BCP 3-cell Battery; what charger

[New-heli-pilot]

Ive just got a 3 cell Li-po for my BCP, actually Ive had it since Christmas but I just now started thinking about getting theblade fixed, and flying it. Anyways, what charger should I get for it. My budget is kind of tight right now so I was wondering what the cheapest is I can get away with. The charger wont have to last forever, just for a few months till I need one for bigger Lipos.

Thanks
John

[Daz(DJLFlapper)]

There is only one charger for lipos that competes for price and quality that I would recommend. I even have one myself after reading about it in the rotorworld mag. It is Called the cellpro 4S, it is a great charger capable of charging many different packs. You will have to change out the ballancer lead that your pack carries as I did but this is straight forward enough.

Here is the link to the sales shop online. WWW.Aurorra.co.uk

Have a look at it. Like I said, I use it and for the money it is a very nice peice of Kit.

[New-heli-pilot]

Thanks Daz, looks like a good charger, but are there any U.S. stores that sell it. The FedEx shipping is pretty high, and I dont know how fast World Airmail is.

What everyone's opinions on the E-Flite chargers. I know you get what you pay for in this hobby, but I am pretty limited right now.


Thanks again,
John

[Daz(DJLFlapper)]

Hi John,

I am affraid I don't know about E-flight chargers, But world airmail is not that slow these days. I would be very suprised if it took longer than 14 days to reach you if you ordered one. I do know that FMA ship to the US on a regular basis. I would E-mail them and ask if they have a rep in the USA that you could purchase there product from. You could also ask them how much it is likely to cost if you had a unit posted out.

What I will say is the unit is very good, It is simple to use and it does everything for you. Some of the other plus points are that it is not a unit that is too big to carry with you if going anywhere. It is well made and you can put your pack on charge as soon as you finish useing it. It will charge your pack and you can use it straight away, No waiting for it to cool. I have done just this and have never had a hot pack to date. the pack is cool at the end of the charge and the unit ballances the cells every charge. It shows you the state of each cell at the push of a button. The instructions are very good and easy to understand, Even down to telling you how to best look after your li/po when useing it in cold weather conditions.

I know that I have ordered things from over seas that have looked worth the effort and have been happy. I would say that as long as you order the ballance leads at the same time to adapt your battery/ies then you will be happy you did order it. But I had to get some heat shrink first to sheild the leads that I soldered.

Sorry I can't be more help.

[Danimal]

Hay John
Since your just looking for a temporary charger that you can use until you can get a better one and you don't want to mess with over seas shipping. You might want to check out Align's Balance chargers. They make a pretty decent little charger that's affordable enough that it wont brake the budget. These balance chargers aren't as feature loaded as the one that Daz has recommended but they do a good job balancing the cells and keeping your Li-Po's in good condition. I've been using the 3CX for almost a year now on my TP battery's and have been vary happy with the way it has preformed. Just like you I got the charger as a temporary until I could afford something better. Just thought you might like to see another inexpensive option.
http://www.helidirect.com/index.php?cPath=116

[New-heli-pilot]

Any idea if I would have to change the balance leads on my battery for that charger? Not a big deal if I would for either charger, I've had to do it before.

Thank you both for the chargers,
John

[Danimal]

I don't what kind of balance connector is on the Li-Po you want to charge but it would probably be easer to just buy the proper adapter than it would be to replace the connector that's on your battery. You can probably find what you need to make what ever charger you decide to go with work with your battery on one of these two pages at Heli Direct.
http://www.helidirect.com/index.php?cPath=88

[uneverno]

Hey John,
I quite like my Triton Jr. charger in combo with their balancer (on the link Danimal posted). Combo runs about $ 100 and will charge up to 5 cells. Only thing I didn't like was that the output wires from the balancer weren't coded, so figuring out how to wire for my TP packs was a little tricky. If you decide to go that route, I can let you know how to wire the output for your packs as well as where you can get adapters.

I really liked the look of the one Daz posted - I mentioned to him that if I were in the market, that's the route I'd go. Only downside for us is long distance service. I have a feeling they'll make it across the pond fairly soon though.