Nitiwat Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) TURNIGY Accucell 6 LiPo Charger Review By: Nitiwat We will be using ASR's review template. Table of Contents: Basic Information Ordering First impressions/Packaging Charger details Pros/Cons Overall Basic Information I needed a good charger that would be able to charge all of my batteries. I spent some time researching on what charger would suit all my needs, but still be affordable. After a couple days of Googling and exchanging various PM's, I narrowed it down to the Turnigy Accucell 6. Turnigy offers many different models, but this one happened to be in stock and was pretty damn cheap. Ordering I placed an order at Hobbyking, a popular overseas hobby retailer. They have a great selection on hobby parts as well as a huge selection of lithium-polymer batteries, better known as LiPos. This charger doesn't come with a power supply, so you'll have to purchase that separately. Those can be found on eBay for around $10. The Turnigy Accucell 6 can be found here: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_accessories.html Power supply can be found here: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11758__HobbyKing_Power_Supply_100_240v_5A.html First impressions/Packaging The charger, along with some other goodies I ordered came in a plain brown box. Each item was individually bubble wrapped though. The Turnigy Accucell 6 is the coolest looking charger I've ever seen. The overall design of the charger is very appealing. It's also a lot lighter than it looks. Charger details First thing I noticed off the bat was the big “Caution” sign that gives you a nice little reminder not to leave your charger unattended. The buttons give a very satisfying click when pressed. The Turnigy Accucell 6 is able to charge LiPos (up to 6S), NiMH, NiCd, and Lead Acid batteries. Since most of us reading this review are airsofters, we'll only be using the LiPo, NiMH, and NiCd functions. This charger is relatively easy to use once you know what you want to do. Also, the charger has a tiny little fan in the bottom right corner which activates during the charging process. For charging LiPos, you will have the following options: LiPo charger, LiPo balance, LiPo fast charge, LiPo storage, and LiPo discharge. For NiMH and NiCd batteries, just plug it in. The charger has a peak sensitivity built in. Charging LiPos require a few more steps. But don't worry, I'll walk you through it! Once the charger is on, use STOP or – to flip through your options. Keep going until you get to this screen: If you haven't done so already, plug in your battery and balance plug. Now, press ENTER which should bring you to this screen: You'll now want to use the + and – buttons to flip through your options again until you get to LiPo balance. It should look like this: From there, you can adjust your charging rate and what kind of LiPo you'll be charging. Press ENTER to set the amps, press it again to select the type of LiPo. I'll be using my Turnigy 7.4v 25c 2200mAh LiPo. Generally, I like to charge all of my LiPos at 2.0A. After you're done adjusting the settings, press and hold ENTER, which will bring you to this screen: It will ask you to confirm that you have selected the correct settings for your LiPo. Press ENTER to start charging. During the charging process, you can view each individual cell's progress and a couple other cool features. If you wish to stop charging, press STOP. The charger will automatically stop charging once the battery has been fully charged. Pros: Affordable Looks nice Gets the job done Charges all my batteries Cons: Confusing to use without a manual Doesn't come with a power supply Overall This charger was well worth the money. I am now able to charge all my batteries pretty quickly. I'd recommend this charger for anyone looking to upgrade from their crappy wall charger, or someone who is looking into running LiPos. I see “Which charger should I buy?” threads everywhere. Hopefully, this review will help them pick a charger that suits their needs. I'd like to thank Turnigy for making this charger so affordable, and Arnies Airsoft for hosting this review. Edited December 9, 2011 by Nitiwat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nitiwat Posted December 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 For some reason, I can't edit my first post. So here's the fixed version. Once I figure out how to change the first post, I'll remove this. TURNIGY Accucell 6 LiPo Charger Review By: Nitiwat We will be using ASR's review template. Table of Contents: Basic Information Ordering First impressions/Packaging Charger details Pros/Cons Overall Basic Information I needed a good charger that would be able to charge all of my batteries. I spent some time researching on what charger would suit all my needs, but still be affordable. After a couple days of Googling and exchanging various PM's, I narrowed it down to the Turnigy Accucell 6. Turnigy offers many different models, but this one happened to be in stock and was pretty damn cheap. Ordering I placed an order at Hobbyking, a popular overseas hobby retailer. They have a great selection on hobby parts as well as a huge selection of lithium-polymer batteries, better known as LiPos. This charger doesn't come with a power supply, so you'll have to purchase that separately. Those can be found on eBay for around $10. The Turnigy Accucell 6 can be found here: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7028__Turnigy_Accucel_6_50W_6A_Balancer_Charger_w_accessories.html Power supply can be found here: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11758__HobbyKing_Power_Supply_100_240v_5A.html First impressions/Packaging The charger, along with some other goodies I ordered came in a plain brown box. Each item was individually bubble wrapped though. The Turnigy Accucell 6 is the coolest looking charger I've ever seen. The overall design of the charger is very appealing. It's also a lot lighter than it looks. Charger details First thing I noticed off the bat was the big “Caution” sign that gives you a nice little reminder not to leave your charger unattended. The buttons give a very satisfying click when pressed. The Turnigy Accucell 6 is able to charge LiPos (up to 6S), NiMH, NiCd, and Lead Acid batteries. Since most of us reading this review are airsofters, we'll only be using the LiPo, NiMH, and NiCd functions. This charger is relatively easy to use once you know what you want to do. Also, the charger has a tiny little fan in the bottom right corner which activates during the charging process. For charging LiPos, you will have the following options: LiPo charger, LiPo balance, LiPo fast charge, LiPo storage, and LiPo discharge. For NiMH and NiCd batteries, just plug it in. The charger has a peak sensitivity built in. Charging LiPos require a few more steps. But don't worry, I'll walk you through it! Once the charger is on, use STOP or – to flip through your options. Keep going until you get to this screen: If you haven't done so already, plug in your battery and balance plug. Now, press ENTER which should bring you to this screen: You'll now want to use the + and – buttons to flip through your options again until you get to LiPo balance. It should look like this: From there, you can adjust your charging rate and what kind of LiPo you'll be charging. Press ENTER to set the amps, press it again to select the type of LiPo. I'll be using my Turnigy 7.4v 25c 2200mAh LiPo. Generally, I like to charge all of my LiPos at 2.0A. After you're done adjusting the settings, press and hold ENTER, which will bring you to this screen: It will ask you to confirm that you have selected the correct settings for your LiPo. Press ENTER to start charging. During the charging process, you can view each individual cell's progress and a couple other cool features. If you wish to stop charging, press STOP. The charger will automatically stop charging once the battery has been fully charged. Pros: Affordable Looks nice Gets the job done Charges all my batteries Cons: Confusing to use without a manual Doesn't come with a power supply Overall This charger was well worth the money. I am now able to charge all my batteries pretty quickly. I'd recommend this charger for anyone looking to upgrade from their crappy wall charger, or someone who is looking into running LiPos. I see “Which charger should I buy?” threads everywhere. Hopefully, this review will help them pick a charger that suits their needs. I'd like to thank Turnigy for making this charger so affordable, and Illinois Airsoft for hosting this review. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hatchet Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 I've also been running the same charger for a while now (year or more) with no problems. Straightforward to use and charges a variety of battery types. There are several different balance lead connectors which should cover most of the standard ones. Programs include balancing, charge/discharge cycles and "storage" modes for LiPos. It comes with a few different connectors, but uses banana clips on the connection between charger and battery, so it's easy to make up your own cable should the one you want not be included. A separate power supply is needed, which is an extra cost, but the advantage of it not being integrated is that you can use this charger from a car battery at a skirmish field, if required. Some of the safety timeouts may need adjusting if you use a low charge rate and a big battery - I've increased mine to 3 hours, since a 3000mah lipo on 1c charge can take a while if low. Component shop (UK) have it for £35 and also sell power supplies if needed, or try your local RC model shop. More expensive than the standard/free chargers you get, but if your charging needs are anything greater than "stick in the wall the night before and hope it's charged" or if you're using LiPos then you should give it a look. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Libris Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 I've got two of these with power supplies. They're excellent. I did look at their quad multi-charger but opted to go for separate ones instead. HIghly recommended bit of kit. I've bought extension wires for the lipo balance leads which help when getting the lipos into the charging bags. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aznriptide859 Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Keep in mind any charger that shares the same layout/programming are all good; the basis of these chargers I believe originated from the IMAX B6. I have a different version in a different external shell - same functions, similar button placements and a internal (now broken) cooling fan. Had it for well over a year now, and even though it makes a horrendous fan sound while charging, it still works like a charm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LordElpus Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 It's one of those iffy areas, the Turnigy is also said to be the orginal. Either way you will be happy with this or the Imax. Not sure if the Accucell has the same "finished charging" noise that the Imax has, but the first few times it went off I felt the need to run away from the charger. It's a very urgent sounding "oh *suitcase*" alarm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Yuri Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Keep in mind any charger that shares the same layout/programming are all good; the basis of these chargers I believe originated from the IMAX B6. From what I've read the Imax B6 clones are not all the same. Before I bought my Turnigy charger, I read through a bunch of RC forum posts and it seems that most Imax B6 clones suffer from issues with the lipo cell balancing and supposedly the Turnigy is the one that doesn't. That's why I bought one. I don't know how significant these balancing problems with the other chargers are though. Most likely not very. Those forums posts made me think that maybe people were just trying to think of a reason to own the original Imax charger that costs atleast five times more. Edited January 2, 2012 by Yuri Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteevoLS Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Considering how often we, as airsofters, use a battery (probably twice a month tops, and then it's not continuous draw like you would get with a RC plane or car) it doesn't really matter if your lipo is off by .01v in each cell. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LordElpus Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 The Imax, Turnigy and several others of similar design all use the same basic board. There are minor programming differences, but that is pretty much that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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