Mark Mitchell at Thunder Power acted like he could care less. His canned statement was:

"That is just the limitation of the charger sir"

I tried to explain that the 820 was a better option, again he didn't care. I could get no more out of him, and honestly it seems TP just doesn't' give a crap about user feedback. He maintained that I was the first complaint about charging rates they had ever received.

I expressed my concern over their advertising claims and he maintained that in his opinion they were accurate.

Screw them, I will never, ever buy another TP charger again. I am sending these back if possible and will certainly reconsider my TP battery purchases in the future.

He would have been just as good to slap me in the face and tell me to <blank> off.

Here is what I wrote in my RMA Request for the two chargers:

12s and 14s charge rates are lower than what your other charges can do with the same 1000W power supply. Limited to 504W and 588W respectively with this charger. Using the 820 would be faster. You guys mislead the public with your advertising on this charger. 36V power supplies are useless with this charger and don't increase charge rates. Very disappointed in TP. I will never call you guys with feedback again. Clearly it is not appreciated and customer concerns are not important.

Will return both chargers for a refund and reconsider my TP purchases in the future after you lack of concern over the unreasonable firmware limitations of this charger.

This is in the design. The way these chargers work the larger the difference between input voltage and output voltage the less efficient they are.

That's why they have less output from a 12v input. I wonder if a 36v power supply would allow higher charging rates at 8s and above?

The only way to make 12s or 14s charging as efficient as 6s charging from a 24v input would be to make the input 50v.

IT's what I do.

I wonder if a 36v power supply would allow higher charging rates at 8s and above?

No, not in the 1430C, see the chart I posted that's loosely inserted in the manual.

The only way to make 12s or 14s charging as efficient as 6s charging from a 24v input would be to make the input 50v.

That may be exactly the problem. At 24V input the step up to 50V output is so extreme that it requires a severe drop in output amperage...hadn't thought of that. I guess if that's the case the 1430 will charge 14S batts but only up to 10A. However, if a person parallel charges 2 X 6s~8S, the chargers should still give the full 1000W output rate.

@ Floop, good observation, I'm going to talk to Jim...Marks dept. head, when he gets back from vacation in a week to confirm this.

ProgressiveRC, Tammies Hobbies

I'm planning on Parallel charging 7s packs with the 1430. I know it will put out 30Amps on 7S. Using 2 server power supplies at 30 Amps each in series for 24V. The 820 i have been using would only go up to 8.6 Amps on each side. Running 14s 3850 and 14s 4400 packs so parallel charging them i should be able to charge at 3C. But i usually only go 2C so i feel it suits my needs fine.

chuck

Team Synergy
Thunder Power
Esprit Model
Scorpion

After a few hours to cool down about the topic, I think what it all boils down to is I expected more than I received from these chargers. Is that TP's fault? Maybe not. TP and I have little history with another inexcusable 'we forgot' scenario last week. That didn't help any. I was most irritated by the complete lack of concern when I spoke with TP, I guess everyone can have a bad day.

Their batteries never fail to impress and I incorrectly assumed that whatever TP offered would be the best product available in the market. The battery exchange / damage program is remarkable,

Still, I don't understand why TP would advertise a charger as 36V capable when it offers no tangible benefit that I can identify. Glad I didn't drop the money on those.

Is 2C charging enough for me on a 12s battery? Yes, it likely will be and I would be limited by the generators anyway. I guess the lesson I learned here is not to expect as much from a product that I know very little about.

How does the 1430 stack up against the PL8, up to the 8S limit of the PL8? I'm trying to decide between the two.
Thanks!

take care, dont step on the toes today that may be connected to the a?? you have to kiss tomorrow!!

cshutchinson,

I guess you didn't read the specs before you bought?

Thanks, TheWoodCrafter

I guess you didn't read the specs before you bought?

No, just what was in the product announcement. I pre-ordered in December I think it was directly from TP. They had me at 14s.

Yeah, Just disappointing from such a great company.

Thanks, TheWoodCrafter

Yes, there aren't any other 14S chargers on the market right now.

The PL8 is the most powerful overall on the market right now I believe, because it puts out 1344W max on 8S, but you have to have a pretty serious PS to run it to it's max. There are several 1000W chargers on the market today including the TP 1430, but 14S is the highest voltage. 58.8V max is very high, and to be efficient they will have to input that or higher voltage to the charger.

Yeah, Just disappointing from such a great company

I don't think you guys understand what it takes to get to that kind of charging power level, ie 30A @ 58.8V = 1764W out, not including charger losses. Nobody is even close to that, but the hardest thing, is what Floop mentioned, the output voltage step up from low voltage input. It is like having a 12-15V PS and trying to get more than 500W out. The loss in stepping up the output voltage makes it not work. At least TP is making it work even if it's not up to out desired power level...

ProgressiveRC, Tammies Hobbies

@Band1086

There is another 14S charger out there, the Hyperion EOS 1420i NET3, but it will put out only up to 550W and 20A

http://www.hyperion-world.com/blog/...r-presentation/

OOPS, I forgot about that one...

ProgressiveRC, Tammies Hobbies

I completely understand what is going on here.
Boosting the voltage eats power.

The disappointing part is that TP is kind of advertising this charger as a 14S 30AMP charger.

Well that is true but not together.

It just seems a little tricky to put those 2 numbers together when the charger will not do that.

I am surprised they came out with a 14S charger. Didn't know there was that much of a market for it.
But I do know there is a big market for a high output 6S to 10S chargers.

I just think they missed the entire boat with the product.

Thanks, TheWoodCrafter

The 1010 would only charge a 10S pack at 5 Amps max..
I'd like a 2000W charger but then i'd also like a 16S+ ESC and motor.
Even at 10 Amps for a 14s pack it's still more than the 820 would do.
on 14s that is.
chuck

Team Synergy
Thunder Power
Esprit Model
Scorpion

Hi guys!

I bought this 1430 a coupple of weeks ago, what a piece of ****
this is!
First charging my 6S batteries, and it worked good, but when i
tried to charge my 10S EON-X 4350 @1C the darned thing cuts of at
about 38,6volts (after 4700mah.,not Storage mode), had to use my old SHULZE ISL 936 to top them up (+2600mah.).

Peppe
Ps. Buying chep is buying expensive....
Ds.

You were parallel charging 2 X 4350 10S bateries @ 8.7A?

ProgressiveRC, Tammies Hobbies

No, 1 10S 4350 1C= 4,35mah.!

Peter

cshutchinson,

I understand your frustration with the TP customer service that you received. I have been a long time fan of TP and have bought and used lots of their products. I noticed the TP booth at IRCHA this year and stopped by to look at new and upcoming products.
I had 3 of my TP 1010 chargers with me on the trip so I asked one of the TP guys if anyone might have a data cord with them and might help me update the firmware in my chargers.

Long story short, I was told basically that these chargers we obsolete, they had very few support parts for them now and that I needed to buy some newer chargers so that's exactly what I did. Shortly after getting home from IRCHA, I ordered some new charger setups that are new, fit my needs and do not have the TP label!

Guess TP helped me out after all

Vince