Discharging / Storage PROBLEMS with the UP120AC

deMARCOman · Jan 11, 2017

I ordered product UP120AC on July 18, 2016 thru Amazon, seller by the name Dirt Cheap RC USA.

Having only used it probably less than 10 times and only for my LiPo batteries ... Unfortunately it is no longer discharging LiPo batteries

It seems to charge them fine. Has anyone else discovered this problem?

Since this is still under the 1 year warranty I would like to exchange it but I'm not hearing back from them and the company (Ultra Power Technology Limited) is in China.

Mindbank · Jan 11, 2017

Just got the HIiTec X2 AC Plus from Carolina Dronz. Also get the adapter for the Thyphoon H batteries. The cable that charges your ST16 will plug into the charger and a PC. Download the free software from HiTec and all is good.

BillyTexas · Jan 11, 2017

deMARCOman said:
I ordered product UP120AC on July 18, 2016 thru Amazon, seller by the name Dirt Cheap RC USA.

Having only used it probably less than 10 times and only for my LiPo batteries ... Unfortunately it is no longer discharging LiPo batteries

It seems to charge them fine. Has anyone else discovered this problem?

Since this is still under the 1 year warranty I would like to exchange it but I'm not hearing back from them and the company (Ultra Power Technology Limited) is in China.

Could be a defect in that one. I have the same charger but it is a dual charger.

Bill W.

deMARCOman · Jan 11, 2017

BillyTexas said:
Could be a defect in that one. I have the same charger but it is a dual charger.

Bill W.

Yeah.. mines the same --a dual. You'd think for $129. I was getting a solid charger. Repeated emails to the manufacturer go neglected.

JoePGM · Jan 31, 2017

deMARCOman said:
I ordered product UP120AC on July 18, 2016 thru Amazon, seller by the name Dirt Cheap RC USA.

Having only used it probably less than 10 times and only for my LiPo batteries ... Unfortunately it is no longer discharging LiPo batteries

It seems to charge them fine. Has anyone else discovered this problem?

Since this is still under the 1 year warranty I would like to exchange it but I'm not hearing back from them and the company (Ultra Power Technology Limited) is in China.

hey I have the same charger, I have some problem as well dealing with the discharging program of it. I have a movie here show my issue, not sure if it is the same like yours...

deMARCOman · Jan 31, 2017

JoePGM said:
hey I have the same charger, I have some problem as well dealing with the discharging program of it. I have a movie here show my issue, not sure if it is the same like yours...

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Yep! Exactly! And eventually times out.

deMARCOman · Jan 31, 2017

deMARCOman said:
Yeah.. mines the same --a dual. You'd think for $129. I was getting a solid charger. Repeated emails to the manufacturer go neglected. That's the cost of buying from China sometimes.

Replying to my reply with an update for all to see:

My charger is experiencing the same issues as the guy with the video documented above --hmmm... looks like it's becoming a common theme discharging in channel two.

Also I need to add while the China company never contacted me back Chris at "Dirt Cheap RC" where I bought it from is a stand up guy (and company). He's provided friendly and timely communication and he's also following up with the sales rep from Ultra Power now. Whatever the results are I'll post them here.

Art-Tistic · Feb 1, 2017

I have the same charger and it's a very good/feature rich charger for the price. While the unit offers discharge and storage features it is not really designed to take a fully charged battery down. My suggestion is fly the battery to discharge it and then charge in storage mode (unless you plan to fly within a day or two) When you are ready to fly again fully charge using balance mode. This will give you the best performance and life from your LiPos.

deMARCOman · Feb 1, 2017

Art-Tistic said:
I have the same charger and it's a very good/feature rich charger for the price. While the unit offers discharge and storage features it is not really designed to take a fully charged battery down. My suggestion is fly the battery to discharge it and then charge in storage mode (unless you plan to fly within a day or two) When you are ready to fly again fully charge using balance mode. This will give you the best performance and life from your LiPos.

There's LOTS of good chargers out there. The EXACT reason I bought this one (and opted to pay a lot more than most chargers) was for its discharging / storage mode! So how you can give them a pass when the company advertises it as a main feature is beyond me. The thing should work AS ADVERTISED. If not then I want my money back and I'll go buy another charger. I would be interested if you are experiencing the same issue with channel 2 though.

Rayray · Feb 1, 2017

I have a UPI and a Hi-Tec. Neither of them does worth a hoot on Storage or Discharge Modes, slow as frozen molasses.
I fly mine down to between 14.5 and 15.2 (unloaded) and put'em in the bags. A couple have 100 flights or more, doing fine.

If you search, there are posts that describe various homebrew methods of discharging faster.

Marco Falchi · Feb 1, 2017

Mindbank said:
Just got the HIiTec X2 AC Plus from Carolina Dronz. Also get the adapter for the Thyphoon H batteries. The cable that charges your ST16 will plug into the charger and a PC. Download the free software from HiTec and all is good.View attachment 4647 View attachment 4648

The adapter for the Thyphoon H batteries, is the following ?

Yuneec Typhoon H Battery Plug Cable for Chargers

Thanks for your attention.

netjam · Feb 1, 2017

Mindbank said:
Just got the HIiTec X2 AC Plus from Carolina Dronz. Also get the adapter for the Thyphoon H batteries. The cable that charges your ST16 will plug into the charger and a PC. Download the free software from HiTec and all is good.View attachment 4647 View attachment 4648

Do you know if X2 will support 220v input (Europe/Australia)?
According to spec AC 100 - 240V but Frank from Carolina Dronz said NO.

netjam · Feb 1, 2017

Not sure if this relevant

from Amazon:
Question:
Why does the charger take so long to discharge lipo batteries? It times out after 120 min. I'm discharging 5400mAh batteries to 3.8v it's taking 150
Answer:
Hi. You can change the Safety Timer to a value higher than 120min, or turn it Off. The charger has a 10Watt discharge power limit. So divide 10 by the voltage of your battery. That will be your max discharge amperage. For example, a 7.4V battery can discharge at 10W / 7.4V = 1.35A.
As a side note concerning the amount of time the discharge is taking, the mAh rating of the battery can help you determine the time it will take to perform a charge or discharge at a certain rate. For an example, your 5400mAh battery is a 5.4Ah battery, right? So if you charge your 5.4Ah battery at 5.4A, it will take 1 hour for it to charge from 3.2V/cell (discharged) to 4.2V/cell (charged). That's because 5.4Ah / 5.4A = 1hr. If you are trying to discharge your 5.4Ah battery to approximately half charge, you will be discharging 2.7Ah at about 1.35A. So this will take approximately 2Hrs (2.7Ah / 1.35A = 2hr). see less
By Dirt Cheap RC USA SELLER on January 8, 2016

Marco Falchi · Feb 2, 2017

I'm considering buying a HiTec X2 AC Plus (or a HiTec X4 AC Plus).

I do not know if I can charge 2 (or 4) batteries in "balanced charging", having 2 (or 4) of the following cables:
Yuneec Typhoon H Battery Plug Cable for Chargers

Doubt it came because in the pack there is only 1 "Balancing Cord".

Thanks for any response.

JoePGM · Feb 2, 2017

I recall I had a strange experience with the UP120AC charger during a balance charging process.

Once I charge my TH battery at 0.7c (~ 3.8A) with 4.2v. The battery was start from storage (3.8v) condition. After 90min of charging, the UP120AC shows warning beep and shows a current timeout warning. I look at the cell voltage meter and they are all falling just around 4v. The charger has a 5000mah timeout warning limits in default. I'm really curious why it will hit the current time out limit???

I stop the charging process, change the setting to 5A and start again the charging, new charging process still goes for nearly 40min before all the cell goto 4.2v.

I still can't figure out the reason why I get a timeout warning.....

JoePGM · Feb 26, 2017

just discover this thread from another RC forum, describing the reasons of slow discharge/ storage issue in general balance charger:
What is the difference between lipo storage and discharge? Are they the same thing? - RC Groups

"The discharge rate for both modes should be the same max as heat dissipation of the discharge current is what limits discharge rate. It seems to be about 1/10 of the max charge rate."

deMARCOman · Mar 26, 2017

Now I am also getting wildly fluctuating Amps in channel 2 as well as intermittent Balance Charge Errors.. To be clear this things has MAYBE been used all of 20 times. NOT HAPPY

deMARCOman · Mar 28, 2017

Just heard back from the manufacturer via the reseller --for anyone else experiencing the issue it has been found to be a defective product. This was the actual reply:

They have isolated the cause of the issue. It has to due with one of the Thermal Resistors not having the proper contact. And something about an MOS. I don't speak Chinese lol.