Parallel charging question
 

Say you have two 1500 mAh 3s packs you want to charge in parallel. How would you go about treating them? Would you treat them as if they were a 3000 mAh 6s pack or would you still treat them as a 3s pack?

Re: Parallel charging question
 

There are adapter boards. If it's charged in parallel then it's done as 3s. Or if wired differently it can be charged as 6s in series. Depends on the wiring you use to connect the batteries.

They would be 1500mAh 6s in series or 3000mAh 3s parallel.

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Re: Parallel charging question
 

Okay, I see now. Thank you for your reply.

Re: Parallel charging question
 

I wouldn't charge in parallel. Unless you have the correct adapter board it's a really bad idea.

Re: Parallel charging question
 

Parallel charging can be done safely and fairly easily using a parallel charging board. I've been doing it for years without issue. You probably want to read about how to do it safely before trying it though.

Re: Parallel charging question
 

This, but charging is usually slower due to splitting the amps pushed into the cells, of course this depends on the charger and the batteries being charged. "thumbsup"

Re: Parallel charging question
 

Parallel charging can be just as safe as charging your packs individually. I use to do it with a pair of Max Amps packs about 13 years ago, but I digress. Anyway, on top of what you said you just need a good quality charger and take the appropriate precautions. Speaking of which, if anyone is interested below is a list of precautions and some of my recommendations should you decide to charge your packs in parallel.

• Use a good quality charger and parallel board. I prefer the kind with inline automotive fuses or polyfuses.
  
• Always connect the discharge lead first, and then the balance lead to your paraboard (parallel board).
  
• You should only parallel charge batteries with the same cell count. E.g you should only charge 2s with 2s... 3s with 3s... 4s with 4s... etc.
  
• Always check the voltage of your packs before charging. You want the voltage of each cell to be as close as possible to one another. Personally, I would make sure the individual cell voltage in each pack is within 0.2 volts of each other.
  
• While you can charge batteries of different brands and capacity together, I recommend only charging batteries of the same brand and capacity.

EDIT: As an aside to #4 you should always check the voltage of your packs before charging regardless if you parallel charge or not to make sure none of the cells in your pack have gotten too low.