Hi guys.
I would like to buy my first 4-6s smart charger. I would like to spend around 50-60euro/$. I live in Europe.
I am looking for a reliable, small, discharge and internal resistance measure functions charger. Generally I charge my 1s batteries with 0.4-0.5A and I intend to do the same with my future 4-6s batteries , so the highest fast charge is not interesting for me. I do not hurry because I plan to buy a 4-6s drone in summer.

Searching over the internet I have found different opinions so I would like to post on this forum to ask for your experiences.
So far I like ( in this order) the
-ToolkitRC M7( the AC version is double the price and Ii do not know if it is worth it),
-ISDT Q6 Nano/ Air 8
-Skyrc Neo B6.

Which should I buy, or maybe some new versions of chargers will arrive this year and is best to wait.
Thanks.

I have ISDT for years. Never an issue. I also have the older Skyrc charger that everyone used to clone. As for the ToolkitRC, I never had any experience with them. The reason the AC version cost double is it can be plugged into a wall outlet. While the other charger will require some kind of DC power supply. So you will need to consider a PSU as part of your budget if you don't already have one.

Personally, I just repurpose a computer PSU. Other options for PSU, laptop charger, server PSU etc.

Thanks for reply.

If you can't afford a power supply for a DC charger a 12V car battery will work just as well (and two of them in series will sometimes work better, if the charger supports an input range over 25V - not all do).

I run SkyRC chargers across the board. I have the new iMax B6 Evo, and a selection of the cheapo balance chargers (e430 and e455), but they are only good 2-4S. If you can find one, the Q200 will charge four 6S packs simultaneously. Cost wise about £120 in the UK, no idea elsewhere in the world. That assumes you want something that can simultaneously charge 4 packs. If you have the balance board already, get a B6AC for the cheap option. If budget is a bit higher, maybe the D100.

For out on the road in your car or van, the B6 iMax is what I use. I have an XT60 wired to a 260Ah 12V Leisure Battery bank i can easily recharge around 20 of my batteries maybe 10 times if I was out flying all day. But I also have an inverter, so can use the e430's via that to cut down on charging times.

One thing to note. DC charging is generally faster, at least on the SkyRC chargers. Often if the charger uses say 30w on AC, it will use 50-100w on DC. So if you are charging in a car while driving to a bando, you can have a couple of chargers and balance boards running simultaneously.

Thanks.

This is my all time favorite charger: https://www.getfpv.com/ev-peak-cq3-multi...lance.html
It is out of your price range but just a terrific charger. I like the ISDT line as well, I have a twin charger of theirs, a single battery powered one, and their discharger, all good stuff and brilliant displays.

I kind of winced when I read "smart" charger in your opening post. Around here that means a Spectrum Brand "Smart" charger. These require Spectrum "Smart" batteries, they are expensive for what they do, and I have personally seen a couple fail (refuse to charge) at my model airplane field. I'm not a fan of those unless you are just starting out and use only their products and maybe buy two chargers, LOL.

(07-Feb-2024, 05:01 PM)voodoo614 Wrote: I have ISDT for years. Never an issue. I also have the older Skyrc charger that everyone used to clone. As for the ToolkitRC, I never had any experience with them. The reason the AC version cost double is it can be plugged into a wall outlet. While the other charger will require some kind of DC power supply. So you will need to consider a PSU as part of your budget if you don't already have one.

Personally, I just repurpose a computer PSU. Other options for PSU, laptop charger, server PSU etc.

Unfortunately my ISDT twin charger's internal transformer failed but it still works fine with an outboard PSU. A bunch of guys in my club have them and mine is the only one with a problem so I agree they are vary reliable.

(13-Feb-2024, 04:44 PM)husafreak Wrote: Unfortunately my ISDT twin charger's internal transformer failed but it still works fine with an outboard PSU. A bunch of guys in my club have them and mine is the only one with a problem so I agree they are vary reliable.

Internal transform probably easy to fix. My bet on a bad Mosfet.

(13-Feb-2024, 04:40 PM)husafreak Wrote: This is my all time favorite charger: https://www.getfpv.com/ev-peak-cq3-multi...lance.html
It is out of your price range but just a terrific charger. I like the ISDT line as well, I have a twin charger of theirs, a single battery powered one, and their discharger, all good stuff and brilliant displays.

I kind of winced when I read "smart" charger in your opening post. Around here that means a Spectrum Brand "Smart" charger. These require Spectrum "Smart" batteries, they are expensive for what they do, and I have personally seen a couple fail (refuse to charge) at my model airplane field. I'm not a fan of those unless you are just starting out and use only their products and maybe buy two chargers, LOL.

Thanks.

The EV-Peak 4 port charger looks legit. I'm going to look for some reviews on it.
I have been using ISDT for over a year with no issues. I have two of the K2 air versions. My complaints would be no balance option and no LiION charge option. I just purchased a Ovonic X 2 port charger that does a better job than my ISDT chargers and has the LiION and balance options. The Ovonic charger holds the charge on the lipo after its done and does a better job balancing the cells during charge.  If it holds up it will be my best charger. I also started to use Ovonic batteries, order directly from the warehouse. So far so good with the batteries.

FlybyJames

If you have intrest in any HV batteries, check to make sure that evpeak charger will actually do it. I have one thats about 5 years old that only goes up to 4.3 a cell

Get an server PSU like a HP DPS1200 and get an ISDT or other decent charger.
You get enough headroom for more chargers, you can use the charger with your car.
If you need more power you can stack the PSUs to 24V to get even more power