View Full Version : E-flite 2s or 3S Balancing Li-Po Charger (EFLC3010)
Crashmaster
08-16-2009, 11:09 AM
Has anyone checked the cell volts? My lipo only charge to 3.92 each cell. That does not sound right. I think it should be 4.2
WJCJR1
08-16-2009, 11:11 AM
It should be to 4.2V ....
Is this all your LIPOS or just one?
Wayne
WJCJR1
08-16-2009, 11:20 AM
As a sidenote or two I was informed, whether true or not I have no personal experience with, this charger you reference is not the best charger and has damaged cells before. This was told to me by HobbyZone, LHS, I know no better and upgraded to the EFLC505.
Do you have a nice meter and does it tell you what each cell is? If you are taking the total and dividing by three this could be inaccurate. If you have one bad cell this could give you an overall low volt reading when it really is only one cell. Test each cell individualy with a multi-meter if nothing else.
Also the battery type may be an issue to and could've discharged a cell too low and rendered it not good. I had a Parkzone 1800 3S that had a momentary bad moment. Post flight one of the cells was .30V lower than the other two, BIG DIFFERENCE!
Some more thoughts for you,
Wayne
I enjoy the new Triton EQ charger... works great and have never had an issue. I have heard (but cant confirm) that the charger you mentioned doesnt completely charge the lipos.
kirch
08-16-2009, 06:54 PM
The charger should certainly charge to 4.20 volts per cell.
I have both the EFLC3010 that came with my Apprentice and the EFLC505. The 3010 works fine, but it is dreadfully slow (up to 2 hours to charge the 3200 mAh 3S batteries). I have no idea how it is progressing during the charge time.
The EFLC505 is a much better charger. It shows the total voltage and per cell voltage during the charge period. And it balance charges in under an hour.
I rarely use the EFLC3010 now because the 505 is so much better and faster. But I still use it occasionally when charging 2 packs at one time at the field. If I were to get another charger I would probably get one from Hobby City.
Crashmaster
08-17-2009, 11:02 AM
I called and spoke to E-Flite and they said that 3.9 were about all the charger was going to charge each cell. In addition, they said I should look into getting a better charger.
I have heard good things about the Thunder AC6 LiPo Charger. Think I might get it and hope it charges easc cell to 4.2 each.
My vote goes to the Triton EQ 2 ($130), charges upto 5s, comes with balance connectors for electricfly, TP, and EVO, can be plugged into the wall at home or connected to the car battery. Gives you starting voltage, how much mah your battery took back, charge time, and finishing voltage. Easy to read digial display thats reversed (can easily be read from a few feet away), and the display tilts so you can see it easier.
tkrahlin
08-17-2009, 01:12 PM
My vote goes to the Triton EQ 2 ($130)
I'm off to hunt one of these down.
Anything I should know?
Any quick setup tips or cautions?
Thanks,
Tim
towerhobbies carries them, I would go to commonsenserc.com and pick up one of their "all in one" charging cables. They have various ones but I would get the one that has the Deans ultra, EC3, and JST connectors... so you can charge nearly any lipo you use without having to play the change the connector game.
This one will charge the Blade mCX lipo as well
http://www.commonsenserc.com/product_info.php?cPath=32_39&products_id=1394
tkrahlin
08-21-2009, 08:24 PM
My vote goes to the Triton EQ 2...
I picked one of these up at my LHS and I’m loving it.
I had been using the Eflite-3010 that comes with the Apprentice and it called my batteries fully charged at 12.54v.
The first thing I noticed with the Triton EQ 2 is that it brings all the batteries up to 12.60v (while adding mAh) and does it quicker.
Happy your enjoying her... I love mine as well.
WJCJR1
08-21-2009, 08:49 PM
Good deal Tim! Fly more, charge less I see no problem with this.
Wayne
tkrahlin
08-30-2009, 12:53 PM
I enjoy the new Triton EQ charger... works great and have never had an issue. I have heard (but cant confirm) that the charger you mentioned doesnt completely charge the lipos.
ATIS,
The Triton 2 EQ I bought comes with10 battery types saved to memory. The docs say you can overwrite them with your own.
I managed to get #1 programmed for the LiPo 3s 1300mAh, but apparently, like the proverbial blind pig, I stumbled into it.
I’ve been messing with this half the day -- The Italian 49.9% of me is close to winning while my German inquiring mind wants to stick it out and get it right....
What the heck is the proper procedure?
no idea... never used the memory...Did you buy the Triton EQ or EQ 2?
tkrahlin
08-30-2009, 01:21 PM
no idea... never used the memory...Did you buy the Triton EQ or EQ 2?
The EQ 2
It's a great charger. I had been using the Eflite charger that comes with the Apprentice RTF plugged into a Dynamite 10-Amp 12vdc power supply.
The first thing I did with the Triton was put my 'fully charged' batteries on it and it brought them all up from 12.54 to 12.60.
After flying, I put the empties on the Triton and it fully charged them in half the time. It was taking up to 3-hours to charge a 3s x 11.1v x 3200mah on the Eflite.
It doesn't take much to dial in each battery on the Triton, but it would be nice to use those memory slots.
tkrahlin
08-30-2009, 02:13 PM
Got it.
After choosing the memory slot, I was using the ‘Battery Select” button to select the battery type.
Turns out it is all done using the wheel.
if yours has the wheel then you have the Triton EQ, the Triton EQ 2 has the 4 push buttons (which is the one I have, no memory). Happy you figured it out, even happier that your lipos are finally being topped off and your getting good power and flight times.
tkrahlin
08-30-2009, 04:56 PM
if yours has the wheel then you have the Triton EQ, the Triton EQ 2 has the 4 push buttons (which is the one I have, no memory). Happy you figured it out, even happier that your lipos are finally being topped off and your getting good power and flight times.
This is the one I have: Triton2 EQ AC/DC Charger (http://www.electrifly.com/chargers/gpmm3156.html) (GPMM3156)
Chargers: http://www.electrifly.com/charger.html
.
.
ok, I stand corrected...I have the Triton EQ2.....
WJCJR1
08-30-2009, 05:48 PM
Yeah Tim glad to see you getting a full battery charge. I do like my E-Flite 1S-5S charger although it doesn't have all the fancy whistles it balances great and yes charging time is nothing compared to that dreadful get-you-by stock charger.
A couple people at the field use that stock charger all the time and report no trouble and full charges every time, little slow yes but a good charge nonetheless. However a couple other guys at the same airfield with the same battery type report nothing but incomplete charges and even a couple batteries ruined that they feel was directly related to the charger.
I did not want to play roulette and for soemone who felt it was a good enough charger I sold it to them at a very reasonable price, no complaints yet so maybe it's luck of the draw? Or maybe Tim it's you and I want to FLY and not wait 3 hours/charge.
Wayne
kirch
08-31-2009, 09:25 PM
The first thing I did with the Triton was put my 'fully charged' batteries on it and it brought them all up from 12.54 to 12.60.
I just had a similar experience today. I flew my T28D a lot today (4 flights in the morning and 5 in the evening) and I ended up using all my chargers (the ones that came with the Apprentice, the T28D BNF and my EFLC505).
The cheap chargers only charged to about 4.17 volts per cell. I topped them up with the EFLC505 and I figure it put in an additional 3-5% of the 2200 mAh battery capacity. Not a huge amount given the reserves I keep on my batteries, but measurable none the less.
Still ... it went much faster charging with 3 chargers today.
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