Charging packs in series

[timie1]

I see Maxamps now has an adaptor to charge 2 packs wired in series off of one charger both at the same time http://maxamps.com/proddetail.php?prod=Deans-Series-Adapter&cat=78

My question is, can this be used with any charger? If a charger can charge anywhere from 1-8 cells, wouldn't this adaptor be useless with most chargers? I would have thought that wiring 2 packs in series would tell the charger it's 12 cells, or 14 when using 2 7 cell packs.
Wouldn't wiring up and charging 2 packs in parallel be better and a lot more useful with most chargers?
Maybe I'm missing something with the laws of electricity and how to "trick" a charger.

[kschauwe]

If the charger is rated up to 8cells, you can't use that adapter on more than 8cells. It's not recommended to charge Ni-xx packs in parallel.

[timie1]

Yeah that's exactly what I thought. Thanks for confirming my thoughts. Maxamps should state that on their webpage. A lot of newbs will be thinking "Ohhh cool, I can charge my batteries for my E-Maxx twice as quick" and not bother to do some research and then complain when it won't work.

[kschauwe]

It's not recommended to charge E-Maxx packs in series in the first place, because one pack runs down more than the other. The pack that feeds the EVX internal BEC draws more current.

[timie1]

That's a good point. So THAT's why one of my packs had a lot more charge left in it while the other was nearly flat. They are both similar in specs, but your explanation will do it :D

On that same point............could one pack in the new E-Maxx have more cells than the other pack? Like if I have an 8 cell pack, but only 1 pack, and I have loads of other 6 cell packs, would it confuse the ESC with one pack having a 9.6V and the other only 7.2? It would still add up to 16.8V which it is limited to.

[kschauwe]

If you use the 6cell pack to power the BEC side, it would work just fine. The truck would be slightly heavier on the side with 8 cells.