RC Car & Truck Chargers

An RC car battery charger is one of the most important accessories you’ll need to keep your electric radio control car or truck in action. It may not be easy to choose one. Battery chargers for remote control vehicles are available at a wide range of prices and with many different features.

Some RC battery chargers are designed for only the most common battery types found in radio control cars and trucks, such as NiMH and LiPo packs. Others can handle nearly any battery size and chemistry used in the RC hobby, and even include ports for charging multiple battery packs at the same time.

RC car battery chargers with AC input let you charge your batteries from your workshop or household wall outlets. You can take DC chargers with you to the track and charge from a power supply or your auto battery. Others have AC/DC versatility and provide the advantages of both.

These are only a few of the differences you’ll see when you browse through the selection of RC car battery chargers in the Horizon Hobby® online catalog. More features are discussed below. Consider what you need now, and what you might want in the future, as you shop for your RC car or truck battery charger.

There are some very inexpensive basic wall chargers available, but if you have a strong interest in the RC car hobby and expect to stick with it for some time, we strongly recommend investing in a computerized RC car battery charger. Computerized chargers are capable of charging and maintaining almost any RC car batteries you might one day use, regardless of their chemistry, size, capacity, or voltage.

Computerized RC car battery chargers include small microprocessors with voltage, current, and temperature sensing capabilities. They charge your RC car and truck batteries safely and accurately every time, so you get the best performance and longest life possible out of your packs.

For the ultimate in computerized RC car battery charging, check out Spektrum™ Smart computerized RC chargers and Smart LiPo car battery packs.

Each Smart LiPo battery stores its unique charging parameters on an internal microchip. When you attach the battery’s IC connector to a Smart charger, that information uploads automatically and safe charging begins immediately — you don’t even have to press a Start button. Spektrum Smart chargers also upload lots of other data from a Smart battery’s microchip. With it, you can easily track and maximize the battery’s health and performance.

Horizon Hobby offers Smart Powerstage™ Bundles as a convenient way to enjoy the benefits of Smart RC car battery charging technology. The bundles include one or two Smart LiPo batteries and a Smart charger, as well as adapters if needed — everything you need in one box to complete or upgrade your electric RC vehicle.

Individual cells in a multi-cell RC car battery pack have somewhat different capacities, usually due to normal manufacturing variances or cell age. After repeated cycles of charging and discharging, one battery pack may contain cells that are all in a different state of charge.

An RC car battery charger with built-in balancing circuitry will be able to monitor the voltage of each cell in your LiPo battery packs. The balancing charger can adjust its charge rate accordingly to equalize them as much as possible. Balancing your multi-cell RC car batteries is another way to help maximize their capacity and lifespan.

Most RC car battery chargers have built-in safety features. Reverse polarity protection, for example, will automatically cut off power to sensitive electronic circuits if charging cables are improperly connected and power supply polarity is accidentally reversed. Without this protection, you might inadvertently damage your battery and other electrical components. Other good safety features to look for in your RC car battery charger include over and under voltage protection, over heat protection, time out, and cell count confirmation.

Want to learn more about how to choose the best RC car battery charger? Read the Battery Charger Basics article on the Horizon Hobby Blog.

Bottom line, competing with RC race cars of any type can take many different forms. Use your imagination and have fun!