A and ignore the rest. "self protecting" might be a better term as it totally rejects the charge if it isn't within parameters. I just tried using a 24v/25A DC power supply going to a step down converter tuned to 16.8v on the output and the battery turns on/off rapidly. You need to also limit the amps, not just the volts.

Have you tried doing what you suggest and hooking it up to a strong DC power supply (ONLY power supply, no other circuitry)?? I assume you have and it worked since you are telling people this. I'm just curious what amps your power supply is putting out at 16.8v when you had success?

Pedals2Paddles · Mar 22, 2016

I don't even have the batteries to test myself yet. They arrive today, at which point I will make all kinds of tests and pictures. For now, I'm repeating what others here have said and done. What you're saying isn't really how electricity works. Amps are not thrown/pushed. They're pulled by the device, in this case the battery. The battery apparently will not pull more than than 5.2 amps no matter what the power supply can provide in excess of that. The brains of the smart battery are apparently doing that limiting for us. There is no need for external limiting like we need to do with conventional LiPos. You can have a 16.8v power supply capable of supplying a thousand amps, and the Solo battery will (allegedly) only draw 5.2 amps.

I plan to make some pigtails to hook mine up directly to my parallel board using XT60 connectors. I an power the parallel board directly from the power supply if at home, or using the LiPo charger pretty much anywhere, home or in the Jeep.

RolandS888 · Mar 22, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
I don't even have the batteries to test myself yet. They arrive today, at which point I will make all kinds of tests and pictures. For now, I'm repeating what others here have said and done. What you're saying isn't really how electricity works. Amps are not thrown/pushed. They're pulled by the device, in this case the battery. The battery apparently will not pull more than than 5.2 amps no matter what the power supply can provide in excess of that. The brains of the smart battery are apparently doing that limiting for us. There is no need for external limiting like we need to do with conventional LiPos. You can have a 16.8v power supply capable of supplying a thousand amps, and the Solo battery will (allegedly) only draw 5.2 amps.

No, Thats not correct, with unlimited charge current available the Solo battery will be seen as a very low resistance load and draw a large current ~ 20 to 30 Amps.
Be careful if you try this.
I suggest you stop spreading incorrect 'assumptions'

Pedals2Paddles · Mar 22, 2016

RolandS888 said:
No, Thats not correct, with unlimited charge current available the Solo battery will be seen as a very low resistance load and draw a large current ~ 20 to 30 Amps.
Be careful if you try this.
I suggest you stop spreading incorrect 'assumptions'

Everyone else that has already tried this would disagree with your assumptions. I will be testing it myself to be sure this week. But others who have already done this report the battery's smart circuits limit it for you. Maybe they're all wrong.