Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Monica Williams photo
South Africa, Pretoria
1 Level
465 Review
0 Karma

Review on HTRC LiPo Charger RC Battery Balance Discharger 150W 10A 1-6S AC/DC C150 For NiCd Li-Ion Life NiMH LiHV PB Smart Battery (White) by Monica Williams

Revainrating 4 out of 5

It works, but it's not foolproof. You still have to know what you're doing to use this

I was hoping that paying more money for a better charger would remove some of the foreknowledge needed to take care of these types of batteries. But you still have to program charge cycle yourself.Pros:- If you've got a battery for RC vehicles or airsoft guns, the cable squid is going to have connections for it as long as the connection isn't proprietary.- Can handle a wide variety/capacities/voltages- Does function as expected (as long as you set the program correctly).Cons:- You still need to set the charge rate and battery type yourself. The battery type is easy enough to read off the label, but the ideal charge rate is something you have to "know" how to set based on the amp-hours of your battery. From what I understand this formula is Charge Rate (in amps) = Total Battery Capacity (in amp hours) / (1 to 2 depending on how fast you need it to go). So a NiMH 3200 mAh battery should be charged at between 1.6 and 3.2 amps for the longest lifespan. But don't quote me on that. It would be nice if you could just put in the amp hours of your battery and it would choose like a "fast" or "lifespan" charge rate itself for all battery types.- Everything that can be loud on this device is loud. The keypress beeps are unnecessarily loud in particular, but you can turn them off in the settings, thank goodness. The fan is pretty powerful and runs at 100% while charging, so it sounds like a wetvac or perhaps even that RC plane that you're charging the battery for taking off, ironically. You'd think at this pricepoint the fan would ramp up as needed based on the temperature of the components, but I guess it's better safe than sorry.- The included cable case is nice to have, but it would've been even nicer if it could fit the charger itself as well or have some way to bundle it to the charger so you can pack everything easily. Also the velcro used to hold the case shut is unnecessarily strong, like, industrial 10lb velcro for no apparent reason.Conclusion: It functions but I'm not sure it's worth the premium pricing. Considering you still have to do the same stuff as you would for a more economical "smart" charger; all you get for your money is an LCD screen with some status information and maybe a bit more variety of battery compatibility.

img 1 attached to HTRC LiPo Charger RC Battery Balance Discharger 150W 10A 1-6S AC/DC C150 For NiCd Li-Ion Life NiMH LiHV PB Smart Battery (White) review by Monica Williams



Pros
  • Works way better then my old cheap one. The fan is a bit loud. Do wish it came with a temp prob.
Cons
  • The operation manual can be difficult to understand for beginners