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I created a blog on the titled battery chargers but think it may be more useful here, in the beginners section.
Please bare in mind that this information is for the starter who is not currently interested in parallel or series charging and just want to get going. I have an 80W charger for 3s and below ( non-fan cooled) and a 200W fan cooled for my 6s batteries. The fan is dreadfully noisy and on all the time (hence keeping the 80W.
Today I’m going to talk about chargers.
Most beginners to the hobby will be looking for a simple ‘plug it in the mains’ all in one charger typically because they don't want the complication or cost of a separate charger and Power Supply Unit (PSU).
Typical reasonably priced AC/DC chargers are 50W, 80W and 200W. 80W chargers hit at around £40-50 whilst a 200W charger will cost about £80-90.
The advertising blurb will often state the maximum current. Like the 80W will be 6A. But this doesn’t mean maximum over all voltages.
Let me explain: The charger has a POWER rating and for now we’ll say that’s 80W. We’ll also round off the charge voltage figures for when the battery is charging full bore.
To charge a 3s battery the charge voltage is around the 12V mark so we’ll call it 12V. Divide Watts by Volts to get current. So an 80W charger can charge a 3s battery at a maximum of 80/12 = 6.6A. Call it 6A. Charger will get HOT unless fan cooled.
To charge a 6s battery the charge voltage is around the 24V mark so we’ll call it 24V. Divide Watts by Volts to get current. So an 80W charger can charge a 6s battery at a maximum of 80/24 = 3.3A. Call it 3A. This is going to make the charger HOT unless it’s fan cooled.
This whole thing of reducing current as the charge voltage gets higher is called ‘de-rating’. 6A is the maximum rated output on a 3s. To go higher in voltage you need to de-rate that maximum current to stay within the power rating of the charger.
Obviously, if you want to charge a 6s battery at 6A you are going to require 24*6 = 144W of power, way outside the rating of the charger. To protect itself the charger will ‘fold-back’ it’s output voltage to keep the power within proper limits. This won’t charge your battery as the voltage will fall below the battery voltage.
Hope that is of some help. Calculate what your charger can do before whacking it with a current requirement it can’t manage.
Please bare in mind that this information is for the starter who is not currently interested in parallel or series charging and just want to get going. I have an 80W charger for 3s and below ( non-fan cooled) and a 200W fan cooled for my 6s batteries. The fan is dreadfully noisy and on all the time (hence keeping the 80W.
Today I’m going to talk about chargers.
Most beginners to the hobby will be looking for a simple ‘plug it in the mains’ all in one charger typically because they don't want the complication or cost of a separate charger and Power Supply Unit (PSU).
Typical reasonably priced AC/DC chargers are 50W, 80W and 200W. 80W chargers hit at around £40-50 whilst a 200W charger will cost about £80-90.
The advertising blurb will often state the maximum current. Like the 80W will be 6A. But this doesn’t mean maximum over all voltages.
Let me explain: The charger has a POWER rating and for now we’ll say that’s 80W. We’ll also round off the charge voltage figures for when the battery is charging full bore.
To charge a 3s battery the charge voltage is around the 12V mark so we’ll call it 12V. Divide Watts by Volts to get current. So an 80W charger can charge a 3s battery at a maximum of 80/12 = 6.6A. Call it 6A. Charger will get HOT unless fan cooled.
To charge a 6s battery the charge voltage is around the 24V mark so we’ll call it 24V. Divide Watts by Volts to get current. So an 80W charger can charge a 6s battery at a maximum of 80/24 = 3.3A. Call it 3A. This is going to make the charger HOT unless it’s fan cooled.
This whole thing of reducing current as the charge voltage gets higher is called ‘de-rating’. 6A is the maximum rated output on a 3s. To go higher in voltage you need to de-rate that maximum current to stay within the power rating of the charger.
Obviously, if you want to charge a 6s battery at 6A you are going to require 24*6 = 144W of power, way outside the rating of the charger. To protect itself the charger will ‘fold-back’ it’s output voltage to keep the power within proper limits. This won’t charge your battery as the voltage will fall below the battery voltage.
Hope that is of some help. Calculate what your charger can do before whacking it with a current requirement it can’t manage.
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