I am finally making the jump into lipo. I will be getting the orion 3600, but I am confused as to what charger I should get. Do I need one that balances? what about the orion avionics advantage, or the fma direct cellpro? I need Help!

It will be easier to get one that charges and balances. I have the Triton Jr and the Equinox balancer by Great Planes. It does great with no problems. It DC only.

I am finally making the jump into lipo. I will be getting the orion 3600, but I am confused as to what charger I should get. Do I need one that balances? what about the orion avionics advantage, or the fma direct cellpro? I need Help!

I use the Team Checkpoint 1030 -- it does a super job with my Orion 3200 and 3600 packs. Lots of guys are also using the ICE charger.

You do not need a balancer for the Orion packs -- you can balance them with any LiPo charger simply by charging each cell individually. Orion has a FAQ on their site that describes how to do this.

I only do this once every couple of weeks, or less -- only when the two cells get more than 0.1 V difference.

The FMA Direct "Scorpion" and the balancing cord work really well too...and I believe the whole thing is under $100.00 NEW.

The FMA Direct "Scorpion" and the balancing cord work really well too...and I believe the whole thing is under $100.00 NEW.

I just wish it had a better way of setting the charge amps -- looks a bit hard to figure out where 3.2 is on that dial ?

I appreciate the info!

No problem. All lipos need balancing. Even the Orions/Peak.

No problem. All lipos need balancing. Even the Orions/Peak.

Right.. but you don't need a separate balancer to do it. You can balance them with the charger by charging each cell individually.

sorry bad info

Here is how you can read the amps on the Scorpion2 charger.
You hook an amp meter into the power in line of the charger (the + line).
This will read how many amps the charger is drawing.
Most volt meters have an amp read setting.

It's my understanding the the FMA Direct charger also has a computer interface harness and a software program that lets you read and set all the charge data on a laptop via USB cable.

..anyone know anything about this function?

If I need an amp setting/reading I have a 'inductive amp meter' that I use. :)

I don't know if they had it for the Scorpion. They have it for the Cellpro 4s and the BalancePro HD 6s chargers.

http://www.fmadirect.com/products.htm?cat=38&nid=55

The Avionics charger is just a rebadged version of the charger that a bunch of companies are rebadging. Hyperion, ProPeak, etc rebadge that charger. The Triton Jr basically has the same specs also. Get whichever is the cheapest.

Of course the charger depends on your needs. Do you still need to charge NiMH, run motors, etc? If so then something like the ICE with an external balancer is more suited to your needs. If all you care about is charging lipos, one of the air oriented chargers, either with an internal or external balancer, is probably good.

Note that an external balancer will work with any charger. The only thing you have to look for is the charge rate the balancer will handle. For example, the Equinox balancer will only handle up to a 3 amp charge rate (I think that is the right number) without additional accessories. The Hyperion LBA10 balancer will handle up to 10 amps.

Also, IMO there is no reason not to use a balancer. It's a one time ~$40 purchase. Cheap insurance for keeping your cells in good condition.

kcobra, thank you for the advice.

Most are a re-badged version of the Multiplex charger.
I've been using this for about 2 years now.
http://www.multiplexusa.com/RC-comp/Chargers/MPX-LN-5014.jpg

I have the Avionics charger as well.
Software is almost identical.