Starter guide for the iMax B6 charger

ge_rik

ge_rik

British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
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Following a few requests on another forum, I've put together what I hope is a beginners' guide to using the iMax B6 battery charger. I know some folks on here have dabbled with / are exploring battery power and wondered if it might be useful - http://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2017/05/quick-introduction-to-imax-b6-charger.html

Let me know if you think there's anything missing, something is confusing or there are any errors.

Rik
 
ge_rik said:
Following a few requests on another forum, I've put together what I hope is a beginners' guide to using the iMax B6 battery charger. I know some folks on here have dabbled with / are exploring battery power and wondered if it might be useful - http://riksrailway.blogspot.com/2017/05/quick-introduction-to-imax-b6-charger.html

Let me know if you think there's anything missing, something is confusing or there are any errors.

Rik
Click to expand...
Hello Rik.
Congratulations on an excellent job producing that users guide.
Most of the smart chargers seem to all work the same way.
I have used the B6 Non mains powered version many times in the past. They are very good, but be warned there are fakes of the non mains powered version. Hobbyking sells both genuine and fake versions. Apart from price, I have no idea how to tell them apart.
In Australia I use and recommend the almost exactly the same charger made for Jay Car. It is no better than the B6 charger but at least with JayCar, the purchaser gets a proper warranty. Not so with Hobbyking.
87981_190_140.jpg

These are also very convenient when needed. You get 5 different types of connectors.
CABL-MULTI.jpg


Methinks I will need to update that pic. The latest version has a Deans plug instead of the Tamiya type shown.
BTW the pic of the Jay Car charger appears in the edit window but not on the forum screen. Anyone have any idea why?
 
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Tony Walsham said:
Hello Rik.
Congratulations on an excellent job producing that users guide.
Most of the smart chargers seem to all work the same way.
I have used the B6 Non mains powered version many times in the past. They are very good, but be warned there are fakes of the non mains powered version. Hobbyking sells both genuine and fake versions. Apart from price, I have no idea how to tell them apart.
In Australia I use and recommend the almost exactly the same charger made for Jay Car. It is no better than the B6 charger but at least with JayCar, the purchaser gets a proper warranty. Not so with Hobbyking.
87981_190_140.jpg

These are also very convenient when needed. You get 5 different types of connectors.
CABL-MULTI.jpg


Methinks I will need to update that pic. The latest version has a Deans plug instead of the Tamiya type shown.
BTW the pic of the Jay Car charger appears in the edit window but not on the forum screen. Anyone have any idea why?
Click to expand...

Tony,
When you look at the HobbyKing website they have a Warning/Disclaimer that one of the chargers is a copy and the other is a genuine article in the title and in a Note in the specs overview. Case of Caeveat Emptor if you buy the fake?

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/chargers/battery-charger-ac-dc.html?___store=en_us

I use their Accucel-6 50W charger non mains powered.
I have 3 of them, 2 are running off an old ATX computer Power Supply and I find they work quite well.
The last one I bought came with a printed instruction booklet.
 
Very interesting blog. I have 2 of Oerpter Spoerer supplied Smart Chargers and Inhave to say that they work fine for me on my NiMh fitted Battery Locs. Have never considered going down the Lipo route though I know that many have succesfully, in fact I guess the Racing Car, Plane and Copter guys could not manage without them and any other lightweight Cousins that may be out in the world. As ever a very thourough treatise.
JonD
 
dunnyrail said:
Very interesting blog. I have 2 of Oerpter Spoerer supplied Smart Chargers and Inhave to say that they work fine for me on my NiMh fitted Battery Locs. Have never considered going down the Lipo route though I know that many have succesfully, in fact I guess the Racing Car, Plane and Copter guys could not manage without them and any other lightweight Cousins that may be out in the world. As ever a very thourough treatise.
JonD
Click to expand...

You can learn a hell of a lot from the Racing Car, Model Boat and Aircraft/Helicopter guys about motor control and battery usage and the pitfalls they face.

Lets face it fundamentally we are all in the league when it comes to battery remote control except our models move slower, are not exposed to extreme amounts of moisture and do not gain that much altitude (hopefully).
I think we actually we trail them technologically wise in motor and battery selection usage.
Could it this be because our hobby is populated by older more conservative folk (guilty as charged)?
I often pick the brains of a model aircraft guy I work with (he has over 25 years of experience whereas I have under 7) for ideas and guidance.
It is sometimes a bit of a struggle from him to work in a space that is at ground level or as he calls it in "Taxi Mode" but I have had some good pointers, the biggest was overcoming my fear of using LiPo batteries.
After speaking to him he told me that how I use my LiPo batteries i.e. charging rates etc. I am well inside the safety zone.
Being an aircraft maintenance engineer by trade I am very risk averse, but I am now reasonably comfortable with using LiPo batteries (took some time) though I am still in the majority for NiMH till they need replacement.
 
LiPO's have had a bad press really...
There must be 10's of 1000's out there, but we only here of the very few where there has been a problem..

Let's face it, if you short a lead-acid car battery with a spanner, you will get some 'interesting' results!
DO NOT TRY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is when you see a R/C car meeting, and they are boost charging batteries between races, at several times 'C' with a couple of old computer fans to try to cool the batteries. - They are asking for trouble!

It is quite simple:
Always fuse, as close to the batteries as possible.
Charge at 0.5C. - Use an intelligent charger.
NEVER leave charging batteries unattended.
Balance charge (multiple cells) mid-season, and end of season (depends on usage). - Always store fully-charged 'over-winter', and have an 'off' switch, to isolate the batteries from loco and charge socket.

Possibly a bit OTT, but I have never had a problem when doing tings this way. - Fifth amendment on not doing things correctly!
 
Tony Walsham said:
Hello Rik.
Congratulations on an excellent job producing that users guide.
Most of the smart chargers seem to all work the same way.
I have used the B6 Non mains powered version many times in the past. They are very good, but be warned there are fakes of the non mains powered version. Hobbyking sells both genuine and fake versions. Apart from price, I have no idea how to tell them apart.
In Australia I use and recommend the almost exactly the same charger made for Jay Car. It is no better than the B6 charger but at least with JayCar, the purchaser gets a proper warranty. Not so with Hobbyking.
87981_190_140.jpg

These are also very convenient when needed. You get 5 different types of connectors.
CABL-MULTI.jpg


Methinks I will need to update that pic. The latest version has a Deans plug instead of the Tamiya type shown.
BTW the pic of the Jay Car charger appears in the edit window but not on the forum screen. Anyone have any idea why?
Click to expand...
Hi Tony
Thanks for the feedback. The posting on the blog seems to have gone down well - I've had more hits on it in two days than some of my other posts have had all year.

Not sure why they keep changing the connectors on the leads. My old (five year old) B6 clone has Deans connectors while the new one has Tamiya. I like your multi-connector BTW - much less hassle than having to cobble together something using the mix of leads which come with the charger.
Rik
 
Hi Rik.

Those cable multi connectors come from Hobby King at a reasonable price. I supply them with each Jay Car charger I sell.

As to Li-Po. I understand the possible pitfalls and have nothing really negative to say about them.
I only sell Li-Ion packs with protection pcb's as i could not take the chance of something exploding due to consumer misuse.
I have been doing this since around 1985 and have never had anything drastic happen to a Ni-Cd or NiMh pack in the past 32 years.
Li-Po's are de rigueur with the smaller, scales where often only one cell is used and the voltage boosted with a Pololu regulator from the nominal 3.7 volts up to 9 volts or thereabouts, depending on what the application is.
Battery powered H0 is becoming quite popular at my club on the large H0 club layout and complements the mainly DCC operation.
 
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