# A123 battery on an ICE charger?



## gndprx (Aug 30, 2006)

I'm finding conflicting information all over the place. 

Does anyone have a step-by-step of how to charge an A123 2300 pack on a Duratrax ICE or Triton JR. charger? I don't mind buying an adapter of some sorts, just don't want to buy a $100 charger for a single battery pack.

I also already have an LBA10 balancer which should also work with this pack.

Thanks.


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## guver (Jul 31, 2002)

Proper voltage termination is 3.7 volts/cell. If you can find that one matches up then it will stop at the correct voltage.


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## kevinm (Jan 16, 2002)

This quote is straight from A123's website (Frequently Asked Questions):


16) How safe are these batteries?
These batteries are very safe, and abuse tolerant. They have many safety advantages over Lithium Polymer batteries. They are not prone to thermal runaway which is the leading cause of fire in a LiPo battery. They will tolerate some amount of over voltage before failing. Our batteries should be charged to 3.6V/cell. They will tolerate up to 4.2V/cell with little damage. Charging to 4.2V / cell repeatedly will have negative effects on your pack. Repeat abuse will yield much lower cycle life, and can result in pack failure.

The Ice has a Lithium-Ion mode that assumes 3.6V/cell, which _probably_ means it limits charge voltage to 4V/cell (which might work), but the safe answer is "No". The normal LiPo mode charges to 4.2V/cell.


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## gndprx (Aug 30, 2006)

Just as a follow-up to an old post.

I have been charging my A123 packs with great success on an ICE charger for a few months now. I also have a Sonic charger since I run 3 classes in a given night all with A123.

For the ICE, I'm using a Hyperion LBA10 and wired up a balance adapter to tap into the +/- leads and combine with the common from their provided balance tap. I've also converted the balance plugs over to JR servo style as they fit nicely into the balance adapter on the Sonic charger and are easy to create extension leads to tap into the normal balance plug on the charger/balancer end.

The important thing about the LBA10 is that it has a high voltage cut-off. This terminates the charge when the battery is full. The ICE just views it as a disconnected battery. Charging at 5A LiPo setting and it gives me what appears to be a 100% charge.

Just thought I would share


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## trailranger (Feb 9, 2006)

Out to the garage to find out.


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## guver (Jul 31, 2002)

Thanks for the info, I wouldn't hesitate to use any of my lio chargers on A-123 , stop any time during the cv stage since it's slow anyways. Using 4.1 setting is better yet.


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