LiPo Charger

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thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

LiPo Charger

Post by thetopcat84 »

Hi guys,

Apologies if this has been addressed elsewhere, but couldn't really find what I was after in a forum search...

I'm Tom, I've been lurking for a while and today I thought I'd finally learnt enough to start actually ordering stuff...

So far the shopping list amounts to:

2x HFL1508 4-Channel Transmitter, 2.4GHz: BMCX/MSR Txs
2x Orangerx r415 Rxs
12x Towerpro SG90 servos
10x Cheap wheels (added on to the Rx order from hobbyking)
6x 160mah 1S LiPos

Figured I'd take the 'Noahs Ark' approach (everything came in twos) for if/when I break something...

I'm confident of being able to mess around with the above stuff to put theories into practice without blowing the bank balance (just some servos :D ) but the one thing I wasn't 100% on was a charger, and given the general warnings of 'charge with the wrong thing and flames appear' I thought I'd leap from the shadows of lurker-dom and ask about cheap chargers. If things go well, I'd like to step upto using 2S-4S LiPos in future, so dunno if it might be something worth taking into account?

Thanks in advance!
haz
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Re: LiPo Charger

Post by haz »

hiya, good to see you are postin'

http://www.brentfordrc.co.uk/scripts/pr ... oduct=2525

thats the one i use, does 1-4 cell.
thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: LiPo Charger

Post by thetopcat84 »

Cheers, Haz! Would never have got to that... Just ordered one from here seeing as they're in stock... and a little cheaper...
haz
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Re: LiPo Charger

Post by haz »

no problemo man.
Remote-Controlled Dave
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Re: LiPo Charger

Post by Remote-Controlled Dave »

Hi there.
I know there are a lot of scary stories about lipos, and they certainly worried me a bit when I switched over too. But the fact is, as long as you're careful, they aren't too much trouble. Follow the basics as you would with any battery (don't short circuit!) and you'll be fine. Chargers all have automatic cut off and alarms for when they are ready/something goes wrong. You sound like you have a degree of knowledge already, so I think you'll be absolutely fine.
Die Gracefully Robotics
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thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: LiPo Charger

Post by thetopcat84 »

Thanks, Dave! Yeah, figured they'd have some sort of failsafe, but it's always nice to get the benefit of others experience! It's usually not as messy as learning from your own mistakes! :lol:
haz
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Location: Underwater Lair
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Re: LiPo Charger

Post by haz »

while on the subject, Don't plug a 2 or 3 cell lipo into the RX, may seem a little obvious, but i have had a few people message me on various things asking why there RX, servos don't work :roll:

sorry if you were sensible enough not to do that without being told :)
ajw
Posts: 102
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:47 am
Location: South Wales

Re: LiPo Charger

Post by ajw »

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum. Good find with the charger, looks good value. I'd also buy a lipo bag to store your lipos in if you haven't already just to be on the safe side. I've never had a problem but you can never be too careful. One thing you want to avoid when not using low voltage detection is overcharging your lipos as this will reduce life/permanatly damage the cells so be careful not to run the batteries down too low. I've run a few robots off the SG90's in the past and they work pretty well for putting a cheap antweight together.
thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: LiPo Charger

Post by thetopcat84 »

Tbh, Haz, I was thinking of stepping upto 2S on the Orangerx r415 at some point coz they're rated 3V-9V iirc... Bit of extra kick for the servos too... Take it that's not a good idea?

I've still got my 'L' plates on, so probably best to assume I know nothing!


Hi, ajw, thanks for the welcome and the heads-up too!
haz
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Re: LiPo Charger

Post by haz »

the servos will melt, and probbably the RX too
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