B6 Chargers, what REALLY is the difference?

[monkeyracer]

So we've all seen the cheap lipo chargers on ebay, hobbyking, etc. They are usually listed as "B6 LiPo Balance Charger" or something with the word "digital" in the title. They all have the blue backlit LCD screen, with four buttons on the face. The left has the input jacks, and sometimes a temperature sensor and USB interface. The right has the output jacks and balance ports.

My question is what is the difference in the "Cheap" chinese chargers and the more expensive ones like the Losi? And do the differences matter to me?

I assume the Chinese ones may use inferior components, and they may not last as long, but I can get three cheapo chargers for the price of the Losi.

So does anyone have both the chinese cheapos and the brand name chargers to compare? If not, does anyone have one of the cheapos to lend thier input? I'm really not looking for the opinions of people who don't have experience with these.

So far, the reviews I've been able to find have been good, so I'm considering getting one of the ebay ones.

They are sometimes listed or branded as:
Mystery B6
Imax B6
Turnigy T6
No Brand B6
Poli-Max B6
GT Power V5

and others.

Thanks!

 

[ultimate_monkey]

Im in the same boat as you with the chargers, from what i have been reading (i look for the negitive reviews) they work just fine but the e-bay cheapos and like you said they dont last forever as well as take alot longer to balance the packs then say the losi or hyperon chargers do

 

[rottenbelly]

I have a turnigy accucel 6 charger and its pretty much exactly like my venom pro charger.
I have been using it a month or so now with great results. I charge many different batteries on it from micro dt batteries to my slash 5200 mah lipos.
I check them with a common sense lipo fuel gauge when done and they always have balanced out great.
Time will tell!!!!!!

 

[clockworks]

I've been using a "no-brand" B5 charger (actually, it's labelled as "LiProPlus5") for over 2 years with no problems. It's the same as the IMax B5.

I'm pretty sure that all the chargers that look the same, are the same, from the same factory in Asia.

Very few electronic products are made in the USA or Europe, although some might go through final assembly or testing in a non-Chinese factory.

Some products that are labelled as "made in USA" or "made in EU" are just assembled there, using Chinese circuit boards. Even when the circuit boards are made in the west, most of the components come from Asia.

I'll always buy British equipment when I can, but only if it's better. I won't pay twice as much for the same thing with a British badge.

 

[Cableman]

I have a turnigy accucel 6 charger and its pretty much exactly like my venom pro charger.

I have a venom pro also and my friends have the thunder ac6 for 55 bucks which i wish i bought instead!
When you charge your lipo's with the venom do you use the charge or balance mode? I tried the balance/storage mode and the charging amps went down to 0 but never stopped charging, my pack is a 5000mah lipo and after 135min it still didnt shut off! each cell read 4.18 and the pack had 5300mah put in it!!?

 

[rottenbelly]

I have a venom pro also and my friends have the thunder ac6 for 55 bucks which i wish i bought instead!
When you charge your lipo's with the venom do you use the charge or balance mode? I tried the balance/storage mode and the charging amps went down to 0 but never stopped charging, my pack is a 5000mah lipo and after 135min it still didnt shut off! each cell read 4.18 and the pack had 5300mah put in it!!?

I always balance charge mine. Sometimes mine will be showing 0.1 amps but still charging. I have a 5200 mah and sometimes it takes 180 + minutes to charge.
I make sure to set the capacity cut off and timer on 210 minutes.

 

[Cableman]

So in charge mode even with the balance plug hooked up its not balancing? venom told me to just use the charge mode cause it will be faster :| I wonder if a hyperion would charge it faster using the same amperage.

 

[rottenbelly]

So in charge mode even with the balance plug hooked up its not balancing? venom told me to just use the charge mode cause it will be faster :| I wonder if a hyperion would charge it faster using the same amperage.

I am not sure about the balancing while in charge mode. In balance mode i know you can scroll thru while its balancing and look at each cell voltage ! Havent tried that in charge mode!
Mine will balance faster if i bump up the amps, but i try not to!!

 

[Cableman]

Ya i can see each cell also in charge mode. I cant bump up the amps cause its 5 max, unless i can while its charging? Ill have to contact venom tech support and make sure im doing it right :|

 

[the02stangman]

I recently just purchased the blue imax b6 charger from ebay for $49.00 shipped. I have not used it yet. But the quality appears to be top notch. It came in a Imax b6 retail box with nice instructions and all the neccesary pigtail harnesses. I hope it works as good as it looks.

 

[rottenbelly]

Ya i can see each cell also in charge mode. I cant bump up the amps cause its 5 max, unless i can while its charging? Ill have to contact venom tech support and make sure im doing it right :|

I balance my 5200mah at 2.5 amps. Takes around 3 hours! But thats why i bought the extra charger. Heres my charging station!

 

[Culetto]

I use the genereic b6 lipo charger from ebay. Price was great but another bonus is it comes with a myrad of adapters including a radio style for reciever packs, glow plug, deans, aligators and one other i cant remember. Came in a nice aluminum case and havent had a problem with it in the year i have had it.

 

[monkeyracer]

thank you guys for the input, I appreciate it.

I figured that there isn't a whole lot of difference in the brand name b6's and the non-branded b6's.

This is the one that's coming to me from halfway around the globe:

I think I'll be happy with it. I'll be charging 1000mAh 2S lipos, and 2000mAh 6Cell NiCd (needs to be conditioned)

I've already got a 12v 5a DC adapter, just need to go to radio shack when I get the charger to get the right plug for it.

Cool! "thumbsup"

 

[Skullbasher]

I have a venom pro also and my friends have the thunder ac6 for 55 bucks which i wish i bought instead!
When you charge your lipo's with the venom do you use the charge or balance mode? I tried the balance/storage mode and the charging amps went down to 0 but never stopped charging, my pack is a 5000mah lipo and after 135min it still didnt shut off! each cell read 4.18 and the pack had 5300mah put in it!!?

Sorry to kinda be off topic, but I kinda wanted to comment on this.
The specs while charging are going to be different than regular. For example if you read your cars 12v battery with a DVOM then start your car, your Volts will jump to somewhere in the 14Vs because your alternator/generator is charging the battery.

So it is normal for the readings to be a bit high while charging, althought I'm not certain what would be considered a normal Vs a high charging Voltage(still pretty new to LiPo myself).

 

[monkeyracer]

I've already got a 12v 5a DC adapter, just need to go to radio shack when I get the charger to get the right plug for it.

Ok, so I thought I had that adapter, but tossed it when I de-junked a little while ago. I've got an old computer PSU that I'll be converting. Is there any benefit to running the charger on 17V over the 12V? (The charger is capable of 11-18v input.)

It won't charge it any quicker, so is there any benefit to the higher voltage?

Also, where is a good place to get the balance plugs? I need to make some adapters for all the different types of batteries that I have. (And how do I tell what type of plug it is?)

 

[DeaDShorT]

Voltage won't matter nearly as much as the amperage. I was messing with a computer ps awhile back and ended up with a 17v dc output @12 amps, it has filled the bill nicely, plus I got a handy 5v output that has been well worth the extra effort.

I'd think that any voltage and amp combo that put you over 12 volts and 10 amps should meet most of your requirements, the only exception would be a really large lipo or a123 setup.

 

[monkeyracer]

The only thing I might need the higher voltage for would be a 6s 1500mah battery (which is really 3 x 2s batteries being charged in series to charge them quicker.)

Other than that it will be 2s or 3s lipos with 1000mah - 1500mah capacities.

I like the idea of the "Lab Power Supply" and I'm not sure why I didn't make one during my car computer days. I plan on using the 12v and the 5v at least, but I'll likely make all the posts to leave all the options open.

 

[ComingApart]

I've used an Imax B5 for years (against the advice of people here) with absolutely no problems.

I would have no problem paying $50 for a B6

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

This is my preferred china charger. Has the best tolerances of any that I have tested. I currently have/use four of them in my arsenal of about ten chargers.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6792

 

[dunerdude69]

Got mine from ecpower .com I think It was forty somthing shipped it hag been a great charged for a few months now and doesn't even get warm when I charge my crawler batterys get it you won't be disappointed.