Trust non-DJI car chargers?

Joined
Apr 17, 2016
Messages
105
Reaction score
32
I know there are numerous threads talking about car charging solutions, I know that they're out there and the options are endless. However, with these batteries being so expensive, and our drones being expensive, I'm hesitant to use anything other than the DJI stock car charger (Buy Phantom 3 - Car Charger Kit | DJI Store) but I really don't like that price.

I've gone through the threads here and narrowed down to these options:
http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-Power-...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00
Amazon.com: BESTEK 300W Dual 110V AC Outlets Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC Car Adapter with 3.1A Dual USB Charging Ports for Laptop, Smartphones and Tablets: Car Electronics

My question is, what exactly am I looking for to know whether or not I'm buying the correct device that will not harm/damage my phantom battery? Do I need to check the volts, watts, my car's cigarette lighter? I'm not an electrician--hence this post. :)

Simply put, I want an affordable car charging solution that will not ruin my batteries and/or kill my bird; I know nothing about electricity and car batteries. Please advise.
 
Either will work but I'd go with the second link.

reason being higher continuous watt output. 200W vs 300W
 
  • Like
Reactions: dotcomray
I have the Bestek 400W with USB and 120VAC outlets. My plan is to use a separate 12V 155 Ah battery with the Bestek inverter and the DJI battery charger to charge in the field. The 12V Deep Cycle will have 1,860 Watts and the Phanton 3 series batteries store about 78 Watts so even with the inefficiencies of DC-AC-DC conversion I think I will be able to charge more than 20 DJI batteries.
 
The battery should not be charged with anything higher than 6A based on the rated chargers supplied with Phantom.

There's no point in having a charger with more than 140w because the standard cigarette lighter socket blows fuses at 10A.

There are three ways to charge in the car ...

1. Dedicated car charger phantom 3 battery's. Plenty of them on eBay / online. No need to buy DJI.
2. HV LiPo capable LiPo charger direct of ciggy socket - gives user settable parameters to ensure safe charging. Examples : SkyRC B6 mini, Accucel 6 80W
3. DC to AC inverter of good quality of at least 150W to power the DJI supplied mains charger. This is the most wasteful form of energy transfer as it involves stepping up voltage, then stepping it back down again. Many 1/4 wave cheap inverters will not work well.

In my opinion the best is between using a dedicated car charger or the LiPo charger .... 1 or 2.
Inverter is just adding an unnecessary step and costs more than 1 and 2 added together !

Nigel
 

Recent Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,357
Members
104,935
Latest member
Pauos31