Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Here's an area where you can ask any kind of question about RC models and find a whole lot of useful information to help you get started.

Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby GRM » Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:57 am

Hi,

Seems people experience problems with both of these from time to time.

Is the iCharger better than the Accucel for balance charging & speed of charge ?

Or should I buy a cellpro ?

Geoff
GRM
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby kaptain_zero » Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:09 am

I have 2 Accucel 6 chargers and 2 iCharger 106B+ chargers. The 2 Accucel chargers have seen much less use since I got my iChargers. The reason was mostly that I do a fair amount of single cell charging of NiMH batteries and the iCharger never has a problem detecting a full charge on these somewhat oddball situations... I have found the Accucel 6 to be not as reliable in this regard, but normal 2 or more cell packs are not a problem with it, so those packs are still charged with the Accucel units OR the iChargers.... whichever is closer and not in use.

I do not have a Cellpro charger but I can say that if I were in the market for a replacement for any of the chargers I have now, it would be another iCharger. The Accucel 6 is a great $23 charger and the iCharger 106B+ is a great $80 charger. That said, the Accucel 6 is NOT an $80 iCharger being sold for $23. I don't regret buying the Accucel 6's, they were all I could afford at the time, but the quirks showing up in my *other* hobby related charging caused me to scrimp and save for an iCharger and once I got the first one, I knew I had to have a second one.

As for speed and accuracy of balancing lipo packs, they both do very well... no significant difference at least. I stick with 1C charge rates to be kinder to my packs, even if they claim it's safe to charge at 5C or more. If I were to find I was waiting for charging too long at the field I would buy more batteries instead of a larger, slightly faster charger. Charging at 5C vs 1C will not fully charge a pack in 1/5th the time but rather might save 20 minutes or so, but at the cost of a shorter battery life. The time savings I quoted is only a guesstimate based on the fact that half the charging time of a lipo pack is during the CV portion where the *Lipo pack* determines the charge current, and the charger will claim a full pack and shut down when that charge rate reaches 1/10th of the starting charge rate. If you start the charge at 10A, the charger will shut down at when the lipo accepts no more than 1A. On the other hand, if the same pack is charged at 1A to start, the charger will shut down when the charge rate drops to 0.1A which is much closer to a full charge on that pack.

I'd let my wallet be my guide and as for the Cellpro chargers... Well, they are supposed to be good, but I have no idea, and a quick look at the website didn't make me wish I'd bought those instead of my iChargers.... Who knows, I might try one some day, but in the mean time, my two year old Accucells and my 1 year old iChargers are all still going strong.

Good luck with whatever you decide to get.

Regards

Christian
"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money."
-- Pablo Picasso
User avatar
kaptain_zero
 
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:50 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby GRM » Mon Nov 14, 2011 10:24 am

Hi - Thanks for your advice - appreciated !

I'm leaning to the iCharger because of it's claimed accuracy. I like the idea of being able to plug a battery into the charger and being able to trust the reading shown. If I can't do that I'd have to spend money on a DMM - and still not be sure of it's accuracy either.

I take it you trust the iCharger reading ???

Geoff
GRM
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby kaptain_zero » Tue Nov 15, 2011 2:49 am

GRM wrote:Hi - Thanks for your advice - appreciated !

I'm leaning to the iCharger because of it's claimed accuracy. I like the idea of being able to plug a battery into the charger and being able to trust the reading shown. If I can't do that I'd have to spend money on a DMM - and still not be sure of it's accuracy either.

I take it you trust the iCharger reading ???

Geoff


Well... "trust" is something I don't often do! :-) At least not when it comes to chargers.... I've checked all of mine with an old Beckman industrial quality DMM and I check my Beckman DMM with a Fluke 87V and I have a couple of cheap Chinese DMMs I use to round things out. :mrgreen: For the record, both of my iCharger 106B+ are close enough that I didn't have to re-calibrate them, but the manufacturer does supply information on how to calibrate them using a quality DMM if necessary. If you don't have a DMM, you should be able to get someone who does, to check a battery or two after charging for you.... just to set your mind at rest. Perhaps you know an Amateur Radio operator or electronics tech or something along those lines. At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to have a $10 to $20 DMM kicking around.... they are always handy, just don't use them for high voltage, even if they state they can do so.... They are cheap for a reason! For non-lethal voltages, they are usually quite accurate and acceptable. $50 can buy a very capable Extech DMM that is as accurate as those costing much more. Check the $50 DMM shootout at EEVblog for some down to earth reviewing.

Regards

Christian
"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money."
-- Pablo Picasso
User avatar
kaptain_zero
 
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:50 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby GRM » Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:58 pm

Again - thanks !
GRM
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby GRM » Sun Nov 20, 2011 12:12 am

kaptain_zero wrote:$50 can buy a very capable Extech DMM that is as accurate as those costing much more. Check the $50 DMM shootout at EEVblog for some down to earth reviewing.


I checked out the shoot out - very informative.

And I ordered the iCharger 106B.

Cheers - Geoff
GRM
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Re: Turnigy Accucel 6 vs iCharger 106+ Vs CellPro

Postby kaptain_zero » Sun Nov 20, 2011 1:51 am

Geoff, I'm sure you'll be happy with the iCharger and factory support is pretty good from what I have read. There is a long running iCharger thread on RCgroups where you can get in touch with Junsi from iCharger.... nice thread, lots of info and support:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthre ... t=icharger

As for Dave Jones...... I found he can be a bit over the top in his videos, but he is honest and doesn't hold back when he reviews something, much like Bruce, only with more "attitude". :lol:

Regards

Christian

GRM wrote:I checked out the shoot out - very informative.

And I ordered the iCharger 106B.

Cheers - Geoff
"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money."
-- Pablo Picasso
User avatar
kaptain_zero
 
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:50 am
Location: Winnipeg, Canada


Return to For Beginners (if you're just getting started in RC)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests

cron