FPV | Beginner's Tips Series | Parallel Charging Just Say No!

[@HaleFPVRC]

Most people aren’t knowledgeable enough to know that parallel charging is bad for not just the reasons you mention. Even if all the batteries are at equal voltage, if one of the batteries has an unhealthy ir it’s like putting a sick person in a small room with heathy people. Take two groups of batteries and charge one group individually and parallel the others. The group individually charged will have a significantly longer life span. So in the long run parallel charging ends up costing you more when you have to replace batteries more often

[@DaxNealFPV]

@@HaleFPVRC such a good point and I wish I had not forgotten to mention it. I’ll pin your point for others.

[@brandon9689]

I have personally read more accounts of prematurely damaged batteries and balance leads, than house fires. That was enough on its own to deter me from parallel charging, let alone the risk of a house fire. Glad to know you like the D6 pro, I have been looking at it for my first charger

[@PeighDay]

I parallel charge. No issues here.

[@KevinHartman84]

Same here, always do parallel balance charging myself, no issues.

[@PeighDay]

@@KevinHartman84 as long as you know what you are doing you are good. I always discharge or charge my lipos individually to 3.8v / storage. When I am ready to fly I parallel charge them up. I do use the HGLRC Thor pro 6 port parallel charging board which is really nice.

[@KevinHartman84]

@@PeighDay I've been on quite the RC hiatus, so I may grab one of those handy lil parallel boards. I've always just used my own home-made squid cables and my iCharger 306B. I make sure all batts are at nearly same volage and none have cells out of range before I pair them up and start. I use a HiTec LiPo checker. *Side note, I just looked up that checker and the price is up from $18 in 2014, when i bought it, to almost $30, same cheap lil tool, no updates/upgrades........wow.

[@upperechelon3456]

Same here. I have been parallel charging [and discharging] for over 10 years. I've charged as many as 24 batteries at one time.. No issues what so ever. I do use a spread sheet to keep detailed track of my individual units IR[s]. Basic safety protocols are observed ensuring all batteries are at a similar charge and discharge level. It can be safely done as long as you pay attention to detail.

[@RBRCbashem]

Good video. A year in the hobby and just got p boards. Only going to use them to charge batteries from storage.

[@craigcupit1917]

Same here. after use I put them at storage. When I am ready I check storage voltage and charge them all in parallel.

[@JohnFSmitheugene]

Good video, Dax. I’m new to your channel, and I’m really glad to see you putting out this kind of content, If there has been a decrease in the reported incidence of LiPo fires due to parallel charging boards, I will admit that there are some much better parallel charging boards out there now which are fused, I guess, maybe, among other things. I’m only aware of them to the extent that I can say that they come from some reputable folks like Bardwell, yet I remain unconvinced. I buy only chargers from a particular manufacturer and only single unit chargers at that. I also charge inside a Bat-Safe in my garage (Long leads from the chargers outside to the battery packs inside). I’ve seen some demos of the Bat-Safe boxes and I think they are a good investment. That being said, I’d rather worry about smoke damage in the garage than inside my house. The Bat-Safe box claims to contain that; well, maybe, but I’m skeptical, so I don’t take any chances. The way I look at the whole risk equation is that I should be willing to pay the greatest amount of money to ensure the safety of the people and things that matter to me. My wife and family are priceless, and I can buy at least 4 really good chargers for the $500 deductible on my homeowners insurance if I have fire damage inside the house. I actually wonder if my insurance would pay at all for LiPo fire damage; has anyone ever checked that out, I wonder? Anyway, again, good video, and I strongly agree with your message. No amount of money is too great to protect the ones I love, and that means I’ll buy an extra charger if I need to instead of a parallel board.

[@DaxNealFPV]

I agree with everything you have said,, and I am now curious if insurance would cover it as well. I think I am going to call my agent and ask them the question and see what they say. There may be a follow-up video on this topic, so thank you!

[@HaleFPVRC]

Well said brother, excellent advice.

[@DaxNealFPV]

Much appreciated

[@HaleFPVRC]

Most people aren’t knowledgeable enough to know that parallel charging is bad for nor just the reasons you mention. Even if all the batteries are at equal voltage, if one of the batteries has an unhealthy ir it’s like putting a sick person in a small room with heathy people. Take two groups of batteries and charge one group individually and parallel the others. The group individually charged will have a significantly longer life span. So in the long run parallel charging ends up costing you more when you have to replace batteries more often

[@KevinHartman84]

Curious, are these fires starting at the boards, the batteries, or the chargers? I'm asking since I've parallel charged for years without issue, but I've never tried one of those lil boards that you can plug multiple batteries into, I always used home-made squid cables. Perhaps lil circuit boards are an issue when people are trying to push too much current through them, vs using actual cables to handle that energy.

[@DaxNealFPV]

You could be onto something. Everything I’ve seen has been with a board. Not that there still isn’t risk involved but there could be less risky ways like your method.

[@DriftaholiC]

I would rather charge every battery individually at 6C then parallel charge all at once at even 1C

[@DaxNealFPV]

lol I feel you!