I think I know what you are talking about and yes, you can make all sorts of adaptors.... Or you can buy something like this: http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...llet-Connector

A Main has all kinds of adaptors that might work for your situation. The Monster even has one for Hyperion Charges that you could modify: http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...LB10CAR&cat=19

CellPro PowerLab 8 Balancing Adapter Types And Kinds.
 

Thank you for this information Snellemin-

I'm going to continue to store these liPo's until I sell them, and though the voltage has maintained a steady rate in storage thus far(many months), I would like to do at least one discharge and then storage mode charge with each of these LiPo's. I'll charge them back up to 50 or 60 percent after a minimal discharge to each of the batteries. I'm thinking it may be easier to buy the adapter which allows me to balance charge these specific LiPo's with the PowerLab 8, rather than using the external Team checkpoint balancers which I- at one time- used to balance these cells with- long ago(with the Team Checkpoint- 10amp chargers).

If you or anyone knows of a link where I may buy the balancing adapter which would allow me to balance charge with my PowerLab 8- the Orian Platinum Series LiPo's which has two 4mm female bullet connector/receiver holes in the battery for the positive and negative leads- and then one very small- I think it's 2.5mm female bullet type receiver plug/hole in the battery case between the two 4mm holes- for balancing this type of battery. I do not know the proper name or type of plug used for balancing this battery. Nor do I know how I would go about making such an adapter. What puzzles me- is I had ask Howard at FMA Direct- when I initially place my order for these chargers- that I would need the proper balancing adapter for these type of batteries(I specified the battery plug type- (two 4mm & one 2.5mm Female bullet connector) in order that I may balance charge these liPo's- if ever needed. If anyone here has any insight- into which adapter(s) I may need- please let me know on this thread- as a last resort- I'll see if I can get into contact with Howard Matos at FMA Direct- where I purchased these power plants.

Adapters To Modify To Fit The PowerLab 8 Balancing Ports.
 

Yikes-
I didn't see this post-
Thank you for the information. To this day- I've not modified nor made my own balancing adapter plugs- though I'm very interested in how to do this. Though I would need to be certain I would not damage the charger nor any of the cells in the battery. The RC Monster balancing adapter plug(link to- in your post) looks like it may plug right into the PowerLab 8- if not- maybe I can find a way to make this adapter work- by replacing the end which plugs into the charger- with the plug which fits into the PowerLab 8 balancing port.

If you read the manual there is somewhere in there that talks about the pinout config. BrianG has a area on his site that might help you understand how a pack is wired. http://scriptasylum.com/rc_speed/lipo.html

I have to pick up a 2mm bullet and then I will make an adaptor too. I will take some picks when I build the adaptor. It probably wont be for a few weeks though.

This is what Im going to use to do a custom adaptor:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...xtension-Cable (Im going to chop off the end and get rid of the extra wires)

and

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ana-Plug-Cable

and

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Male-2-Female

and

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Male-2-Female

PS: I saw your post on RC Tech, just get a slipperential....

Thank you for the detailed information, and links.
 

This is fantastic information. And thank you for the links as well :-)

PS. Once you've create your own balancing plug adapter- please do post pictures of the plug. And if possible- also post pictures of the process of parts you begin with- and what you change- or modify to make it suitable for your specific application. Thank you again :-)

Just some update:

Two of my Powerlab's failed with the same scenario. But my third one still works great. Warranty issues are handled quickly. One got repaired and the other is just being replaced. Failure happend when charging at 40A on 25V input. A capacitor and voltage regulator was fixed in my first powerlab.

FMA Direct- PoweLab 8 Battery WorkStation.
 

Thank you for the update snellemin.

It's great to know FMA Direct took care of you quickly and that you had a good experience with FMA Directs Customer Service in terms of repairs and replacement- and a speedy process.

My two PowerLab 8 Battery WorkStations have not had any problems- though I'm only charging my Thunder Power G4 Series at 30 Amps Because the G4 Series can only accept a maximum of a 6c charge rate(6c x 5000mah = 6 x 5 = 30). And my Common Sense RC power supply is also only a 13.8volt unit. I will be upgrading to a 24volt 100Amp(minimum) Power Supply once I upgrade to LiPo's which can accept a 12c(60Amps for a 5000mah capacity) charge rate.

Note: On the Thunder Power RC's Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) page, Thunder Power mentions that they are in testing of extremely high powered chargers which will charge their latest G6 series LiPo's(which can accept a 12c charge rate, which would be balance charging at 60 Amps for a 5000mah LiPo- for an approximate 3 to 5 mintute charge time).

Charger doesn't die anymore after I got it back from FMA. Here's a pic of me charging 6s4p A123 at 40A with my dual psu.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC07382.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC07383.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSC07384.jpg

40Amp Charging.
 

That's very nice- snellemin :-)

Very nice indeed.

FMA also send out my other Powerlab, which will get here tomorrow. This was just exchanged with me sending the damaged unit past Monday. This is like Castle service.

Fantastic Customer Service.
 

That's truly great to hear :-)

Got one of these beasts about a week ago but as yet I haven't had a chance to go near it. I have just plugged it into a PSU to see if it comes on and other than that it has been sitting and waiting patiently. I have just been so busy with work.

Anyway I have downloaded and printed the manual for the Powerlab8 V2. All 70+ pages of it. I nearly shat a brick when I saw the whole thing but to be honest it doesn't seem to be all that complicated from what I have read so far. It is well written and should be easier enough to follow.

I am going to order the Means Well 1500W PSU from EP Buddy next week to run this beast. I think that should take care of all my charging needs. I hope. I just need to get some free time to work out how to use it.

hahahah, shat a brick. Classic.

I hit a bit of a roadblock today. Could someone please point me in the right direction for the adapter that I need to buy to be able to charge my Turnigy packs. They are JST-XH balancing plugs. I had a look at the FMA online store but having a bit of a hard time working out what exactly I need. Could someone point me in the right direction? A link to the adapter would be awesome.

this one
http://www.store.revolectrix.com/Pro...am-Std-Adapter

or this one
http://www.store.revolectrix.com/Pro...rallel-Adapter

You are a legend man. Thanks so much for that. I am going with the parallel one just in case I want to piggy back a couple of more later on but I don't think I will need it because I have my own parallel board. I should be able to plug it into the 6S plug on that adapter you linked me to and then I can charge up to six 6S packs at once. WOOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!! Thanks heaps man. Now to pay for it. Hope they ship fast as I am itching to use this bad boy.

They ship fast and their warranty service is great as well.

I have 4 of those parallel boards myself. Makes for easy charging of my ebike packs.

Snellemin you weren't kidding about their service. Two days from placing the order I received my parallel board from Leo Energy (their actual business name). Fantastic service.

Anyway used the charger for about a week now. Slowly getting used to the menu on this charger. Very different from the chargers I have been using in the past but I think I am getting there. I am still to download the program so I can monitor the charger on my laptop but will do that eventually. Also I am running 3.25 firmware. I know there is 3.27 out now but what should I do and how much do they all differ? The charger is working great now so I don't want to stuff anything up.

This charger absolutely rocks. I can't believe I was charging a 6S 5000mah pack @ 10A and the fan didn't even come on. Didn't need to as the charger was cool as an ice cube. The balancing is incredible. Cells stay exact all the way through. If I didn't test the cells individually with my Fluke I wouldn't have believed it. All the data it displays during charging is great and very useful too. Love it.

Anyway I have an unrelated question. What should be a good internal resistance of 5000mah 40C cell? Between all my batts I am seeing anywhere between 1.4-1.9 milli ohms per cell. Some of my batts are over a year old so no idea if that is still OK. They seem to kick really hard. Some input here would be much appreciated.

Those reading are good. Start pumping more amperage in them and watch the resistance go down.

Just wanted to say that this charger has been simply awesome and flawless in operation. I still haven't taken it to it's full potential but really haven't had the need neither. I love charging 6 of my 4S 5K packs at 1C in about an hour. Brilliant. Also the balancing circuit on this charger is like nothing I have came across in any other charger. It is just so precise.
I haven't yet hooked it up to my laptop but might do that at some stage.

I take it with me every time I work at a hobby shop (only part time) and always use it to run a diagnosis on customers lipos. Easy to see why some lipos have balancing issues when their IR is sky high and all over the place. LOL

I can not recommend this charger enough. There is also a PowerLab6 1000W version now too just in case some think that the 8 is a bit too much. LOL