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alright, i'm finally gonna get myself some lipos. there's a couple chargers out there that i have my eye on, but would like to hear from some of you guys what you use, or what you have heard is a decent charger.

i know alot of chargers are ac/dc. but, i have a power supply, so i could go dc only without a problem. one thing to remember, i don't race anymore, or even feel like charging a pack up to run something outside half the time. so, i don't need top of the line, but don't want a POS either.

I've got a couple of 'Venom (0657)Pro chargers w/power supply'. Work great! A bit salty, pricwise. As long as you get a charger that can balance cells, that is what is important, imo.

I use this one but I dont like the seperate power supply you have to use?
I will make you a deal on it
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPYT8

I want to get this one before the Vonats

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUAB8&P=7

i had one of those checkpoint chargers. i got it after i had already gotten my c.e. turbo35 w/ lipo upgrade, so i sold it. then, i sold the c.e. so now i need a new one.

A lot of folks use these at the local track: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXTCK1&P=ML
And at $80 I've been thinking of getting one as a backup.
You need an external balancer, but I use one of these as they can be used for all sorts of lipos (plane, heli, car): http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMRZ9&P=ML
The balancer depends on the type of lipos you want to get of course.
I made the leap about 2 years ago and it's great. I can charge my lipos at the end of the day, put them away, and just pull them out any time and run. I think the most I've seen any of my packs drop is about 30mah, and that was after 3 months of sitting. No more cycling!!

I use a MRC 989... I love it for powering my lathe, breaking in brushes, and charging anything I can find. A lot of people gripe about them, but I have never had a problem. There are a lot of chargers in that price range to choose from, so I am not advocating the 989... just sayin'.

I just bought one of these last week. I don't have any lipos yet but I'll be ready to go when I do get some. I'm not sure what the current state of the art is but the features on it impressed me: 5 different battery memory, balancer, external temp monitoring and this squid thing. Of course now that I go to the racers edge website its nowhere to be found so I guess I'll see.

I've been running the Duratrax Onyx 230 (same as Jeff referenced) for 4 years and it's been great.

I have one of these:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6792
it is small, relatively inxpensive, has a built in balancer and will charge all types of batteries.

there is a long discussion on rcgroups about this line of chargers with regular participation from the manufacturer:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839657
it seems well supported.

I have the Hobbywing Thunder AC6 and an Onyx 230. The Thunder AC6 is awesome and incredibly cheap, pricewise. The Onyx is fine, too.

I have ordered several times from these folks with no problems:

http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html

This is the same internally as the Epic I-balance, just $150 cheaper!

I have an ac6 that is completely shot, due to either a bad component on the board, or a bad nimh battery. I can't tell you which after the fact, but I highly suspect the nimh pack, as it was a no name brand, and it pretty much was dead when i got it, I beleive it took out the charger, but not sure. I never got to really use it.

so the ac6 can be a good charger, a friend uses one many times a week for charging lipo's for foamie ariplanes, but I didn't have good luck.

instead of trying to get another ac6 (I waited too long to try it out and missed my warranty period), I picked this one up, which is DC only:
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7028&Product_Name=Turnigy_Accucel-6_50W_6A_Balancer/Charger_w/_accessories

my other friend also charges lipo's many times a week with this charger, and while it's dc only, you can get a cheap brick to run it. I've tested mine out a couple times, but it seem's like you, I haven't really run much these days......

fwiw.......

all the chargers pretty much share the same architecture, it just depends on which company you decide to go with.

triton eq.

i have the triton jr which is only 12v and has no balancer(i use a blinky). it's been spot on. all my friends recently got the eq and it's all my jr is and more for the same price.

for price, i've had my eye on the thunder ac6. like i said, i rarely charge up a battery and go run a car outside just for the hell of it anymore. so being as though it'll be used more for keeping juice in the packs while they sit there than it will at a track, no sense in dropping a ton of money.

but i've also been eyeing up the hyperion eos0606i. the ac/dc or dc only version, doesn't matter.

I personally use a Hyperion e606 and and a Max Pro X6

http://cgi.ebay.com/Maxpro-X6-Plus-Charger-2-6S-Lipo-150W-8A-Servo-tester-/250667432327?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item3a5cf17987

I like the MaxPro better cause it'll charge up to 8 amps, and I can adjust the MAH and amps seperately. Most will automatically charge at 1s (5amps if you put in a 5000mah rating in the menu) but this one has more adjustability.

If you don't already have a power supply, I would just go after the Onyx. I know a lot of guys that use those with no problems.

you know what makes a decision so hard? most chargers on the market today look sooooo cheap, most look the same, and the prices are all over the map. you can look at that turnigy charger for around $20, and look at a hyperion for $90, and wonder what is really different between them?

I know what you mean. I recently read an article about the same chargers being manufactured under different names with different prices.
I'm not to keen on Venom products, but I heard good things about the prochargers so I got one (liked it so much, I got another). Its great, has biult in power supply, balancer, crap load of plug adapters, Its programmable (five batteries), has a temp sensor, it can charge nicad, nimh, lipo, li Ion, Li fe, and lead acid. Charge rate from .1A-5.0 amps. Compact size 1"x5 1/2x3" 3/4".

Good luck, hope you get the charger that fits your needs.