Chargers Upgrading my charger

[sneezy007]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading my charger. The two chargers I'm looking at are the iCharger 406 duo and the Revolectrix GT 1000 duo. The GT 1000 comes with a 2 year warranty and lifetime free repairs. You also get 20% off lipo batteries for life with Revolectrix.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Smoggie]

They both look like great chargers, there are pros and cons of both.

The GT1000 Duo wins on raw charge power though as it's capable of 2000W vs 1400W for the icharger. Obviously this is only an issue if you plan on using all that power and have a power supply man enough but it is a significant difference. Revolectrix's excellent reputation for reliability and (if you are in the right part of the world) their after sales service is good too.

The GT1000 being the 'simplified' version of the PL6 lacks a few of the more advanced customisation features that can be found in the iCharger but to be honest that's not an issue for 99% of users. The iCharger has a more advanced and data rich display, which is nice but maybe not a deal maker or breaker. One feature I regularly use on my iCharger that the Revolectrix chargers dont support is cross channel resistive discharge, that is I hook a high power resistor (a hairdryer in my case) to one channel and I can discharge several batteries in parallel at 1000W from the other channel. Maybe not everyone would find use of this but it's one feature that personally I'd struggle to be without.

It's a hard call between the two but i'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed either way so I dont really think you can go wrong. If you have access to local Revolectrx after sales service then that could be the clincher, and the battery discount is good too if you can source them.

 

[Tony]

I agree with what Steve just stated. I never knew about the cross channel resistive discharge, but that sounds like an AWESOME feature. If you had a very low car battery, I would assume you could connect that up to the other side of the duo as well and charge that sucker up while discharging your other packs. Dammit Steve, now I want a duo!!! lmao.

 

[sneezy007]

They both look like great chargers, there are pros and cons of both.

The GT1000 Duo wins on raw charge power though as it's capable of 2000W vs 1400W for the icharger. Obviously this is only an issue if you plan on using all that power and have a power supply man enough but it is a significant difference. Revolectrix's excellent reputation for reliability and (if you are in the right part of the world) their after sales service is good too.

The GT1000 being the 'simplified' version of the PL6 lacks a few of the more advanced customisation features that can be found in the iCharger but to be honest that's not an issue for 99% of users. The iCharger has a more advanced and data rich display, which is nice but maybe not a deal maker or breaker. One feature I regularly use on my iCharger that the Revolectrix chargers dont support is cross channel resistive discharge, that is I hook a high power resistor (a hairdryer in my case) to one channel and I can discharge several batteries in parallel at 1000W from the other channel. Maybe not everyone would find use of this but it's one feature that personally I'd struggle to be without.

It's a hard call between the two but i'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed either way so I dont really think you can go wrong. If you have access to local Revolectrx after sales service then that could be the clincher, and the battery discount is good too if you can source them.

Thanks very much for your comments Steve. I noticed that Revolectrix has an online store in Canada. I'll check that one out. The Revolectrix Singapore store says please choose Fedex for lipo batteries. That will probably make it cost prohibitive to import them from there since all their prices are in USD.

 

[Smoggie]

Let us know what you go for and how you like it.

FWIW my main charger is the iCharger 4010 Duo which I absolutely swear by. I've had it since shortly after the iCharger Duo chargers were introduced and it's never missed a beat and iI charge at it's full 80A /2000W output every time I use it. But equally I know guys who are every bit as keen on the Revolectix chargers and have just as good results from them.

The situation here in the UK is a little different to the US and Canada in that you guys have in country Revolectrix after sales support and repair service, that might make all the difference. We dont have that here so there really is no difference in terms of warantee or after sales support between the two brands for us Brits.

 

[sneezy007]

Let us know what you go for and how you like it.

FWIW my main charger is the iCharger 4010 Duo which I absolutely swear by. I've had it since shortly after the iCharger Duo chargers were introduced and it's never missed a beat and iI charge at it's full 80A /2000W output every time I use it. But equally I know guys who are every bit as keen on the Revolectix chargers and have just as good results from them.

The situation here in the UK is a little different to the US and Canada in that you guys have in country Revolectrix after sales support and repair service, that might make all the difference. We dont have that here so there really is no difference in terms of warantee or after sales support between the two brands for us Brits.

This is really a tough decision, both seem like really good chargers. Decisions, decisions.

 

[murankar]

I am a fan of the power labs. They offer a few different lines a budget and not so budget.

 

[sneezy007]

I am a fan of the power labs. They offer a few different lines a budget and not so budget.

I'm finding quite a few people that like the Revolectrix chargers.

 

[Geena]

I prefer the FMA chargers too. I have the Powerlab dual PL8, and it`s a monster work horse. I can charge two 12s 4500mAh stick packs in about 13-14 minutes, and it doesn`t even break a sweat. However, you also can`t go wrong with the i-charger either. The 4010 duo, is a bad to the bone piece of equipment.

 

[murankar]

One thing that turned me on to them is their power protection on the input side. If you run server power supplies and one dies the powerlab will stop charging batteries.

Icharger from what I know does not have this feature, unless it's been updated.

 

[Smoggie]

One thing that turned me on to them is their power protection on the input side. If you run server power supplies and one dies the powerlab will stop charging batteries.

Icharger from what I know does not have this feature, unless it's been updated.

Yeah, I was told something similar. If you are running dual 'in series' server power supplies and one trips apparently it can damage an iCharger. Having said that, that very thing has happened to me with my iCharger and no damage was done, so if it's true at all it's a 'risk' not a certainty.

It's relatively easy to avoid by using a single or parallel wired power supply rather than series. You can also get a protection circuit for series supplies that detects if one trips and shuts down the other: Protection 1 - Coolice Charge Cases & Power Supplies . Personally I just use a single 3000W power supply, so it's not an issue.

 

[sneezy007]

I prefer the FMA chargers too. I have the Powerlab dual PL8, and it`s a monster work horse. I can charge two 12s 4500mAh stick packs in about 13-14 minutes, and it doesn`t even break a sweat. However, you also can`t go wrong with the i-charger either. The 4010 duo, is a bad to the bone piece of equipment.

That's very impressive Geena, is that at 1C? I have my eye on the GT 1000 duo.

 

[Smoggie]

That's very impressive Geena, is that at 1C? I have my eye on the GT 1000 duo.

Actually for a high end charger 1C not even getting out of first gear. To charge those two packs at 1C would need 453W.. Geena's charger is capable of 2000W on 6S packs, so they can be charged at 4C, hence the 15 minute charge time I guess.

Most weekends I'm simultaneously charging 10 x 6S 5000mAh and a couple of 6S 3850mAh... That maxes out my chargers 2000W but it's still charging at about 1.4C so the 12 batteries are charged in about 40 minutes or less.

 

[Geena]

Yes, Sneezy. Smoggie is 100% correct. But...just bcause I can charge them at 4C, dosen`t mean I always do. For a day at the local field, 1- 1.5 C charge is more than enough to keep me flying back to back. I do the 4C thing at events, when I`m pressed for time to get demo flights in. I recommend 1C charge rates for safety`s sake. Especially if you are charging at home.

 

[sneezy007]

Yes, Sneezy. Smoggie is 100% correct. But...just bcause I can charge them at 4C, dosen`t mean I always do. For a day at the local field, 1- 1.5 C charge is more than enough to keep me flying back to back. I do the 4C thing at events, when I`m pressed for time to get demo flights in. I recommend 1C charge rates for safety`s sake. Especially if you are charging at home.

Good to know Geena, I always charge at 1C at home.