Multi battery charger

[Hegemone]

I have the f-stop and am very happy with it and flight times have been the same to the minute: Amazon Link

 

[Kstarestrella]

This stage charger I use. Not plastic but metal. Works amazing

 

[globetrotterdrone]

There's (currently) no alternative when trying to charge 4 batteries at once.
And there's is (currently) no evidence, that plastic like in the RCGeek becomes a problem.

That said, I do understand the concerns about the plastic, as it gets hot and personally I would prefer metal too. But plastics are used for a long time now and quality-crafted one can withstand these temperatures easily.

 

[Rangerider]

There's (currently) no alternative when trying to charge 4 batteries at once.
And there's is (currently) no evidence, that plastic like in the RCGeek becomes a problem.

That said, I do understand the concerns about the plastic, as it gets hot and personally I would prefer metal too. But plastics are used for a long time now and quality-crafted one can withstand these temperatures easily.

See post #5 in this thread to see that there is a 4 battery charger alternative. Beyond that one, there may not be an alternative if that's what you meant.

 

[Mr. Salty]

See post #5 in this thread to see that there is a 4 battery charger alternative. Beyond that one, there may not be an alternative if that's what you meant.

That's the charger globetrotterdrone is talking about. He even identifies it by name.

 

[Rangerider]

That's the charger globetrotterdrone is talking about. He even identifies it by name.

Ah I see. I'm still not seeing it as clearly as you.

 

[rustysteel]

I have that charger and love it. Can charge everything at once.

 

[Rangerider]

I have that charger and love it. Can charge everything at once.View attachment 78606

That charger being the same one as in post #22 of this thread? The PowerExtra for Mavic 2? Looks like a good one. I'm not sure about using the charger while its inside the case though? There might be some heat issues? There are lots of good chargers out there and finding the one that suits you/me best is what this thread is all about. I have discovered some really good info here and have decided upon the plastic case by RC Geek mentioned at the beginning of this thread.

 

[Rangerider]

Colorado drone batteries has a amazing unit that i use , I ended up with 10mavic 2 batteries and this this is lightning fast and mobile

View attachment 76155

Looks like the best high end one?

 

[Rangerider]

There's (currently) no alternative when trying to charge 4 batteries at once.
And there's is (currently) no evidence, that plastic like in the RCGeek becomes a problem.

That said, I do understand the concerns about the plastic, as it gets hot and personally I would prefer metal too. But plastics are used for a long time now and quality-crafted one can withstand these temperatures easily.

Looks like there are at least two choices for simultaneously charging 4 batteries plus 2 usb devices. The other one being the one mentioned by Smalls post # 11 earlier in this thread. DJI Mavic 2 PRCS Elite for $295 and the one in post #5 for $44. I'm pretty sure the more expensive one is the better one.

 

[Smalls]

Looks like there are at least two choices for simultaneously charging 4 batteries plus 2 usb devices. The other one being the one mentioned by Smalls post # 11 earlier in this thread. DJI Mavic 2 PRCS Elite for $295 and the one in post #5 for $44. I'm pretty sure the more expensive one is the better one.

The Colorado drone charger website has the 4 Mavic 2 batteries all charged at the same time. That said, the post somewhere above showed a $49 charger that does 3 and a controller. I use those on my phantoms. They seem to get the job done with no problems. I ended up with 11 Mavic 2 batteries between the stuff I purchased and it’s just super nice to load up a bunch of batteries and head out. The case and charge unit are extremely nice very well built. Little pricey but what’s not in this hobby.

I wish I could remember

 

[globetrotterdrone]

Ah I see. I'm still not seeing it as clearly as you.

[...]
And there's is (currently) no evidence, that plastic like in the RCGeek becomes a problem.
[...]

 

[Rangerider]

I would prefer a metal case over a plastic one, but until someone offers one that can do the same thing or better that the plastic one can do, I'll stay with plastic. BTW, I prefer paper over plastic bags at the store. It's far better for the environment. Companies only use plastic bags for food/etc because it is cheaper for them to do so. Maybe the same is true for chargers?

 

[rustysteel]

That charger being the same one as in post #22 of this thread? The PowerExtra for Mavic 2? Looks like a good one. I'm not sure about using the charger while its inside the case though? There might be some heat issues? There are lots of good chargers out there and finding the one that suits you/me best is what this thread is all about. I have discovered some really good info here and have decided upon the plastic case by RC Geek mentioned at the beginning of this thread.

Yes, same one as above. It does get warm but i have allowed for airflow in/out at either end. I will typically pull it out of the case when charging as well.

 

[LarryMZ3]

I'm using the genuine DJI unit. It definitely doesn't charge as fast as the aftermarket units, but it will charge 4 batteries safely, and I don't have to worry if DJI will deny a claim based on an "unapproved charging method."

 

[Rangerider]

I have that charger that you have pictured it works very well it will not charge until the batteries have cooled down , which is good

I am curious. If the battery prevents charging until its temperature is suitable for safe charging, then it should be okay to connect the battery to a charger immediately after draining it during flight and it should start charging as soon as the battery temperature drops to a safe charging temp? The manual says that the battery will only charge between 41-104F so should we interpret that to mean it is okay to hook up to a charger even if the battery feels warm? I would think so according to battery logic. However, that does not mean that the ideal charging temp is as high as 104F or as low as 41F. Is there any documentation on the ideal battery temp for maintaining long life of the battery? Obviously, the battery will warm up somewhat during charging as well.
Later on in the manual, DJI says that you should not charge the battery immediately after flight but to wait until the battery cools down to room temperature. So there you go. It seems confusing to me that the intelligent battery will allow charging at a temperature that is too high for proper charging while still having over-temperature protection built in. Evidently the charger has nothing to do with temperature protection of the battery?

 

[Mega Man]

The intelligent battery is not a brain replacement.

It makes sure major issues don't occur, not that you treat your drone well

 

[Rangerider]

Okay I got the RC Geek charger today and immediately put it to work. I strapped on 2 flight batteries and a smart controller to it. It seems like it was taking longer to charge than I thought it should so I checked the manual for the charger and it said that each battery port puts out only 17.6V and 2A per port! The usb port also puts out 2A at 5V. The charger puts out a max of 8A total while charging. Comparing that to the stock charger that comes with the M2P which puts out 17.6V and 3.41A the charger does put out over twice as much power overall but not to each battery. The drawback as I see it is that the 2A charging rate is slower to get 1 flight battery up to fully charged than the stock charger. The advantage is you can of course charge more at one time while using one electrical outlet to charge both the smart controller and the flight batteries. This charger also does not have any charger plug caps to protect the plugs. How cheap of them! I guess I'll be content for now to charge with this charger since it does have added convenience for charging multiple batteries. It took the charger an hour & 15 mins to charge 2 flight batteries from 20% to 65%. The real problem with the RC Geek charger is that it doesn't stop charging at 65% with the switch set for it! The green light on the charger came on indicating that 65% had been reached on the battery and the battery segmented circle indicated that also but the battery segmented circle kept on flashing indicating charging was still continuing! So if you have to watch the charger to turn it off once it has charged the battery to 65% that negates the whole reason for buying this charger. I am sending it back and getting one of the other chargers like Fstop! At least I won't have to watch it as long during charging or I'll just get a timer to stop the charger! This is deceptive advertising by the vendors!

They need to up the power output on this charger rig and add logic to bring one battery up fully first and then start charging the other batteries in order. Does that seem like too much to ask?

As someone else here surmised, the F-Stop, Yx and PowerExtra are all identical and will charge 3 flight batteries simultaneously faster than the RC Geek since they charge at 4.5A vs 2A per circuit.

So I am giving my vote for any of the 3 fast chargers for charging the flight batteries only. Note that on this charger (FSTOP/Yx/PowerExtra) each usb plug is 5V/1A not 2A per plug so it won't do a good job of charging your smart controller. More deceptive advertising if you ask me.

 

[Rangerider]

The intelligent battery is not a brain replacement.

It makes sure major issues don't occur, not that you treat your drone well

Too bad. I was hoping for some help in that area.

 

[Latawiec]

Okay I got the RC Geek charger today and immediately put it to work. I strapped on 2 flight batteries and a smart controller to it. It seems like it was taking longer to charge than I thought it should so I checked the manual for the charger and it said that each battery port puts out only 17.6V and 2A per port! The usb port also puts out 2A at 5V. The charger puts out a max of 8A total while charging. Comparing that to the stock charger that comes with the M2P which puts out 17.6V and 3.41A the charger does put out over twice as much power overall but not to each battery. The drawback as I see it is that the 2A charging rate is slower to get 1 flight battery up to fully charged than the stock charger. The advantage is you can of course charge more at one time while using one electrical outlet to charge both the smart controller and the flight batteries. This charger also does not have any charger plug caps to protect the plugs. How cheap of them! I guess I'll be content for now to charge with this charger since it does have added convenience for charging multiple batteries. It took the charger an hour & 15 mins to charge 2 flight batteries from 20% to 65%. The real problem with the RC Geek charger is that it doesn't stop charging at 65% with the switch set for it! The green light on the charger came on indicating that 65% had been reached on the battery and the battery segmented circle indicated that also but the battery segmented circle kept on flashing indicating charging was still continuing! So if you have to watch the charger to turn it off once it has charged the battery to 65% that negates the whole reason for buying this charger. I am sending it back and getting one of the other chargers like Fstop! At least I won't have to watch it as long during charging or I'll just get a timer to stop the charger! This is deceptive advertising by the vendors!

They need to up the power output on this charger rig and add logic to bring one battery up fully first and then start charging the other batteries in order. Does that seem like too much to ask?

As someone else here surmised, the F-Stop, Yx and PowerExtra are all identical and will charge 3 flight batteries simultaneously faster than the RC Geek since they charge at 4.5A vs 2A per circuit.

So I am giving my vote for any of the 3 fast chargers for charging the flight batteries only. Note that on this charger (FSTOP/Yx/PowerExtra) each usb plug is 5V/1A not 2A per plug so it won't do a good job of charging your smart controller. More deceptive advertising if you ask me.

I can confirm that the YX charger is very good. I was using one for almost a year to charge my mavic air batteries and now I am using the mavic 2 version with the same great result.