Parallel Charging

Warning: Attempt at own risk. A lack of knowledge or improper equipment can result in both the loss of equipment and a fire. Only attempt if you fully understand how to properly construct and use multiple battery charging setups and accept the risks of doing so. I am not responsible for accidents that may occur when using these charging methods.

What is Parallel Charging?
In a nutshell parallel charging allows for multiple same cell count batteries to be connected in parallel to create a single larger logical battery that can then be charged.

♣ What does this mean to you?
Say you have (3) 3s 2200 packs that you run in your 450 sized heli. You take all 3 packs, wire them in parallel, set the charger to charge a 3s 6600mAh pack and poof you will have 3 packs done in an hour. This is assuming a few things of course but that is the basic idea and it is a good one to say the least.

♣ How does it work you ask?
It’s actually pretty simple. When you place all the packs in parallel, they all become the same voltage. I am not speaking in metaphors here, they really all do become the same voltage. Not the average of the packs either. Current actually flows between the packs and they actually all adjust voltage until they all perfectly match each other. The charger only “sees” one larger pack and charges it as if it were a single pack.

♣ But if the charger only sees one pack, how does it balance all the packs?
All the individual packs will be balanced by the charger if a parallel balance adapter used. Using this also ties all the like cells of all the packs together (first cell in all the packs are tied together, second cell in all the packs are tied together and so on). Then not only do the packs all become the same voltage but each set of cells does also. The charger then balances all the packs as if it was charging a single pack.

♣ Is parallel charging for me?
Anyone can do parallel charging on any charger with any batteries, so it is always an option but there are always trade-offs. Read through the “Potential Drawbacks” section for more information.

♣ What are some specific uses of parallel charging?
→ 450 sized heli:
Many times people start with a 450 sized heli and in the beginning they can not get enough flight time. This is what we call the “Welcome to your new addiction” stage. Parallel charging can be a great aid to the new pilot. For example with a 350W charger a 6x parallel lead set, a new pilot could charge 6 450 packs in 30min.

→ 700 sized heli:
Larger electric helis are becoming very popular and they come with large needs in terms of power. A common battery pack for a 700 is a 12s 5000mAh made up of (2) 6s 5000mAh packs wired in series. Due to the lack of 12s chargers available, a need for charging pairs of large 6s packs has arisen. Of course you could use 2 chargers, or a dual port charger, but there is another solution, a solution that really brings out the best on the new powerful chargers offering 1000W or more of output. By using one of these new 1000W chargers and parallel charging, you can charge a pair of 6s 5000mAh packs in 25min or less.

Requirements and Recommendations for Parallel Charging
→ A parallel wiring adapter for the main leads. This can be for as few as 2 packs or as many as 6 or more, your choice.
→ A parallel wiring adapter for the balance leads is optional but highly recommended. Ideally it should have the same number of connections as the main leads adapter.
→ All the packs you charge in parallel MUST be the same type and cell count. There is no need to match the capacity, C-rating, age or brand for parallel charging. For example you can charge a 3s 2200mAh 15C lipo, a 3s 3200mAh 25C lipo and a 3s 850mAh 35C lipo together, but you CAN NOT charge any 3s lipo in parallel with a 4s lipo.
→ Ideally the packs to be charged should all be at a similar voltage. If I had to put a number on it I would say that all cells should be within .2V for each other. This is not required but is a good practice.
♣ Potential benefits
→ Huge time savings. Not only do you get multiple packs done at once but you also only have to hook everything up once.
→ More efficient way to charge multiple packs than serial charging. Keeping the voltage lower means less work for the charger.
→ Allows for simultaneous charging of 12s flight packs made up of pairs of 6s packs on chargers that can not otherwise charge 12s packs. Same with 10s or 8s made up of paired 5s or 4s packs.
→ Safer than serial charging. Because you can connect the packs in any order, there is no chance of creating direct shorts if you mix up the connections. This is assuming you have proper adapters.
♣ Potential drawbacks and warnings
→ If something were to go wrong during the charge cycle it could effect multiple packs. For example if the charger was setup incorrectly, it would effect all connected packs instead of just one.
→ When parallel charging you loose the ability to monitor each pack independently. Only averages are displayed by the charger.
→ If packs are at vastly different voltages when you connect them together in parallel, it is possible that a large amount of current can flow between the packs as they equalize themselves. In most cases this will not damage the batteries but it can damage the wiring.
→ Parallel charging large packs on lesser capable chargers will give little to no benefit, aside from only having to set up charger one time, due to small output capability. Parallel charging is really done best on larger chargers.
Additional info/Discussion
This section is where I will address other concerns with parallel charging as they arise.

♣ High current flow concern when connecting packs at different voltages together for parallel charging
Many people are greatly concerned that when charging multiple packs in parallel, that they be very near in voltage when you connect them, or the current that flows between them will be very great and could harm the lipos or cause greater problems. It is true that large currents can flow but the size of these currents are often greatly over-calculated. Here is some math to show a worst case scenario, connecting 2 high performance 6s 5000mAh packs, one fully charged and the other discharged.

The voltage of the charged pack is 25.2V, the voltage of the discharged pack is 22.2V, and so the voltage difference is 3.0V. The internal resistance of each pack is .018 ohms (3mohm per cell) for a total of .036 ohms.

Volts = Amps * Resistance
or
Amps = Volts / Resistance = 3.0V / .036ohms = 83.3A

If we only do this simple math and go no further, we find the initial current flow to be 83.3A or nearly 17C. That looks bad on paper but in reality it is nowhere near that high because of a simple concept that the straight math fails to take into account and that is the voltages of both packs will change under load. Basically the more you load (discharge) a battery, the greater voltage drop. This means that the charged pack is no longer at 25.2V when it is loaded. In fact a 6s 5000mAh lipo will likely drop to more like 22V under that high of a load. Notice that is actually lower than the discharged lipo. Likewise the discharged lipo’s voltage will rise under the charging load. The actual initial current flow is not easy to pin down without testing it in real life and will change with different packs, at different voltages, and so on.

Basically it is never a good idea to connect a to packs in parallel that are at vastly different voltages but in this case the likely end result will be nothing other than 2 packs will end up half charged.

There is one concern that is still very real though and that is if the pack’s balance wires are connected first, this high current could damage the balance wires and/or the balance adapter. As such the main leads should always be connected first.

♣ Testing data
In the interest of backing up the concepts above, I have done several tests. The first was to cover the voltage differences in normal use. I choose .2V per cell as the greatest possible difference between 2 packs for this test. And in the interest of making it as harsh as possible, I used a charged pack and a pack .2V per cell lower instead of a drained pack and one .2V higher. The packs used were Hyperion VX 2600mAh 35C 6s packs. These packs represent some of the higher capable packs available. Here are the numbers for the test.

	Pack 1	Pack 2
Cell Size	2600mAh	2600mAh
Cell count	6s	6s
Internal R per cell	4-5mohm	3-4mohm
Pack voltage	24.96V	23.73V
Initial Cell voltages	4.16V	3.96V

I used my G.T. Power watt meter to measure the current flow between the packs. I do not have the capability to log the results on a computer, so I watched the numbers closely and mentally noted them. The peak current was recorded by the watt meter. The results were

Initial current (peak)	18.7A
Current @ .5sec	~15A
Current @ 1sec	~12A
Current @ 2sec	~10A
Current @ 5sec	~8A
Current @ 10sec	~6A
Current @ 20sec	~5A

These results are approximately what I expected, maybe a little higher though. The initial (peak) current represents a rate of just over 7C and within 2sec it was below 4C. These numbers are child’s play for the VX packs in terms of discharge rates and only the first second of current flow exceeded the charge rating of the packs.

All-in-all I think this shows that normal voltage differences (up to .2V per cell) between discharged packs are not problematic as long as the main leads are connected before the balance leads. Also the size and performance of the packs used are not important, as larger, higher end packs will have cause higher currents to flow between the packs but they are better suited to handle them. In other words the current is proportional to the pack capabilities and it works on both sides, charging and discharging.

The next test will be with the same packs but using a fully charged and fully discharged packs.

Sparky-sparky (warning)
If the packs being charged are used in with a series connector like a large helicopter running 12s using 2x 6s packs in series, make sure you remove the series adapter before you connect the balance leads in parallel to charge. Failure to do so will result in a direct short and a toasted balance lead or board. Always connecting the main leads before the balance leads solves this potential problem.