TEST of a Fake iMax B6 (I CAN'T Recommend it) - Ec-Projects

[@deltaqnord3103]

Calibration process: HobbyKing iMax B6 all these BalancerCharger can use this 　 1 - hold - start button and decrease button at the same time 2 - plug power adaptor,on 3 - calibration menu comes up 4 - release - decrease and start buttons 5 - wait 10 minutes to warm up to the working temperature 6 - plug in battery and measure it, compare values between charger and Voltmeter 7 - if necesarry, then make correction using + and - (dec.inc.)buttons 8 - save it by pressing start

[@infamousgarage4900]

+DeltaQ n does this fix the over charge problem?

[@sallerc]

+DeltaQ n Doesn't work on my fake iMax B6, don't get the menu. Worked on my genuine B6 though.

[@deltaqnord3103]

+salle rc  1 - hold - start button and decrease button at the same time 2 - plug power adaptor,on. if this does not work. so it is broken

[@vedasticks]

might need to flash firmware to get the calibration menu back, the problem is with resistors used in the voltage measuring circuit. theres a topic in the rcgroups forum about it and how to mod it to correctly read cell voltages and current. The problem lies in the resistors used are 1%, if you replace them with 0.1% tollerence resistors, this greatly increases the accuracy.

[@sallerc]

Do you have a link to that rcgroups thread?

[@NSilver832]

Awesome. Thank you. Now I'm going to throw away my fake charger that I've been using for almost 3 years with no problems and will buy the original one that costs 5 times more and does exactly the same thing that my fake charger does.

[@kosztaz87]

Are you saying the genuine charger overcharges Li-ion batteries just as bad as the one in this video???

[@davesherry5384]

No the fake ones have one more feature over the real thing - they can cause a fire. Glad you;'re enjoying your fake charger and love I the way you throw those dice!

[@sephiroth-k8f]

Well said bro

[@Moneyme5605]

Hahahahahaha yes yes

[@MrEnajiza]

there's an easy fix to the problem by calibrating the chinese version to properly read the voltage...this video shows you how - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIKZmZuGbMmJrK8

[@wicksredcat]

I've been using this charger for about 5 or 6 years still charges and works i charge lipos and nimh batteries never had a issue

[@davesherry5384]

If you bothered to check, you would find out that the components in it are seriously underspec compared to the genuine item. Have you checked the calibration of your unit at all? None of the fakes I have seen reviews of or actually used are well off calibration and clearly were not QC'd. I would suggest that you are definitely playing with fire. It's only a matter of time.

[@wicksredcat]

@@davesherry5384 till this day that's my to go charger still works today I have charge hundreds of time with no heat issue of any kind

[@MrEnajiza]

@@davesherry5384 there's an easy fix to the problem by calibrating the chinese version to properly read the voltage...this video shows you how - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIKZmZuGbMmJrK8

[@RinoaL]

i get the impression that you think a battery gets damaged once it goes over 4.2v, but it seems that batteries gradually get more damage as you move past 3.9v anyway. thats why you shouldn't store a cell fully charged. so charging a bit more wont be much of a bigger issue. its just that the amount of capacity compared to how many charge cycles it will handle tends to be best at 4.2v. i charge my cells to 4.0v to make them last 4 times as many cycles because i dont mind having a bit less capacity on each charge. the imax b6 has a calibration setting to change the voltage in a 0.05v range so you could calibrate this unit. also saying its "fake" is kinda dishonest because it does charge batteries, plus the "official" Imax B6 chargers are cheep crap anyway. it seems your making an issue over nothing, its just a cheep charger and it needs calibrated. you shouldnt expect more for 20$. i've used 2 of them for my bicycle battery and they have worked great for a year and a half.

[@EcProjects]

Rinoa Super-Genius Hi, thanks for your comment :) Sorry if I make it sound like that. What I mean is exactly the same as you mention.. I also explained the same thing in a few comments (not expecting you to read all the comments of course, it should have been more clear in the video). It's just that the damage vs voltage curve is exponential, so when charged to 4.2 V the overcharge does significantly more damage than it would do at 4.0 V (wouldn't be overcharge at 4.0, but you get the idea) The reason I am overreacting a bit is that my unit is very likely not the worst one on the market. And once you get to around 4.3 - 4.4 V the batteries can swell and catch fire if you are unlucky.. Knowing how little it would cost to manufacture them accurate to 4.2 V +/- an insignificant amount, I wonder if they even care about people's safety. Probably talking less than 50 cent.

[@RinoaL]

EcProjects ah ok, sorry about that then. its impossible to make everything in a video perfect. its taken me like 2 years to get my diy e-bike battery video into a format that answers most of people's questions. i doubt it would cost 50 cents to pay a worker to calibrate the charger for you, that could take a bit longer. and who knows maybe they did already go through really bad calibration. i just think its normal to calibrate things when you get them though.

[@TorbjrnJrgensen]

EcProjects (& Rinoa Super-Genius) - Really appreciate the work you have put down here, it is scary to see how few people actually control measures their batteries after (or during) a charge. Are their any other charger on the marked that is fairly priced that you rather recommend?

[@OldAccountUser]

my multimeter cost me 5$ as precise as my 120$ car battery charger. I do think 50cent is enough. my voltmeter as all the other thing too

[@madhakaa]

Rinoa Super-Genius could you send me a link were you bought your imax

[@easyamp123]

There is no such thing as a 4000mah 18650, but never mind that. That charger is working fine, all batteries have internal resistance that makes it appear to be over charged during charging or over discharged while in use, it's the resting point that matters. The charger can only display a resolution .1 amps not .0001 and has just rounded to the nearest value it can display, it's working fine. I have this exact charger and use it daily and got it for 20 bucks from shady shaderson off ebay.

[@EcProjects]

It is correct that batteries have internal resistance, but that creates a lower charge on the cell, not a greater one. The the charger sees the voltage before the resistance and should stop early if anything. It is not so much my particular unit I am worried about, rather the people that have reported swelled, overheated or exploded batteries. Some have hundreds of mV overcharge on one or more channels. It is the act of creating cheap unreliable products in another company's name that I don't really like, and worse when the product could end up burning down somebody's house.. or worse..

[@easyamp123]

Your charger is fine from what I've seen, and your message is good as we should never let our guard down around lipo's. I never said that a batteries internal resistance creates a greater charge, the opposite in fact. I was saying not to worry too much if your charger is at 500ma and you are reading a couple 10's of millivolts over 4.20, it is just the internal resistance times the charge current making it appear to be over charging. It's the resting charge voltage that matters. If your charge current is at a tenth of your charge rate, say 50ma, and your charge voltage is up around 4.25~4.35 then you might want to watch that charger closely for a while. If I put my imaxb6 in fast charge mode, which it appears yours was in, it will charge to 4.4ish and then shut off abruptly and does not slowly reduce the current as it nears 4.2 as it does in normal charge mode. After the battery sits a few minutes it settles around 4.18v per cell. This is done to combat the internal resistance taking forever to charge through. cheers

[@EcProjects]

Sorry, I misunderstood you then. The charger should still never assume anything about resistance, just CC charge to 4.2v then keep a constant voltage until the charge current is less than 0.05C. One should never continue to charge with a constant current and just cut it off at the right moment for the resting voltage to be 4.2v. The internal resistance is more than just a resistor. As with any chemical reaction it takes time to equalize. I guess a single cell could be modeled as multiple smaller cells in parallel with resistors between them. If one resistor is smaller, this part of the cell will charge faster. Pushing the voltage higher would overcharge that part of the cell. once the power is removed, the cells will self balance through the resistors and end up below 4.2. I was using the regular CC/CV charge for the test. and the battery still measured above 4.2 when disconnected. It was the crappiest of all cells used and it dropped below soon after. A perfectly good cell would stay "overcharged" for longer.

[@easyamp123]

Thanks for the video, I look forward to more! Cheers

[@Linktw0]

Thad ward 😆 ...shady shaderson 😂

[@Sidabra24]

I don't know if you read the manual, but I found one online. Even though technology of LiIon and LiPo is the same, but the settings on iMax are different. You need to go to "User Set Program" and select LiIo 3.6V. So instead of charging it up to 4.2V (LiPo settings) it will charge it only up to 4.1V (LiIo settings). This will not overchage the battery. These 3 settings are under Lithium "User Set Program" setting: LiPo is 4.2V, LiIo is 4.1V and LiFe is 3.6V You need to choose the correct battery type first and then it will be on your menu, other settings will not be visible in quick menu, so that is a bit of a hassle since I charge LiPo and LiIon batteries almost every day. Have to go to settings every time I switch the battery types.

[@johncoops6897]

What you describe has NOTHING to do with the problem that is described here. This is about the individual cells having incorrect voltages, not what voltage the whole pack gets charged to. This is about an ERROR in the voltage detection circuit. On KZbin, the idea is to watch the whole video, and THEN make your comments. That way, you have some chance of not looking like an idiot.

[@MrEnajiza]

there's an easy fix to the problem by calibrating the chinese version to properly read the voltage...this video shows you how - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIKZmZuGbMmJrK8

[@victorandersson9737]

@@MrEnajiza No...

[@mgrantom]

Thanks for an informative video. As a retired fire investigator, I can tell you that batteries can and do cause fires. The fact that people don't seem to think that the overcharging issue is a BIG problem, just points to how clueless most people are. They will certainly care if their house burns down or worse yet, someone gets seriously injured or even dies because of a fire. In Texas, where I currently practice law (going on 29 years now) the seller would definitely have to refund your purchase price at the least. In fact, the sale would probably constitute a Deceptive Trade Practice which could encompass treble damages plus attorney's fees. Pretty costly for punishment for selling a fake.

[@TurboSixxSpeed]

good luck serving the summons papers on some fake chinese company that changes its name 7 times a year and operates after hours. i guess you could take Amazon to court, if thats where you bought it from, but i think youd have better luck finding that illegal operation in a back alley of shenzen than taking on amazon. they sell counterfeits all the time and are guilty of wilful negligence. some of those products are health and beauty products people ingest or put on their skin, so more dangerous in a sense...the government doesnt care, amazon just pays them off.

[@grayanderson6840]

A little tip for you. You do not need to solder wire to a battery to test the charging of it. I am sure you have a couple of small magnets?? Get some braid (you can use de-soldering braid) and just trap it either end of battery with a magnet then 2 little crocadile clips. JOB DONE!

[@RANDOMNATION907]

I am new to "this" and I didn't even know there are fakes of this product out there. Thanks so much for posting this.

[@michaelo2l]

Did you calibrate the unit? Some fake units will allow calibration while others won't...

[@George-nt8uw]

FYI, the wires for the multi-meter should be attached directly to the battery not to the terminals going to the charger. Reason is that you are including the voltage in the wires going to the battery caused by the high charge current. There should be two wires on each end of the battery.

[@bomikaelfriskopf9488]

Have you Calibrated it? There is a hack to fix the Charger. There also is a Temperature Probe to use with it so the battery don't get to hot.

[@LEFURETGAMER]

Whats the hack?

[@dLoLe]

I've been using a cheap fake from ebay and its been one of my best rc purchases so far. works perfectly. its the best charger you will get for the price

[@gordthor5351]

You can calibrate the voltage by pushing dec and enter while powering on and setting to a know accurate voltage on a connected battery. Just push the dec or inc button until the screen voltage matches you known accurate voltage. The fake ones seem to be overcharging. Maybe they also sell batteries :) We already know they are deceptive.

[@jackhammell1926]

My “fake” b6 works great. There’s always a chance of getting a lemon, true for any product. And of course, always use correct charger for your lithium battery.

[@inzane121]

Aww man..So I need to buy a thousand dollar Fluke to make sure my 35 dollar b6 is charging properly ?

[@1959Berre]

You can check if it has the genuine hologram on the bottom side and the serial nummer. As explained in the video.

[@mattivirta]

no need, fake charger work well and true same than genuine have. no problem newer has. save only lot money buy 1-2 fake or one genuine. this fake have you lifetime good charger. and newermind if broken you can buy 4-5 new fake charger same money than one genuine, and you lifetime you not newer need 4-5 charger only 1 and if bad lucky and go broken 2 charger all lifetime.

[@johncoops6897]

@@1959Berre - yes, but that has nothing to do with the question that was asked.

[@postiemania]

Love the Fluke bench top meter and I notice you have an oscilloscope as well. Build your own LiPo charger ! I have a genuine iMax B6 and a fake B6 as well, thanks for the info I will be running some comparison tests myself. Cheers

[@kuhrd]

4.26V is well within the safety margin of reasonable quality lipo cells and the +/- 3% margin of error possible in consumer multimeters. I have 4 of these units for bulk charging and testing of used cells and they are more than adequate for the average user. Most can easily be re-calibrated which you should do when you buy them and you can also change the battery type to lipo so that you change the charge voltage so that it cuts off at 4.1 to help prolong the cells and get more useful life out of the pack.

[@thomasmiller89]

+kuhrd That multi meter is a Fluke 8846A costing over $1500.00 with accuracy of .0024 NOT 3% as you stated. So i'm pretty sure its NOT the problem here.

[@kuhrd]

Thomas Miller I wasn't referencing the fluke in the video, notice I said consumer multi-meters. The average consumer is going to have a cheap multi-meter that is probably no more accurate than +/-3% if they have one at all. The multi-meter circuit used for these chargers and even in the real iMax B6 are not very accurate but they are accurate enough to do the job. The one nice thing about all of the clone units I have seen or tested is that they all measure about 0.1v above the actual battery voltage when measured on my 5 digit HP meter. so they should actually prolong the life and increase the number of cycles you can get out of the cells they charge. The one real iMax B6 I bought from SkyRC actually measures about 0.05V under what it reports on the screen right out of the box so when charging it actually runs at 4.25v in constant current mode which is a but high but a quick calibration fixes that as well.

[@MrEnajiza]

there's an easy fix to the problem by calibrating the chinese version to properly read the voltage...this video shows you how - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIKZmZuGbMmJrK8

[@Mr71chevyvan]

love my FAKE B6. it has never harmed a cell. my 12 volt source is a 3.5 amp brick.

[@eyal4]

if ill use 12v supply with more than 5amps it should be ok?

[@hondacivichybridhub9252]

I definitely like the real one from SkyRC that has the internal resistance test mode. Awesome!

[@DJBBBOSS]

thanks for the video, I purchased a genuine one and checked its serial numbers on there website.... I really dont see the point in using these clone chargers, you may as well use one of the cheap chargers that come with most models these days. If you are going to buy a good quality charger then accurate and safe charging is the point....

[@vassilijzietseff132]

+steve Boss (dj bb boss) some people. {and there are quite a few in 7 billion} cant afford original items which is why there is a fake market in the first place, chinese people are very clever, and there stuff should be looked at as a necessity rather than a pain, we created the pain in the first place, i have repaired{before even using} mine and upgraded internally so now it will out perform the original, all for less then two bears or a packet of smokes, just saying,

[@DJBBBOSS]

+vassilij zietseff (davlyn) You dont live in the UK do you.... If you spent the cost of repairing / adjusting your fake charger by the price of a packet of cigarettes ( smokes ) then you may as well buy the real charger in the first place....... at £9 a pack of 20 , as I know to my cost being an ex smoker they are taxed to extreme here in the UK so your comparison to smokes isnt a good one here in the UK..... :)

[@vassilijzietseff132]

steve Boss hi steve yes i am in UK, i have ordered two of these one from hobby king{aint got a clue when it will arrive } and the other from tvc-mall here on friday i have ordered a multiplexer 4051 and mosfet IRFZ 4N.. ZRF 510 {will do} all 80+pence each times 4 of each set the rest is down to soldering and cable replacement, and digital in line internal fuse these chargers are the cheap cheap type without psu now i am disabled from birth on benefits all my life i am 62 no money or very little and last sept 7th dr roddy mrs, told me at shrewsbury royal hospital to put my house in order, i am dying,, i believe in GOD and i do not believe in slagging off other races because they do things differently, NOT KNOCKING YOU STEVE, but with a little know how it is doable on the cheap. dave

[@vassilijzietseff132]

steve Boss i meant roll ups half the price ???!!!

[@DJBBBOSS]

+vassilij zietseff (davlyn) I am an electrician Dave, My only advice ( and although I have some knowhow in electronics i'm no expert ) Make sure what ever adjustments you make as far as calibration and so on that you install short circuit protection and overload protection as this seems to be a key fault on the fake chargers, the lack of protection that is. Fine if you do that but again as I said before alot of people will buy these fake or copies and not realise that they are not safe without firstly altering them and I myself after actually experiencing 2 fire's , one where a Lipo went off like a roman candle firework because it overheated while charging and another when the cheap plug shorted and the battery burst into flames all while using cheap chargers that came with stock supplied radio controlled toys, one a boat and one a heli........... Dave, its just a case of fine if you are sure what you are doing is okay and safe but if you are a novice then beware.

[@fernandofrancisco3106]

I’m not impressed because he didn’t adjust the charger according to the real voltage of the battery

[@Thelivelyone]

Thanks for exposing my charger I never thought of it been fake up until now you took my joy away nice one mate 👍🏾

[@OneCupOfCoffee204]

You are charging a Li-ion battery on the li-Po setting. Might this have something to do with your conclusions?

[@jordanvalenciamanuelpillai2917]

OneCupOfCoffee204 they use the same method of charging

[@johncoops6897]

WRONG. The conclusion is that the INDIVIDUAL cell voltages are being detected wrongly. Whether the charger is set to LiPo or LiIon (or any other chemistry) makes absolutely ZERO difference.

[@liaustria7790]

make sure to calibrate to a accurate volt meter ..calibration mode dec+start hold it for 5 seconds and match your calibration from your volt meter to the charger

[@rundebustamante8975]

I am using it for DIY coz its affordable and i cant afford a supisticated charger and it is working fine for me for 3yrs now. Cheers!

[@rabindranathramsarop]

could you repeat this test with a real lipo battery. Also sometimes if the multiplexer going to the cpu is not reading the input voltages of the cells correctly in a multicell lipo. You may have this problem and the battery swells. If you are to charge to 4.2V you must have a pd slightly greater than 4.2v. Also the calibration reading of the voltage may need to be adjusted.

[@lezbriddon]

did you run the charger calibration?

[@zero09_2]

lez briddon youre ok, EcProjects go to charger calibration you use LiPo settings!!!! and you need use LI ION settings, read the manual man!!! I RECOMEND THIS CHARGER READ THE MANUAL INSTRUCCIONS MAN!!!!! after test man

[@lezbriddon]

spydy09 theres 2 settings for calibration depending on firmware, and 2 voltages to set, one setting is the invidual 4.2v cell settings, and the other is total pack voltage, the cell voltages and total pack are used for balance charge and pack only for fast charge BUT if they are not set accuratly then you can calibrate the charger so it never completes balance charge!

[@EcProjects]

Nope, I didn't run the charger calibration. spydy09 The reason why I don't recommend it is still, it's counterfeit. An unknown company pretending to be someone they're not with no quality control what so ever. What if they got other issues. Worst case, a man plugs in his battery before going to work and comes home to find his house burned down ? I'm not going to recommend that. Li-ion is not just Li-ion, it depends on the electrode materials.. 3.7V is 3.7V though.

[@lordofthebeltsthereturnoft1127]

EcProjects I think you need to research Li-ion and Lipo. They are not the same thing and just because the voltage is the same does not mean the batteries are the same. For instance Ni-CD and Ni-MH have the same voltage also. I think if you research you will find that Lipo's and Li-ions have a lot of difference. Even different energy density and one was invented like 30 year before the other.

[@EcProjects]

David Irving The problem here is that I DID research it. And again I recommend reading the following, batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/the_li_polymer_battery_substance_or_hype also check out their articles about Li-ion types.. There is another great site out there, I will link it in if I find it..

[@vassilijzietseff132]

yes they are fake but we all buy fake items all the time to save money, the good thing is if certain things inside are changed and certain things upgraded with more solder, these fakes are really quite good and can be flashed with new firmware and calibrated,to perform as good as the original

[@DJBBBOSS]

+vassilij zietseff (davlyn) The whole point of bring to peoples notice that these things are fake and in many cases dangerous is that many people ( Especially those just starting out in this hobby ) wouldn't of known and would unknowingly be using these fakes thinking they are the originals thus putting there batteries and other items including the home and family at risk without knowing. Its fine if you want to buy fake and adjust it to make it safe to use but many people wouldn't know how to do this or just simply wouldn't know they had to do this to make something safe. Personally I stay clear of these cheaper fake items as do many other people.

[@vassilijzietseff132]

steve Boss GOD bless conversation over

[@giottodiotto1]

shame that you didn't monitor the current going in with a separate DMM , also you could have measured the temperature at the cell with a IR thermometer, i would be not surprised iff your charger came from the same fabrik as the " genuine" model, only from the back entrance so to speak.....

[@betabilly]

Yes, "bin" does not exist in any Chinese business model. They don't throw anything away. If the product does not pass QC, it is sold in bulk . This goes for batteries, props and almost anything you buy from Chinese sellers at Amazon and eBay. They lie.

[@divadogluz]

Good video but, I have charged my 3S 11.1V 2200mAh batteries (9) over 188 times and my 7.4V 1300mAh batteries (11) over 368 times with this charger and, they are still holding great. I'm not worry for a +/-0.06 volts anyway...

[@lalig88]

how much time u need for charge the 3S pls ?

[@thekaiser4333]

@@lalig88 - Less than an hour.

[@MultiWirth]

I´m charging a nimh battery pack, at the moment the value is 7,39V and it is exactly the same value my multimeter shows. It is a fake unit as yours in the video but as much as i can see it does it´s job very well. I got it for around 20€ including a power supply rated at 15V and 5A.

[@NickDelDuca]

Did you calibrate it? It has the ability to be calibrated to read the correct voltage. Mine was overcharging batteries by .02V until I calibrated it. Now it's right on.

[@thetoymaker9404]

i have the same but enter and decrease doesnt do anything

[@donaldswinteck5433]

The whole premises of this video is that the charging voltage is a little over 4.2volts at the end of the charging cycle. I have done many 18650 batteries and have not yet have a battery that is over 4.2 volts when the charge is full. The charging voltage is not the test of a battery being over charged but the voltage of the battery after the charged is complete is.

[@xovox9507]

So you obviously don't know you can calibrate these, the genuine ones benefit from it also, hold enter and Dec buttons then power it on and it will enter calibration mode there you can connect a battery of known voltage and alter what the imax says until it is correct

[@propfella]

None of them are accurate and I have a clone Imax B6 which is better than all the chargers I own. Pull them all apart and look at the innards, all exactly the same, in fact I wouldn't be at all surprised if all of them come off the same assembly line. I own 6 x 4 button digital display chargers and each of them have the identical motherboard, including both the clone Imax and the original Imax. I have to laugh at a Chinese company getting upset about another Chinese company copying their product. Their claims of their charger being better than the clone is rubbish, pure advertising BS. My original Imax B6 failed after 3 charges, the clone, purchased at the same time is still going strong 5 years later. It's all hype and sadly you've fallen for it. Now do the exact same video, only include the original as well. Let's see how much better your original is. I doubt you'll do that though, it stands a good chance of making this video look ridiculous.

[@stephdelta0388]

Just got one for my Hubsan 501. Apparently the fake one (damn you , amazon). Came without a power cord. Got a powercord almost as expensive as the charger on the net, it sort of fits. Now I realize it doesn't have hubsan connectors so I can't charge my batteries anyway. This sucks

[@Chickey]

I have one of these but it only shows the target voltage when charging and not the current voltage of the battery while charging, is this selectable?

[@lucab1733]

Again the same sky rc charger also has over charge but there is a feature where you can calibrate it by offsetting the the voltage, you should calibrate the genuin or the fake one before use

[@randy1203]

I just purchased one of these, and it thru up a strange code, it would have been nice if you would have zoomed in a little closer to see as you pushing buttons back and forth!

[@RobertRafai]

Calibrate LiPro . Press together Dec. and Start for few seconds and compare with your Fluke (+-01 is not +-01volt, it's some value)

[@mikebloodworth9258]

There is an undocumented Calibration procedure using the buttons for the voltage error you see on the IMAX. It shouldn't overcharge then :)

[@vedasticks]

ive got 1. usless for charging nimh. constantly false triggers full charge. i had the ac version with built in power supply. the 240v track blew out after 6 months, guessing there wasnt enough seperation betweem live and nuetral as it looked like it arced

[@CharlesNolanArt]

Oh Crap, I am just trying to charge a lith ion battery pack there is NO replacement charger I have looked everywhere finally learned enough to order this B6 charger and now you tell me if I use it I will set off thermonuclear war I can't win! The boy gets no RC truck for xmas.

[@mattivirta]

ALL RC car ,boat,plane,battery can charge this imax. no problem and have wery good 100% same board have inside fake and genuine.

[@AD-xc1qz]

Thanks for a Pro test! Helped me to avoid buying fake SKYRC Imax B6

[@solartonytony5868]

my fake charger, turns on, starts charging a 6s nimh 7.2V pack, then stops at around 4.19V with 'FULL' after 20min or so and only 30mAh of charge ... the pack charges fine on another charger .... what's wrong with the B6 ?

[@Masterpj555]

some of the clones I heard are ok but a lot of them have a nuvoton chip in it instead of an arduino... allowing you not flash or calibrate them to make them work properly. So usually they will read too high and not charge your batteries to their full capacity. in that case I would not recommend the clone anymore either. It's a shame if they kept the arduino in the clones with the programming headers with the ability to flash them the clone would be recommended.

[@EcProjects]

Thanks for mentioning this.. :)

[@Masterpj555]

EcProjects no problem. I should have mentioned atmega and not arduino but you get the idea

[@EcProjects]

yeah :)

[@alessiagiomo8297]

Have you calibrated the charger berfore starting ?

[@tornillodino]

The LiIo function fits in the charger ... why crack it as a lipo?

[@rodstartube]

something you didn't mention, and probably didn't know is that you can calibrate the charger voltaje, and in your case, you must do it

[@vet137]

I should be made and bummed out or both..but I am glad I watched this because I have a fake and it just came 2 days ago. Thanks for this video I certainly do not want to wreck my batteries or have a possible fire issue.

[@MariaEngstrom]

I have one of these, it's identical to yours... I'm pretty sure it cannot charge push 5A because mine gives up around 3A even when I have way more than enough current in.

[@EcProjects]

Thanks for the comment :), I will check if mine has the same problem..

[@aerotro]

I got one of the fake one's as well, I complained and was given a full refund, also because these are counterfeit goods and if you make the seller aware it is illegal to distribute counterfeit goods they will often refund you and let you keep the product as to send it back means your also distributing counterfeit goods ironic really, not a position anyone wants to be in the first place. So I got my money back and was told to keep the fake IMAX. Do a search on "REPORTING COUNTERFEIT GOODS"

[@learningisglorious]

Did you cablibrate the charger? Do that at first use

[@garrygemmell5676]

It would be better if you actually compare a genuine Skyrc with a fake then we could see actually the difference between the two! The Sky model is not perfectly accurate either!

[@mattivirta]

fake and genuine have 100% same elektronic board,components and software inside chip, but only different have AC model internal power supply have cheapen and smallest and power wires have thinned. but external power model no matter all have true same. you use what power supply you want. but charger have true same. i has test and if need buy new charger i buy fake ,both have made in china. genuine and fake.

[@dmanmoka]

Mine actually does a good job at charging 6s5p 18650 battery pack, I charge it to 4.1 per cell (never 4.2 per cell - waste of life cycles) and it stop right at 24.6, with all 6 cells balanced at exactly 4.10v Mine hasn't came with an atmel chip, so I am lucky to get a calibrated unit, but if yours has an Atmel chip inside, you can look at RCGroups for custom firmware - I tested it with another fake Imax and it is very good.

[@EcProjects]

dmanmoka Thanks for the advice :)

[@jeepoyfernandez]

You that fake charger has setting for lithium ion battery..that no gonna work if you charge it with lipo setting.find li-ion setting..

[@Beardy-plays]

You are crying over .01 of an amp and .04 of a volt. Brovic is right, test an actual imax b6. I'm sure they will be about the same. .01 of an amp, and .04 of a volt is not going to be noticed by your battery. Also you are most likely using a crap ebay battery that isnt what it specs says it is.

[@solartonytony5868]

does it have a calibration screen ?

[@ACE999]

I think I saw a calibration method for these clones out here somewhere? Thanks for letting us know what to look for in the missing hologram. :)

[@katiefinn5726]

Is the battery charger is it fast are you having fun what else do you need to know

[@4x60]

You have not checked a real charger to see if it "overcharges". My experience with these "fakes" is they work well. One did not do anything and was definitely a throwaway but I have had more than a few pass through my hands and they have operated as expected.

[@thecentralscrutinizer5105]

Toshiba Tecra Charger works great, 15vdc @ 5amps, $7.99 eBay Use with care and it will last, my clones been good for 2 years now.

[@chillingdude444]

Can u please make video with real imax charger too see if it even makes a difference and doesn't overcharge?

[@EcProjects]

brovic777 Sorry, I don't have one.. But if I ever get one, I will :)

[@Barrybados]

I got one real and one fake to tell the truth after calibrating the fake one i cant really tell the difference they both do a good job , I should mention the real one was spot on :) , just ordered another fake one with the power supply built in £17 off fleabay .

[@williamwindex3890]

i actually love the fake chargers. i use them on a 84v pack and can hook in anywhere and charge any set of cells or an individual cell. i dont run a BMS to fail me mid trip.. only these cheap chargers ignore the cells around and just do whats asked. the two i have charge differently like night and day but im use to them and know what voltages they like and when

[@cthree87]

Appearently the HCF4051 mux is bad. I've seen some people who have replaced it and fixed the problem of under sensing voltage. YMMV

[@EcProjects]

Thanks for the tip, I will check that if I'm going to keep it..

[@zepp3lin]

Yes it's fake but you can still calibrate it correctly to the right specs. While on off mode press the Enter and status button together and On your charger, it will go into calibration mode and you can adjust the values by decreasing or increasing.

[@kanarimentos7056]

hi today i receive the charger imax first battery was good charge 7.4 v the next one is new one is 11.1 v its damage puff over heat can you tell me what reason why happened

[@2ftpmarco]

what is the weight of the fake one ?

[@myjourneythroughelitedange8695]

Have you tested a real one under the same conditions? The "Over charge" doesn't seem too bad at all so I think it'd be an interesting test.

[@EcProjects]

My journey through Elite Dangerous Nope, I haven't tested a genuine one, sorry :)

[@myjourneythroughelitedange8695]

EcProjects Ok. Thanks for the reply. I'm getting ready to buy one of these or the B6 (I think it is) with the built in AC power supply. The power supply would be so convenient most of the time for me.

[@TheFarazz]

Just purchased the original b6 wanted to know if it will be save to use with Toshiba laptop power supply? (output19V---6.32A)

[@elecdroid3666]

Hi. Can we use this product with 19v 4.7a notebook power supply?

[@mattivirta]

this have 11-18V input, NOT can

[@matrix8847]

You'll need a step down module as this needs 11 to 18 volts

[@jezzy59]

I got a fake one unknowingly. If I decided to continue using this fake one charge only with my Ni-Mh or Ni-Cd, is it going to harm the battery like Li-Po or Li-io?

[@EcProjects]

Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd are much more forgiving, but can certainly overheat too, just keep an eye on them :)

[@EcProjects]

Well, there are a lot of opinions :) I'm not going to argue which are right and wrong, but generally the higher the voltage the shorter the lifetime of the battery. You can even gain a bit by only charging it to 4.1 or even 4 volts. The decomposition is exponential, so you won't gain as much life expectancy by dropping the voltage to 4.15v as you would lose by increasing it to 4.25v. Heat also influences the rate of decomposition. My problem with the charger is not the "amount of overcharge", it's more that you can't trust the "unknown" manufacture. I have seen some of these chargers that over charge much more. Even to the point where the battery swelled up and vented the boiling electrolyte, and some that "just" died after a few cycles..

[@TheKetsa]

Yeah, well now show us : Same test with an original ? the same test after calibration ?

[@TonyLing]

We shall pass that task over to you shall we?

[@TheKetsa]

The guy sure has a beautiful lab, he should know the fake charger can also be calibrated no ? I calibrated mine and I'm not into electronics...

[@TonyLing]

Mine measures 800mA charge current regardless of charge rate setting. This seems too far out to be just a calibration issue

[@Ziplock9000]

For someone with expensive lab equipment his testing and research was terrible.

[@jalpa9642]

I have one of these Fake Imax 6B chargers I got off of Ebay.com....it worked fine twice but now I plug it in to AC 110 to 120 VAC, the LCD backlight lights up but the LED Readouts are blank, it beeps, etc. but can not see what it sensors because the LED's readouts do not work...? I like it because it also Discharges batteries and also does a storage charge when not being used.....? =)

[@TC-tn9tb]

its not fake its a rip off ,fake means it wouldn't work at all also everyone is assuming it's the imax that has the wrong reading how do we know that it could be your equiptment giving the bogus reading, i think the imax does a good enough job for what it is also did you take the resistance of the wire in to consideration

[@EcProjects]

you are really just negative, aren't you ? I provide an objective test, I'm not judging your decision whether to buy it or not. Regarding the equipment, the fluke is cross-referenced to a calibrated meter periodically. It is well within specification, but of course you don't have to believe that.

[@haroldlyons787]

I don't know anything about batteries and really appreciate your information about this fake battery charger and what to look for. I was looking for a battery charger when I found your upload can you recommend a good one

[@Choronzon39]

Is it possible that the battery was the issue? UltraFire's are notorious for fakes.

[@EcProjects]

Nope, the battery will not affect the charger.. But it is a fake, that's for sure.. :)

[@pyroslavx7922]

Can you manually set a bit lower V per cell (so it wil actually be 4.200)?

[@gursisingh1940]

Yes, in the programming mode you can actually set charging to like 4.0v which is 80% charge which means your cell will last more charge and discharge cycles

[@ryantoomey611]

What if you calibrate the charger to the correct voltage?

[@tedinde]

I've had 2 genuine go bad.. I ordered a conterfiet..2 years ago. and it's still going strong.. Strange. the imax B6s are 5 amp..The fake charges up to 6 amp in the setting. I've since upgraded..I have a venom pro charger plus i bought, cause i needed to charge 7s lipos for a ebike build.. goes up to 8s...And. a ISDT q6 20 amp.. I use the fake b6 to charge my 4 hubsan 7000mah 3s lipos i paid $22 each for.. in parallel, to use as a field battery for my Q6.. and bought the $35 ISDT parallel charger that is built like a tank. First thing i alway do is calibrate the chargers. But the fake came dead on. Also upon opening it.. I put the guts in the real SKy RC case. since i have 2 dead real ones. The caps are bigger and better quality. so sometimes the fakes arent that bad.. I will charge 4 cheap CNHL 1300 4s 100c Lipos at 5c Charging rates..and never a problem.. of course my good R line Tattu's i baby at 1/2 C... but the cheap $17 CNHL after 6 months are not showing any crazy IR rates. all under 6Ir

[@johnbee1574]

Good video and damm it I have a fake one. It’s been working fine but wondering if it’s been slowly damaging my cells.

[@propfella]

I take no notice or whether it's an original or clone. I had an original iMax charger, it died so I bought another one. I found out later it was a clone, here we are 5 years later and the clone still charges as well as anything else I have, including the latest touch screen chargers. I also have the unit which has it's own 240volt power supply, it's also a clone and 3 years after buying it, I haven't had a problem.

[@ZX9jar]

can I use a 12v 300mA for JUST FOR Discharging to a Storage Charge level?

[@ZX9jar]

mais power adapter

[@WRCX212]

Dear EcProjects, Thanks for a wonderful and informative video. I had recently purchased the same charger before I watched your video. Have you come across any way to adjust the fake charger so that it will be more accurate? I am going to try to modify this fake charger to work properly!

[@eyal4]

if ill use 12v supply with more than 5amps it should be ok? (like a 12v computer box power supply with 16a,ps)

[@aliensanonymous5063]

Eyal S its an 80w charger so youd have to count on a limiter within the charger or the supply. they got power supplies on ebay for this. type "imax b6 adapter" and theyre only 7-8$.

[@eyal4]

​ Aliens Anonymous I need some power supply that will limit the input to 5 amps so it won't be able to draw more than that? I thought that it was ok if I have the same voltage specification and more than the required amps.

[@aliensanonymous5063]

you might be but its not rated for it.

[@EpicMOCS]

should it be balanced charged then?

[@Robert67909]

you can't balance charge a 1cell battery

[@duncanyoung8688]

why dod you charge a liIon battery with the lipo setting

[@lordofthebeltsthereturnoft1127]

He claims in the comments that lipo and li-ion are the same 0_o. This guy clearly doesn't know much and that's the likely reason he gets problems with what he uses.

[@EcProjects]

David Irving And there is a reason why I do that.. Yet again I suggest reading up on the topic: batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/the_li_polymer_battery_substance_or_hype . A few quotes, also reused form a previous comment :) "Li-polymer is not considered a unique battery chemistry. Most Li-polymer packs for the consumer market are based on Li-cobalt." and "Charge and discharge characteristics of Li-polymer are identical to other Li-ion systems and do not require a special charger." You are pretty fast at drawing conclusions about people, David. I think there are nicer ways to contribute to the discussion than calling people "things".

[@RinoaL]

EcProjects i get annoyed how people on my videos dont understand that LiPo and Li+ are the same thing.

[@RobBob555]

David Irving you sir.. are an Idiot.. he used that setting as the voltage required was such.. lol.. you make an ass out of yourself a lot ??

[@antoinepedneault]

Does it work well even if it is a fake ?

[@EcProjects]

Antoine Pedneault Apart from overcharging, yeah it does "charge" hehe :) It's working, but I wouldn't leave it unattended :/

[@stoneymohammed2255]

Damn ijust bought today ,idont know what to do !return it or try it?

[@jackoneill8585]

its not a fake charger... it does work.. they over charge alittle bit because the batteries settle down over 30 mintes so your battery will come down from 4.26 to 4.19 or so... the chargers are set to charge over on purpouse

[@davecc0000]

So did you get a refund? If the seller hesitates open a complaint with ebay. They won't stand for counterfeits.

[@IacovosFloridesGiakoumis]

How to you recognize the fake one?

[@devinduncan6922]

seems you left out the tolerance for overcharge, +/-0.8%. Your target was 4.2, with +0.8% puts upper limit at 4.2336 V. Final value of 4.268 means the over charge is 34.4mV (not bad considering calibration was not verified first). The charger device did shut off at the target window, did it not? Any error can be in calibration (either the charger or the Digital voltmeter. Do the calibration at a stable temperature and repeat your test to see if that makes a difference.

[@EcProjects]

Devin Duncan The moral of the story is; do you trust a no-name Chinese manufacture, who do not want you to know who they are, to not burn your house down while you sleep?.. A 0.8 % tolerance is not difficult to meet without any calibration what so ever, but it seems they do not care. At least that makes me think what else they do not care about..

[@devinduncan6922]

Well, I would never leave a LiPo battery on a charger unattended. And the fact that the device does allow for a calibration (more than once with some tricks) is reasonable. Having dealt with manufacturing in China for over 10 years I have some feel for what to expect. I would be more concerned about the particular sample's heating up and regulation of voltage/current. Not sure why you think 0.8% without a final calibration is a no brainer... perhaps your six decimal place VOM has you living in a fantasy. Just what tolerances do you think are used in the device BOM? PERFECT value resistors and caps? Ever design a circuit? Besides a simulation? Hint: Design for Manufacturing includes tolerances... from resistors to holes in metal plates. Otherwise the price goes through the roof.

[@EcProjects]

Not sure where you are trying to get with your questions and statements. People may see things differently than you. I may not have 10 years of experience, but yes, I do design circuits, and I do also use simulation. The whole idea of using simulation, in my opinion, is to very quickly and efficiently be able to see the effect of tolerances of components, changes in temperature and whatever on the entire system. But I don't have a problem with people not using it for what ever reason. As for the price, around $2.5 - $3 for "known brand" resistors, a reference and a good enough ADC, minus the price of their components. And that's without any discounts you may get as a company. I think they could justify charging the extra $3..

[@rgrunzo]

+EcProjects the word "moral" in a scientific experiment means that the experiment is biased!

[@lurkingcorsa10]

could it be uploaded firmare this clone version bro?

[@drestarss]

hello can this charger charge big lipo batteries? 9000Mah 6S ???

[@thegusk520]

You should have done an initial calibration.

[@EcProjects]

TheGus K I could calibrate it, yes. But it should have been from the factory.

[@juancarlosoanelli9626]

someone can have an answer with this charger. will use again after a while of having it saved and I find the surprise that does not want to charge more than any battery, the problem is not to read the resistances. Have not found bats, there is no Asian bat meter, read the voltage and the cells but not the resistance, this problem or any question?

[@punpck]

In another video I saw, the fake devices can be easily calibrated by the device software.

[@Choronzon39]

You can charge that battery with a dumb charger. The built in protection circuit disconnects the battery at the proper charge voltage. You most likely have a fake ultrafire. Try it again with a panasonic.

[@EcProjects]

The reason why I chose that battery was because I did not want to damage one of my "good" batteries.. The battery makes no difference i'm afraid, it is just a voltage measurement after all.If the charger overcharges this battery, it will overcharge any battery..

[@TomHellstenTSTstudioThailand]

You can calibrate the iMax B6 to the right voltage