ImaX B6-ac V2 Charger - Help

[TomFarrington97]

Afternoon all, 

 

I am in the market for a new charger and have heard that the Imax chargers are some of the best and most recommended for people to use. I have found this one here; https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6-ac-v2-charger-discharger-1-6-cells-genuine-au-plug.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_gb_shopping&countrycode=GB&gclid=Cj0KCQiApsiBBhCKARIsAN8o_4iTG8pBhVYsk_T4sXfyfcZSIIA9YoSRFjh-esxzKhYxd6zsuf9i-wgaAu9bEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds and assuming its the correct one which people are speaking about, making the purchase. Before I buy it I was just wondering whether this is the "go to" charger, whether people have any other recommendations, and if this is the best option, does the one above come with all cables i'd need to charge both Nimh and Lipo?

 

Cheers.

[AlphaBear]

I have used my original IMAX B6 for years and it’s still going strong. It’s the one I’d recommend. However make sure it’s an original. 
 

Hobbyking are reputable. They have been around for years. 

[Iceni]

That one comes with the wrong cable.

This is the UK plug variant.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6ac-v2-professional-balance-charger-discharger-uk-plug.html?queryID=&objectID=74217&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

 

Those chargers are decent enough. Better than a basic charger for sure. And If you are only charging 1 battery at a time it'll have more than enough amperage.

The only thing you might also need is a couple of extra cables for whatever batteries you use. The JST connector is universal, but you might need a bannana plug to tamiya/Mini Tamiya (These connectors are revered for airsoft so black goes into red on the charger), Or bannana to Deans.

[AlphaBear]

2 minutes ago, Iceni said:

That one comes with the wrong cable.

This is the UK plug variant.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6ac-v2-professional-balance-charger-discharger-uk-plug.html?queryID=&objectID=74217&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

 

Those chargers are decent enough. Better than a basic charger for sure. And If you are only charging 1 battery at a time it'll have more than enough amperage.

That’s an interesting point about wanting to charge more than one battery at a time. Which ones are recommend in that case?

[TomFarrington97]

3 minutes ago, AlphaBear said:

I have used my original IMAX B6 for years and it’s still going strong. It’s the one I’d recommend. However make sure it’s an original. 
 

Hobbyking are reputable. They have been around for years. 

Thanks for the advice my man, I thought this would be the general recommendation.

 

3 minutes ago, Iceni said:

That one comes with the wrong cable.

This is the UK plug variant.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/imax-b6ac-v2-professional-balance-charger-discharger-uk-plug.html?queryID=&objectID=74217&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

 

Those chargers are decent enough. Better than a basic charger for sure. And If you are only charging 1 battery at a time it'll have more than enough amperage.

Awesome spot chief, wouldn't have seen that myself. I'll favourite the web page so I'm sure to get the right one. 

[Iceni]

16 minutes ago, AlphaBear said:

That’s an interesting point about wanting to charge more than one battery at a time. Which ones are recommend in that case?

There's 2 schools of thought.

If all your batteries are the same then you can use a single high output charger and multiple breakout/parallel boards. Parallel charging is common in RC, Less so for airsoft as we don't have the same protection circuits that cut out at a specific voltage - Meaning you would have to piss about discharging before you could start to charge.

Or there are loads of 4 channel chargers that can do all 4 channels separately, meaning you can charge 4 different batteries at the same time.

I've had my eye on one of these for a while, but haven't pulled the trigger. With 2x  10 amp and 2x 5 amp charge circuits it's more than enough to do 4 different batteries. I can't recommend it tho as I've left the research that long the market might have moved on. The advantage here is it doesn't matter what the voltage state of the batteries is. You are in effect using 4 chargers that are in one box.

https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/skyrc-q200-quatrro-4-channel-200w-ac-balance-charger

 

 

@TomFarrington97Adding a cable like this should cover all your bases with the charger and your batteries.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-9-in-1-multi-connector-charge-lead-w-4mm-banana-plugs.html?queryID=&objectID=85942&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

 

You Just have to remember that when using the tamiya connectors you need to reverse the red and black banana plugs... For Deans (T-connectors) airsoft uses the regular polarity.

[EDcase]

I'll put another hand up for the IMAX B6.  Got my (genuine) one from HobbyKing too a couple of years ago and charges LiPo and NiCd no problem.

 

Personally I don't see the need for a multi-battery charger as I have plenty of time to prepare all my batts before a game day.

 

I use Deans on all my gear so don't need any adaptors.  If you're still using Mini-Tamiya then I think you need THIS

[Iceni]

Just now, EDcase said:

Personally I don't see the need for a multi-battery charger as I have plenty of time to prepare all my bats before a game day

At 1C a battery should take 1 hour to charge. So I agree If you are using 2-4 batteries then a second charger isn't needed. Unfortunately for me most of my guns use different batteries. So the AUG's use the same, and I'll have 2 charged for them, but then the M4 and G3 are different and I'll take 2 for each of those. If I'm spotting some mates rent free games then the AUG's need 4 batteries. And I can suddenly find 8 hours of swapping things about - With the 4 channel it's 2 hours and done before drinks.

 

Added into that you can always guarantee your mate who shoots turns up with kit covered in mud from the last game, and needs to charge 2 batteries as well.

[EDcase]

5 minutes ago, Iceni said:

At 1C a battery should take 1 hour to charge. So I agree If you are using 2-4 batteries then a second charger isn't needed. Unfortunately for me most of my guns use different batteries. So the AUG's use the same, and I'll have 2 charged for them, but then the M4 and G3 are different and I'll take 2 for each of those. If I'm spotting some mates rent free games then the AUG's need 4 batteries. And I can suddenly find 8 hours of swapping things about - With the 4 channel it's 2 hours and done before drinks.

 

Added into that you can always guarantee your mate who shoots turns up with kit covered in mud from the last game, and needs to charge 2 batteries as well.

Yeah I usually take 4 batteries which fit all my gnus so I can see you might need more power options 😉

[Iceni]

15 minutes ago, EDcase said:

If you're still using Mini-Tamiya then I think you need THIS

I'd be careful with that one. I think it's a full sized tamiya connector not a mini... Most airsoft guns use the mini adapter...

This is the mini tamiya adapter to Deans.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/mini-tamiya-to-t-connector-battery-adapter-2pcs-bag.html?queryID=&objectID=27753&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

[EDcase]

18 minutes ago, Iceni said:

I'd be careful with that one. I think it's a full sized tamiya connector not a mini... Most airsoft guns use the mini adapter...

This is the mini tamiya adapter to Deans.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/mini-tamiya-to-t-connector-battery-adapter-2pcs-bag.html?queryID=&objectID=27753&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

Yeah you're right. Well spotted

[Speedbird_666]

Personally I would buy a the SkyRC S65. It's a better charger for the money.

 

https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/skyrc-s65-65w-6a-ac-balance-charger

(hobbyRC is an excellent UK based company)

 

Otherwise, if you want to charge more than one LiPo at a time:

https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/skyrc-t100-100w-ac-dual-charger

 

[concretesnail]

Skyrc make solid chargers do various models to suit different needs, have one and its been great for the years that I've owned it.

I also use an isdt charger. They aren't quite as simple but offer a great deal more flexibility.

The imax chargers are fine if you get an original but the rc and quad world is plagued with clones and knockoffs which, having seen inside some of them, are potentially dangerous.

[Piman]

the IMAX is a perfectly fine but average charger. Nothing special but all you need is something reliable. The core design of that charger is now very old.

 

After many years of competitive RC racing, RC planes and drones my go to brand now is ISDT. Perhaps overkill for airsoft but very nice charges to use.

 

James

[Speedbird_666]

1 hour ago, Piman said:

the IMAX is a perfectly fine but average charger. Nothing special but all you need is something reliable. The core design of that charger is now very old.

 

After many years of competitive RC racing, RC planes and drones my go to brand now is ISDT. Perhaps overkill for airsoft but very nice charges to use.

 

James

 

I know of two LiPo fires that involved B6s within a 10 mile radius of my house. The balance logic is wank too. I hate that it's become the de-facto airsoft standard with every man and his dog recommending them.

 

I too come from an RC background (fixed wing, helis, drones, and dabbled in cars), and agree that IDST produce excellent units, I have a (so far unused) Q6 which I intended to use for field charging with a leisure battery. But for Airsoft, generally SkyRC stuff is more than good enough, and the S65 is both cheaper and better than B6 AC.