HobbyKing™ ECO8 150W 7A 8S Bal/Dis/Cyc Charger w/ accessories

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Buy it- you'll like it!

Mar 28, 2017

This is a good deal, especially with the adapters and cables that comes with it. This charger is the same as the Turnigy and probably others too, and uses the same algorithms and electronics. The only difference is the faceplate graphics and push buttons.

I only mention that because there are some reviews here that engage in brand loyalty and tout the Turnigy over this but at least one of the Turnigy's is exactly the same as this.

Anyway, I use it with an old AT Power supply for 12V input.
I have used this charger on all types of batteries that I own (Nimh, Nicad and LiFe Po4) and thus far it has worked flawlessly. This is a first generation Lipo charger that uses two cables to balance charge and there's a warning to use both the banana charge port and the molex tap plug to do balancing or the charger can be damaged.
But at this price who cares?
The newer chargers will charge/balance through just the balance plug using a single cable.

The screens are intuitive and I was using it in minutes. Curiously the setups look much like a Hobbico Triton charger I've had for 15 years.

If you wish to charge your Lipo's with only one cable you can make a cable up to accommodate that pretty easily.

Well, to finish off I think this was well worth the moola and I may even buy another in the near future.

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Customer Rated

Jul 16, 2016

Worked fine for about three months but now it issues "connection break" and "control failure" errors. I've tested the leads and they are fine so it appears to be some sort of control board failure. Can't recommend at any price.

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Customer Rated

May 02, 2016

These chargers are by far the best bang for the buck. I have 2 of these and both are charging each cell to 4.20, spot on (verified with calibrated meter). I highly recommend these chargers.

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Customer Rated

Apr 16, 2016

I love HK and everything they do but also felt a need to be honest about the inconsistency of these chargers. This charger is a gamble. I purchased two. My first one has worked flawlessly for over 3 years now! Best charger ever and worth it's weight in gold. Balances perfect to the correct voltage every time. Also great results with NICD, NIMH, even Pb batteries. Now that second charger I bought just a few weeks ago... It overcharges lipo cells every time to 0.04v/cell over and high as 0.06v/cell over. Confirmed on two separate volt meters. Not a hazard per say but this could shorten the overall lifespan of a lipo pack for no good reason. Also on BAL cycle it still leaves them out of balance. The storage cycle is also out of wack and leaves packs at a higher resting voltage than they should be. LCD display on one charger is much much brighter than the other and their fans do not kick on to cool at the same times. Often when unnecessary or they just won't turn on when it's getting very warm. Power leads on one charger are about 2ft long and the other is only about 10 inches. The 4mm female charge ports on my newer one arrived looking rusty and corroded. Not like my 3 year old one which are still shiny. Seems like a mismatch of different quality components went into making these guys.

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Customer Rated

Mar 08, 2016

Positives - Excellent price for featues and wattage. Been using solid for 3 years now. Very rugged. Great results using with various lipo, nimh, nicd, even Pb batteries. Menus are easy to navigate and understand. Screen is plenty bright. Charging and discharging work just fine even when using the maximum amperage. Never had it overheat even using outdoors in 100 degree weather.

Negatives - Fan is loud enough to hear from the other room indoors. Rare occasions it boots up with all random unreadable characters on screen but unplugging it fixes every time. It's very sensitive to changes in input voltage. Example I can't use a cigarette lighter in a running car because when A/C or headlights turn on it shows "low voltage" and stops charging, even when set to 10v minimum input threshold. USB port is misleading because you would need an actual serial cable and some knowhow with 3rd party software to ever use it.

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Customer Rated

Feb 20, 2016

habe heute das Ladegert bekommen,nach 15 Sekunden Storage Ladung hat der Lader Rauchzeichen gegeben,die meldung Short Error kam,danach ging nichts mehr
absoluter Schrottlader,habe leider die schlechten Bewertungen danach gelesen,jetzt wird man sehen,ob Hobbyking mir den Kaufbetrag zurckerstattet
habe schn seit einem halben Jahr nichts mehr bei Hobbyking bestellt,weil Akkus defekt waren,jetzt schon wieder rger,3 von 10 Akkus auch wieder defekt,ich war berzeugter Hobbykingler,mal sehen ob das noch anhlt

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Certified Buyer Rated

Feb 20, 2016

works great better then the $150 one I bought from a local hobby shop, super fast shipping less then 48hrs from usa west warehouse to vancouver island, canada. Thanks hobbyking

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Customer Rated

Oct 26, 2015

Bought this one in September.
Today while discharging my 3S Batteries something fried. It says it can discharge up to 5 Amps. I discharged with 3 Amps and it seems that was too much. Maybe it can handle 5 amps on a 1S Battery pack.

All in all I am in a bad spot now, not being able to safely put my packs to storage voltage.
I'm disappointed.

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Customer Rated

Jul 09, 2015

I purchased this despite it having very mixed reviews. I just tested it with some batteries, and at least this one seems to work fine. The menu is somewhat strange to navigate and make sense of, but is quite simple in the end. I still suggest using low currents with this. I suppose the only reason to choose this product is the capability of charging 8s packs, and higher currents with 30V might fry it.

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Customer Rated

Jul 07, 2015

No puedo valorar el producto por que nunca me llego i hobbyking se lava las manos en ese asunto dice que no es problema suyo