LiveRC Product Test: Thunder Power TP820CD dual port charger

0 June 7, 2011, 8:21 a.m.

Thunder Power TP820CD Charger
Photos and Review by Mike Garrison

Whether you are racing, bashing, nitro, or electric, you HAVE to charge your batteries. When charging your batteries, whether it's a NiMH radio pack, a LiPo race pack, or even a LiFe receiver pack, we found the ultimate charger to give you the ultimate charge!

BEHIND THE SCENES - The info you should know!
In the growing demand of multi-port chargers, many in the industry have developed chargers that big, bulky, awkward in already limited pit spaces. Thunder Power has taken the concept to the next level with the all-new TP820 Dual Port Charger. This bad boy offers up to 800 watts of charging power and is set up with two independently functioning ports. This means that you can charge, discharge, and cycle two seperate sets of batteries. The TP820CD handles it all, everything from 1-8S LiPo, LiIon, and LiFE batteries, as well as 1-24 cell NiCd/NiMH cells, and even 6-30V Pb cells!

With the capability of two chargers in one, you might expect the overall size to be rather large. The TP820CD is quite the opposite! With an overall footprint of only 6.5" x 6", this bad boy fits just right in just about any pit space.

Inside the TP820CD’s box you will also find 2-8S LiPo/LiIon/LiFE cell balancers, one for each port, and balancing boards! The boards are readily compatible with all Thunder Power connectors and JST-XH connectors. Also included with the charger is two sets of banana plug lead wires, designed for you to solder on the end of your choice to suit your charging needs!

OUT OF THE BOX - Our thoughts and track test!
When the new TP820 arrived, we were eager to get it to the track and charging! We had a long list of batteries waiting for a charge, and put the new Thunder Power charger to the ultimate test.

We started by soldering up our lead wires to fit a receiver pack and a Dean’s plug end. After getting everything soldered up we were ready to charge. The TP820CD features a very easy to read, blue backlit LCD screen. Once plugged in to the 12V power supply of your choice, the TP820CD lights up nice and bright! A very convenient and easy-to-read screen makes setting up the charger a piece of cake. We set the charger to all the correct settings and were charging in no time. Now we just sat back and watched as it charged. BUT WAIT! How could we forget, there is no need to sit and watch, the TP820CD can charge more than one battery at once! Excited to save time and get back on the track, we plugged our 1/8 buggy 4S LiPo pack and charge leads into the other port. Within just a short while our radio pack was all charged up, and we had an open charge port.

On the pit table was a 1600mah LiPo nitro 1/8 receiver pack, several years old, that wasn’t holding a charge for more than a few tanks around the track. We decided to plug it into the balancing connector and board included with the charger and see what we could find out. After setting it all up, the TP820CD’s data reading of internal resistance measurement, battery voltage, input voltage, and temperature, showed us that this 2S pack was far from balanced. As the Thunder Power charger easily balanced and restored the receiver pack battery, our 4S pack was finishing up as well.

With so many batteries, and so many different settings, we discovered that Thunder Power allows you to save up to 24 user-programmable memory profiles to quickly and easily switch back and forth between batteries. We saved all of our settings as we continued charging batteries which included glow ignitors, starter boxes, and more!

At the end of the day, we were able to spend almost twice the amount of time ON THE TRACK, instead of being stuck in the pits charging batteries. The Thunder Power TP820CD Dual Port charger not only allowed us to charge twice as much, twice as fast, but we also looked cool doing so!

OVERALL FINISH – Final thoughts as the day is done.
The Thunder Power TP820CD Dual Port charger is one of a kind! While it may take a little longer to initially set up (soldering charge leads), once this bad boy is up and going you will be charging faster than ever! Two chargers built into one easy-to-use system, only slightly larger than most single charge units, and the capability of nearly any charger and then some, at the end of the day the TP820CD was on the top of our list for exceptional chargers!

Available now at local and online hobby stores, this Thunder Power charger can keep you charging for years to come for a street price of just under $280.

For more information on the TP820CD visit www.ThunderPowerRC.com

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