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Hobbyking Parallel charging Board for 6 packs 2~6S (XT-60)
Our very own in-house designed and built parallel charge board! Now you can charge SIX (2~6S) lipo packs with same capacity & cell count simultaneously with this parallel charging board. That means you can charge 6 3S 2200mAh or more at the same time with a standard charger!
You need a 4mm banana plug to xt60 connector www.link then it will work well with your Imax b6ac for charging 3s lipos.
The other alternative is to just replace the xt60 connector with 4mm banana plugs directly.
Don't expect to be able to charge 6 3s lipos with your Imax though. It's only a 50w charger, so you'll only be able to charge two 3s lipos at a 1C charge rate. (2 x 11.4V x 2.2 A).
If you want to charge more batteries at the same time or at a higher charge rate you'll need a more powerful charger.
11.4V is wrong, you need 12.6V. With the Imax B6 you can't even charge two of your batteries at a full 1C. As said above, it is only a 50W charger. 12.6V x 2.2A x 2 is more than 50W so better look for a stronger charger.
I appreciate your replies. I have 4 batteries for my DJI Phantom quad. I've been using the stock DJI charger and also the Imax B6. It isn't a great hassle to charge these, basically 2 at a time, but now I'm getting 4 more batteries. Unless you can suggest an economical and stronger charger, I think I'll just order a second B6. This would also give me a bit of extra insurance in case a charger fails.
What do you think?
Not a bad idea buying another B6 but let me suggest buying an icharger 106 or even higher. With this beast you could charge 6x 3S2200mAh at once. With two parallel boards and your old B6 you'd be able to charge all your batteries at once (bit less than 1C with the B6)as long as your power supply is strong enough (~250W or better). I think the icharger is by far the best charger for the money.
Even though at the moment I only fly a 450 Heli that uses 3s batteries I bought an iCharger 206 as in a year or so I can see myself getting a 500/550 or maybe a 600 heli needing big 6s packs so I spent more short term to save in the long run. Do you see yourself needing to charge bigger packs in the near future? If so 2x B6 won't cut it.
OK, just to be perfectly clear :)
The iCharger 106 is 250w, so I'll be able to add a parallel board and charge 6 x 2200 3s while I also charge 2 batteries with a second parallel boards using the B6. Correct?
To do this, what additional connectors will I need?
jeremy: Your suggestion makes sense but I have no plan to get a larger quad. Then again, I had no plan before I got the Phantom.....
Correct. The paraboard has an XT60 connector and a 6S balance connector which plugs directly into the 106 or the B6. So all you got to do is connect your batteries using XT60 and jst balance plugs to the board and then the board with XT60 and 6S-jst to the charger. Therefore, all you need is a charging lead 4mm banana to XT60.
Jeremy: thanks for that tip* I wasn't aware the iCharger needs a PSU (which I assume is a power supply). With the parallel board out of stock, plus the need & cost of an additional PSU and cables, I'm leaning toward my original idea of just getting another B6. Easier to travel with also.
Sorry for the acronym PSU = Power Supply Unit. You can use a car battery to power the iCharger, this is for use at the field, but of course you need a car battery in the first place. The iCharger is a great unit but the costs with parallel board, leads & PSU :) do mount up. This hobby hits the credit card hard :)
you can just rob a power supply from an old PC, they have a decent stabilised 12v source and I've used it with my 4 button charger and charged 4 2200, 3s at once no problems...
Hobby King, you have totally blown it on the description on parallel charging products. Can we get the "Note: The batteries should have same capacity." corrected to read "Note: The batteries must all have the same cell count" Your comment about the same capacity is wrong and your 'Note:' should have a far more important warning about the danger of mixing cell count/voltages on this and other parallel boards and products. You can change the "(2~6S) lipo packs with same capacity & cell count" to "(1-6s) lipo packs with the same cell count". The "standard charger" you refer to, is it a 50/60 watt charger that you have so many of? To charge the "six 3s 2200mAh or more" at say 1C would require a charger to charge at 13 Amps or 300 watts which is far from your 'standard'. Granted you could use a 50 watt charger but the charge would be 6 hours instead of one hour so you are misleading by your omissions. Too bad when the "in house design" people don’*t understand the dangers and normal operation of their ‘*own’* product. As you might see from some of the discussions, you have a lot of people misinformed and confused about your potentially dangerous product if used incorrectly. Can we have someone who knows what they are talking about rewrite this and other parallel product descriptions and warnings?
Well said. They should just omit "same capacity" in the description and change their note to "batteries should have same level of discharge (voltage)when connected".
common sense...
plug a 24v and 12 battery together and boom...
capacity is not a problem, i've charged 1800 and 2200s together, as the standard 4 button chager charges to correct cell voltage...
Hi Kyle, This is PARALLEL charging, not serial as you seem to have in your mind. Please tell us of your experience and I bet it was a serial issue. Parallel charging, different capacities OK, different voltages NOT OK. Serial charging, different voltages OK, different capacities NOT OK, Sharkey9 is correct.
Mikoyan, to confirm, your 3s packs add up to 7000 mAh so 1C would be 7 amps so at 6 amps, as per Sharkey9, you are ok.
Kyle. Nothing to do with balance port/leads. The lack of them did not cause your cell to get ‘*trashed’*. A ONE cell lipo PARALLEL charged with another ONE cell lipo of ANY size (mAh) is perfectly fine. If you had your 125 mAh 1s battery in parallel with say a 1000 mAh 1s battery, you can charge them in parallel as a 1,125 mAh 1s pack. If you wish to charge them at 1C and all packs will accept a 1C charge and they are all relatively close to being at the same level of discharge, you can charge them together at the combined mAh capacity as in this case, 1.1 Amp or 1C. They will both charge together and reach full charge together providing they are all healthy cells. The smaller cell will not immediately charge and then burn out while the larger pack is charging. Voltage flows, capacity does not. The packs will constantly equalize voltages throughout the charge process and will reach the 4.2v full charge together . Same story charging three 125s and three 1000s for 3375 mAh or about 3.4 amps for a 1C charge of six one cell batteries. HOWEVER, If you had put your 1s in parallel with a 2s or greater pack, you WILL have fried the 1s immediately as the voltages will try to equalize beyond what the 1s cell will take. As Sharky said, all been discussed before,
Mustafa, you are wrong about 'mah' must have the same values. That being said, Hobby King is also wrong with their "Note: The batteries should have same capacity". Wish they would correct that! If you disagree, do your own research but you will find that Sharky9, Alex, Hellyflyer who have discussed this many times in this and other discussions are correct.
yes, those two were wrong. I've been following the string, and I will go with Dmaan on this. His answers are consistent with my short experience and everything I learned about electricity in school. There is in fact a lot of misunderstanding expressed in these comments, which is understandable, due to most people having no training in electronics - but especially because HK's sales language about capacity and number of cells in series is wrong and they haven't taken steps to correct it. In addition, they continue to incorrectly describe the IMAX B6AC charger as having no integral power supply in spite of the confusion and repeated questions it is causing. JG
Hello. One question please. Lets say i want to charge 4 lipos 3S 2200 maH 40C. I set my charger to 4x2.2, 8.800 maH balance ok? But about the sells option? It must be 3S 8800 maH? or not? Thank you
You are charging in parallel so voltage remains the same as for 1 battery so 3s. The charge rate should be 1C so you set the charger to 8.8A in your case.
In short set your charger to 3s 8.8A.
Does that help with your question?
When using this board to charge two 3S 2200mAh 35C, I can select in the charge the "balance mode"? And what voltage shoud I put? 3S or 6S? Best answer I credit.
Yes, choose balance mode and all cells will be balanced.
If you are charging two 2200mah, then change the Amp setting on your charger to 4.4A to charge at 1C.
necesitará* un cargador bueno que la baterí*a má*s potente puede cobrar má*s. Tengo el Turnigy 6 y llevar 4 pilas 1,3 de la nanotecnologí*a.
Si se trataba de baterí*a llevo dos 2.2-
The board has six connections for each size (2-6s) battery and one cable to connect the board to a 6s port on a charger. You do NOT need to buy any cables.
La placa tiene seis conexiones para cada tamañ*o (2-6s) de la baterí*a y un cable para conectar la placa a un puerto 6s en un cargador. Usted no necesita comprar cualquier cable.
Paralell Charging board. Batteries must have the same discharge rate and milliamp rating or the cells will not balance properly. The combined milliamp rating of all your packs should not exceed your power supply or charger capacity.
That's wrong, sorry. Regarding charging, DIScharge rate is totally irrelevant for any battery-charger-board-whatever combination. What you call milliamp rating is called capacity and is also irrelevant for parallel charging. Read below what Alexander wrote, that is all you need and totally correct.
again Tony you have posted your answer in the question section, so you need to click on reply below the question to get the Cr. Hope this helps for all future answers. Cheers
i have 6 batteries they are all 3s but there a 1000mah,2000,3000,4000,5000 and a 6000mah so on this board i can charge them all at the same time correct just as long as there all 3s
You can charge any capacity with any capacity, the cell count should be the same.
The only thing you should be VERY careful about is that the batteries have almost the same state of charge. To insure that measure the voltage over your batteries - if the difference is below 0.3V per cell (.9v for 3s) then you're good to go. Connect the power plug first, wait for a minute or more (the current between batteries to settle) and then connect balance plugs and start charging.
Google for "How-To: Parallel Charging" for more info about that. Good luck.
Is anyone aware of a battery holder for PRODUCT ID: N160.1S.25T0 other than the nine eagle one that would plug into this board then i can charge those as well as my others ?
Yes sure, you wrote CAPACITY, that is not C-rating.
C-rating means x-times capacity for maximum current. For example, a 20C 2200mAh pack can be discharged with a maximum of 20 x 2.2A. In your first answer, you wrote capacity does not matter but that's wrong, packs must have same capacity but can have different C-ratings.
Sharkey9, you said that " Packs MUST have same capacity." Sorry, you are wrong. A 5000 mAh pack and a 3000 pack in PARALLEL will look like and act like a 8000 mAh pack. As long as cell count the same, you are good to go.
Hideo, you are indeed correct unless some of these guys are confusing Parallel and Serial or voltage/cells with capacity /mAh. Tony, a 5Ah and a 3Ah battery in PARALLEL will look like a 8Ah battery to the charger and all is well. If your charger can output 8 amps at the voltage then you will be charging both packs at 1C.
So the gist of it is, you can only balance charge one battery at a time, once you hook up more than one battery into this device the voltage across the balance plug will end up being whatever the voltage comes too when the cells are in parallel, so if you plug in 6 batteries and some of these batteries have the odd lower voltage in a cell then when you charge it will not give the correct amps to that individual lower voltage cell.....this will also mean if a cell dies during charging none of the cells will get charged correctly that are on the plug/cell count parallel to the dead cell???
Or does it mean when you hook them into parallel you will have a massive in-rush current to the lower voltage cells from the other batteries through the balance plugs that will balance out the cell voltages but potentially destroy the battery due to the balance plugs not being designed to take the massive initial current, hence the recommendations to use similar discharged batteries which of course you won’*t know what the individual cell voltages are unless you check them with a lipo cell checker before you plug them in.
I need to charge 16 x 8400mah batteries at a time and this sounds like a great idea to hook into my Turnigy 4 port charger and charge them overnight but at the same time it sounds like an easy way to destroy some $80each batteries real quick. If they weren’*t Lipos that are being used in high current situations and need to be carefully balance charged each time to ensure their longevity I would not care but seeing as I want more than 60 charges out of them I may have to give this a miss if the above is correct. Aside from that I don’*t want the problem if one of these batteries goes nuclear next to the rest of them, nothing like the damage a 8400mah lipo could do let alone 16 of them.
Well you are right. These parallel charging boards are not designed for keeping your batteries in good condition. They are just meant to charge many packs fast, thus sacrificing care and safety. When using these boards, make sure you set your cut-off voltage quite low or don't use balancing at all, for use in-the-field. At home, charge your batteries separately.
Thank you Welgar, I do have power adapters that would work. I am asking if HK makes a board that has the Hyperion / Poly Quest balance pugs. I have this board and it works great. It has also helped me revive dead batteries when charging them with live batteries, I think this is a great product, just hoping that it comes in a version that handles different types of balance plugs. Does HK have a board like this to fit Poly Quest / Hyperion balance plugs? What about Thunder Power (TP)?
Thanks for the info on the jst-xh 6s balance lead cable.
Does HK have a board like this for XT/60 to Poly Quest Hyperion. Where can I order one?
Does anyone know what the cable that connects this board to the charger is and can I order it independent of the board?
The board is connected to the charger with 2 different cables, one is the charge cable (xt60) that is soldered to the board and other one is jst-xh to jst-xh 6s balance lead cable. If you have xt60 plugs in your batteries you can order some jst-xh - polyquest adapters and use this board with them.
Can HB please upload a video tutorial for using this Parallel charging Board?
I have 2 x (3s 2200mah).. When I have connected both of the balancer and xt60. Setting on my charger is 'Lipo balance' > 4.4a , 11.1V(3s) and after I activate it, it gives a ' INPUT VOL ERR' . Any ideas ?
C (charge rate)is irrelevant. Voltage and capacity is the point (mAh and V). Also, all batteries should be around the same level of charge before loading. To be safe, connect them to the board and let them rest for around 10 minutes before starting the charge process.
in simple words, are my calculations are correct :
if i want to charge 2 lipo 3S 2200mah at the same time so i must set to my charge amp unit to 4,4a (2,2 x 2) or still 2,2?
if iwant to chrage 3 lipo 3S 2200mah so imust set 6,6a (2,2 x 3)?
am i correct or wrong?
i don't think so,because if i charge 2 or 3 packs
parallel, the charger charges for one-
the display shows z.b.: lipo 2s/3s/..,11,9V...62pcnt!you don't say to charger : -two packs,okay,load 6s!! its like before,but the chargepower is only half,6600 is good!
Customer Reviews
Overall Rating
Helno
13 likes
Value
UNRATED
Quality
UNRATED
2 thumbs up!
Got the charging board today. All connections look good.
Only 4 stars because the polarity of the main leads to the board are reversed. The red wire is connected to the negative side and vice versa.
13 comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
Blue Angel
1315 likes
Value
UNRATED
Quality
UNRATED
Like it?
Mine came today, and it looks great. Good quality board.
Works as advertised.
A other user warned about wrong polarity of the main connection.
Mine came like in the picture and everything was right.
Just check it, before use.
5 stars
6 comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
busher
141 likes
Value
UNRATED
Quality
UNRATED
Like it?
Good adapter board,no polarity issues as per above customer. Would like to see it housed in a plastic box, but I guess that would put up the cost. This is a very good value for money product,allowing multiple packs to be charged at once.
No comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
ubayrakci
29 likes
Value
UNRATED
Quality
UNRATED
Like it?
It works perfect, especially at the field. But you have to be careful, all your lipos charge rate should be same. I tried to charge 3* 3S Rhino 1050 mah with RC Power Bc6. First battery was 3.79, second one 3.85 and the last one 3.90. After charging the last one was 12.5V , second one 12.5V, first one 12.4V.
I advice you that every 5 cycle of your lipos with this parrallel charging balance your battery one by one.
Excellent parallel charging board. Very useful for ichargers and other high power chargers. The wires are 14AWG and will take the max current. Solid connection with XT60 connectors. These are original TGY XT60. Soldering job below the PCB is good and SOLID. No dry solders or wrong connections. I got mine with perfect connections. The plusve and -ve were connected correctly. Light and small to be carried in the field box.
I am charging 4 X 3cell 2200 mah Turnigy Nanotech packs at full 20 Amps using my icharger 208B. It is charging and balancing perfectly.
However, the only thing that you need to take care of is that the battery voltages should be at similar levels. Since I always balance my packs, all the individual cells are usually at the same levels. Charging batteries which are at different charge levels/voltages may not result into VISIBLE damage, but surely degrades the life of the cells as the cells at HIGHER voltage discharge to the lower voltage cells to equalize the voltage/potential.
Hence, it is strongly recommended to charge multiple batteries in parallel only if they are sitting at almost similar voltage levels. For Eg: A battery at 11.1v may be charged with a battery at 11.2v. (also the individual cells levels should be checked) But it is not advisable to charge a battery at 11.1V along with a battery at 12.2V
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