Setting up new charger

[dxer]

I recently purchased this Yuneec A-10 charger and purchased cables for Typhoon H batteries.
This is basicaly SkyRC D100 charger.

Can anyone share how to sett this charger for using it for typhoon H batteries please.
What parameters I need to set for this type of batteries for best possible performance and durability of these batteries. And not only for charging part but for discharging to storage as well.

Thanks

 

[BobW55]

You need to set it to charge at no more than 1C or 5.4 to 6 amps (I charge mine at 6 amps)
"IF" it has a voltage cut off, it should be set at 4.2 volts per cell or 16.8 volts total.
"IF" it has a cut off for Mah you need to set it to about 6000 (yes the battery label reads 5400) if set to low, it will stop the charging before the battery reaches full charge.
This is all based on the STOCK Yuneec batteries.
Please do not leave the charging unattended (NO you do not need to sit and stare at it) but don't put one on to charge and leave the house. I charge mine on my kitchen island that has a ceramic tile top with nothing else around.
Should one decide to go ballistic and burn, there is nothing else around to catch fire.
Hope this helps.

 

[dxer]

I am learning more about this battery charger so i watched some videos, but I am still not sure about some things.
You said IF there is voltage cut or capacity cut off......I see in the main settings there is capacity cut off, but not for specific channel or charge. So I belive this shouled be changed each time depending on the battery. But if I understand this correctly this is just safety , right ?
I mean, when I wathced those videos i see they are just setting amps (5.4A) and number of cells (4S) and then it is displayed 16.8 V so as I see this , it is automaticaly lowering amps while approaching 16.8V and therefore finishing charge. Am I right ?

For about charge programme there is this CHARGE and there is BALANCE........I presume I should always use BALANCE, right ?

And finally, for the STORAGE programme...what should be parameters for this programme ?
If I am correct 15.2 V is storage for longer time, right ?
But what does it means longer storage and what does it means shorter storage and what voltage should be for shorter storage ?

 

[PatR]

Yes, you should always balance charge.

Most programmable chargers decrease the charge rate as battery voltage nears capacity. If your charger has a constant display you will be able to see the charge rate decrease as battery voltage increases.

Your charger may have a time cut off as well as voltage. If it does you may want to set the time cut off to around 60 minutes or so. It's not always necessary but it's a nice safety feature should other safety cut offs fail while charging. Check your user manual for info about timers.

If you have set the charger for the cell type and cell count (lipo and 4s for the H) the charger should not provide more input than what the battery type and cell count require. Many programmable chargers "remember" the last setting used when they are powered back up again but never, ever start a charging cycle without first checking to be certain the selected battery type and cell count is correct for the battery to be charged. Most of the better chargers possess a sensing feature to determine if the selected cell count matches what the battery actually is and will display an error message if the settings and cell counts are different. That's a great feature but never, ever depend on it. You might be betting your life on it, or the life of someone else. Check the battery label and check the charger to always be certain they match.

I don't know your charger but when setting up for Storage discharge you will probably be asked to set the battery type and the cell count. Again, for the H this is lipo and 4s. Once that is set the charger will discharge to battery to a voltage very close to ~3.2v per cell. You may find that individual cells are not at exactly 3.2, ending up between 3.2v and 3.23v or so. That's pretty normal. For discharge rate, use the same rule as you do for charging, never exceed 1C. I rarely set higher than 2.5A-3A, with 2A being used most of the time, when storage discharging mine because my charger seems to establish a different rate based upon the battery level and capacity. When discharging the charger will probably reduce the discharge rate as battery voltage decreases.

If you intend to discharge a battery, just use the Storage function. Less things to remember or keep track of and your batteries will always be in a good storage state.

 

[dxer]

Great info. Thanks !

 

[dxer]

I don't know your charger but when setting up for Storage discharge you will probably be asked to set the battery type and the cell count. Again, for the H this is lipo and 4s. Once that is set the charger will discharge to battery to a voltage very close to ~3.2v per cell. You may find that individual cells are not at exactly 3.2, ending up between 3.2v and 3.23v or so. That's pretty normal. For discharge rate, use the same rule as you do for charging, never exceed 1C. I rarely set higher than 2.5A-3A, with 2A being used most of the time, when storage discharging mine because my charger seems to establish a different rate based upon the battery level and capacity. When discharging the charger will probably reduce the discharge rate as battery voltage decreases.

If you intend to discharge a battery, just use the Storage function. Less things to remember or keep track of and your batteries will always be in a good storage state.

Just to be clear with this storage discharging......you wrote that this would be approx 3.2 V per cell which is 12.8 V . Are you sure about that ? I mean if I remember correctly long term storage should be 15 V and standard storage 15.4 V. But probably I am missing something here.

EDIT: What should be amps value for STORAGE programme ?
Should I first check current battery voltage and set this depending on the voltage value, because storage could be charge or discharge.

 

[PatR]

Change 3.2v/cell to 3.8v/ cell. The lowest voltage a cell should ever experience with hope of survival is 3.2.

On a corrective note, I advise not driving a stock H battery down to 3.2v/cell. I have two here that will not hold a charge after being discharged to that level or very slightly lower. One discharged after getting stuck in a tree while the other was deep cycled by its previous owner.

The storage cycle will discharge to ~3.8v/cell, leaving the battery at ~15.25v. I apologize for that error.

Yes, check voltage state before setting the discharge rate. The reduced voltage is why I rarely use more than a 2A rate for discharge. At the level I run my batteries down to it takes ~30 minutes of discharge to reach storage state. Most of them are near storage voltage after a flight. The H battery appears to have a self cut off at 12.8v and may be toast after reaching the self cut off.

 

[dxer]

It seems that I can't change discharge voltage to 3.8V. it is only allowed to change discharge cut-off voltage between 3.0-3.3V.
So I am not sure how this function STORAGE actually works on this charger so I could set storage voltage to be 15.2 V for this battery.
I contacted some people which reviewed this charger over Youtube so I could hopefully get this answer.

 

[PatR]

If it consistently provided 3.3v it would be fine. IRRC, 3.0-3.2v is the nominal voltage for a lipo cell, and by all rights they should handle 3.2v, but storage state should be about 50% of capacity, not the lowest voltage a cell can withstand. As for 3.2v/cell with the Yuneec batteries, I can only say two I have will no longer hold a useful charge after achieving that state. Both will accept full charge voltage but neither will provide much over 4 minutes of flight time. Mine may be anomalies but I can only suggest you don't go there.

You could set a discharge program to cut off at 15v or so if the charger supports such a function.

 

[PatR]

Dxer,

Are you sure about that 3.0-3.3v storage level? Earlier you stated the Yuneec A-10 "is basically SkyRC D100 charger." I just downloaded the D100 charger manual and it clearly calls out a 3.8v storage voltage for lipo cells. It mentions a 3.3v level for LiFe chemistries. Check you battery type selection settings again.

Edit, I just looked through the A10 instructions and 3.0-3.3v is used as the cut off voltage for the discharge process, not storage. The instructions are kind of garbage but spend some time working through the settings to figure it out.

 

[dxer]

Hi
This is the charger
Chargers and Batteries : A10 Dual Output Charger AC/DC 110~240V

and manual here
http://yuneec.uk/images/pdfDoc/A10 User Manual.pdf

Ok, you said that this 3-3.3V is for discharge, so you are saying that this for storage it is actually preset value to charge/discharge to 3.8 V / cell ?

 

[PatR]

3.8v storage is what the instructions mention. I did a quick read of the instructions for two different chargers last night, the A10 dual and Sky D100. They are not the same instructions. The D100's are a lot better.

I'll suggest you take a little time to completely read through the A10 instructions a few times and while doing that explore all the buttons and modes on the charger to learn what they do and how to adjust settings. Since I use a different charger it does me little good to learn how yours works

The instructions for your charger are badly written but they do contain information that suggest storage level voltage might be automatically set when you select the battery chemistry. The 3-3.3v reference is associated with the discharge feature.

 

[mcbutler]

You need to set it to charge at no more than 1C or 5.4 to 6 amps (I charge mine at 6 amps)
"IF" it has a voltage cut off, it should be set at 4.2 volts per cell or 16.8 volts total.
"IF" it has a cut off for Mah you need to set it to about 6000 (yes the battery label reads 5400) if set to low, it will stop the charging before the battery reaches full charge.
This is all based on the STOCK Yuneec batteries.
Please do not leave the charging unattended (NO you do not need to sit and stare at it) but don't put one on to charge and leave the house. I charge mine on my kitchen island that has a ceramic tile top with nothing else around.
Should one decide to go ballistic and burn, there is nothing else around to catch fire.
Hope this helps.

I am really surprised that considering the price of this unit it does not analyse the battery and then charge/balance automatically.
I have a B6, a lot cheaper and more compact, very intelligent and will charge pretty much any battery you can imagine, also 8 years old!
For info it charges an H battery in half the time of the stock charger and also manages to get a bit more in!!