I charger has also had issues with ribbon cables on the screen and or the push button scroll knob. They're not hard to change but they're pain to have to change. Hopefully they have resolved that issue.
I have not had any issues with the iCharger displays over the nine years I’ve own various iCharger Duo series chargers, but the ribbon should be fairly easy to disassemble and reassemble once one understands how to unlock and relock the ribbon retaining tab. The scroll wheel potentiometer is a different story. It does tend to go bad after 3 to 5 years of constant use. Replacement potentiometer is only $5.00, but it requires soldering onto the PC board.
I know its essy to make adapters but its just one more step when most people are going to convert back to banana plugs anyway. I do love the form factor of this brand of charger though.
Definitely. I never felt the older iCharger 308 or iCharger 4010 needed additional charging power, although I am glad there is more balance power now for faster balancing. But yes, a more modern UI would have been neat.
This iCharger 458Duo I reviewed is certainly an upgrade for the older 308Duo, but I don't consider it an upgrade for the 4010Duo. I only used the 4010Duo in the video because I did not have a 308Duo to compare it. The only thing that tends to malfunction over time with all these iCharger Duos is the rotary knob potentiometer. Progressive RC (Seattle, WA, USA) sell replacement rotary knobs for only $5.00, but you are on the hook replacing it.
@@barryorbik215 "on the hook" is a common expression used on this side of the pond. According to Merrian-Webster, it means "owing money for (something) : responsible for (something)". In this case, Progressive RC sells you the replacement potentiometer for only $5.00, buy you are responsible for desoldering and removing the old potentiometer and soldering the replacement potentiometer to the electronic board.
Of the two chargers (458 Duo and 4010 Duo), the 4010 Duo has been around for about 10 years, so it has a proven record. However, it is my understanding that later versions of the 4010 Duo components have been updated over the past few years as older components were no longer available, so who knows how the newer components compare to the older components. Since the largest cell count batteries I charge are 8S, and the fastest I charge is 27A/800W per channel, the more compact 458 Duo makes the most sense for me. I guess the real question is choosing between the iCharger 456 Duo vs. iCharger 458 Duo. The iCharger 456 Duo is a bit cheaper at $325.00, but it has a 6S LiPo cell limit. The iCharger 458 Duo is $25.00 more expensive at $350.00, and it has a LiPo cell limit of 8S. Since I charge 8S batteries, the 456 Duo is not even an option for me. Still, for the $25.00 price difference, I would still recommend the 8S capable 458 Duo over the 6S capable 456 Duo. Since the released of this video, Junsi released the next generation charger to the 4010 Duo, the iCharger 4512 Duo. This iCharger 4512 Duo is the same physical size as the older 4010 Duo, but it features some of the same updates as the 456/458 Duo chargers, and it is capable of 53V input (compared to 49V input for the 456/458/4010 Duos). This 4512 Duo would be the choice for charging12S batteries (with 12S balance connectors). As far as power supplies, I personally prefer power supplies from reputable companies, and I always look for power supplies with active Power Factor Correction feature. My preference is the MeanWell RSP-2000- either in the 24V or 48V versions. A close second is the Junsi/Chargery S1200 or S1500 power supplies. www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/mean-well-rsp-2000-24-power-supply www.progressiverc.com/collections/48-54v-supplies/products/mean-well-rsp-2000-48-power-supply www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/chargery-s1200-power-supply www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/chargery-s1500-power-supply
@@AaronBittenbender The ISDT K2 Air is nice and compact size. It is AC/DC, so it gives you the option to connect it straight to the wall outlet and charge up to a limit of 200W. This works pretty well for charging several 1S, 2S, and 3S micro size batteries in parallel without needing an external power source. With an external power source, it allows for charging up to 500W per channel, which is pretty good. I would pair it with a 1000W to 1200W 24V DC power supply or LiFePO4 batteries.
@@AaronBittenbender This really depends on your situation, and budget. For me, mainly charge 7S 4500mah and 8S 4000mah packs and occasionally 6S 1800mah packs. This iCharger 458 Duo is to me the best compromise of existing chargers in the market today for my situation. Tell me more about your current and expected future charging needs.
@@fredericktodd5789 I do not have formal education on electronics, but it does not seem like a good idea to me to heat up the internal heat sink of a charger to discharge batteries. I use my chargers just as chargers.
The manual states the USBC port outputs 5V/3A, 9V/2A, and 12V/1.5A. So somewhere between 15W and 18W. Considering the maximum input current is 70A, even the much smaller EC5 connectors (rated for about 120A) would suffice. The EC8's are way overkill. Wether to leave the EC8's as is or replace them with other connectors is just personal preference, but no impact on performance.
@@CR3DT So far so good. Same compact size as the 308Duo and with a few improvements. The 308Duo was limited to 30 DCV input; this 458Duo can accept up to 49 DCV input. Further comparing the 308Duo to this 458Duo, the charge current increased from 30A per channel to 45A per channel. Balance drain increased from 1.2A to 2A; This may not sound like much, but it translates to 67% increased balancing speed. Improvements that I would to see include: 1) Ability to program from a PC/tablet/phone. This would allow for much faster programming compared to the current method of using the rotary knob and going through multiple screens. 2) Find an alternative to the rotary knob. The potentiometer tends to wear over time. I already had three iCharger Duo chargers (one 308Duo, and two 4010Duo's) where the rotary knob eventually became intermittently responsive. You can get replacement rotary knobs from Progressive RC for only $5.00 each, but you have to feel comfortable desoldering the faulty knob and soldering the new multi-pin potentiometer knob onto the mother board, which is not for everybody.
I bought the 458 back in july i bought more out of curiosity as i already own the 4010, was a little disappointed that the volume level is considerably lower when a battery is charged or theres a error tone i like it to be "known" i never leave my batteries while charging but i can be busy doing other things, i'll probably end up selling this 458 i'm not entirely happy with it 😢
Seen your 4010 listed on HF yesterday, now i know why! Lol.
Great review, i’m also looking at the new 458 duo but haven’t seen any reviews until now.
I charger has also had issues with ribbon cables on the screen and or the push button scroll knob. They're not hard to change but they're pain to have to change. Hopefully they have resolved that issue.
I have not had any issues with the iCharger displays over the nine years I’ve own various iCharger Duo series chargers, but the ribbon should be fairly easy to disassemble and reassemble once one understands how to unlock and relock the ribbon retaining tab. The scroll wheel potentiometer is a different story. It does tend to go bad after 3 to 5 years of constant use. Replacement potentiometer is only $5.00, but it requires soldering onto the PC board.
I know its essy to make adapters but its just one more step when most people are going to convert back to banana plugs anyway. I do love the form factor of this brand of charger though.
Hello John!
Great video as always. Very complete, and detailed.
Well worth my 30 minutes : )
I am so sorry it was so long. I hope you listened to it in double time 🤣
I appreciate them increasing the wattage and shrining the size but wish they would of also updated the UI.
Definitely. I never felt the older iCharger 308 or iCharger 4010 needed additional charging power, although I am glad there is more balance power now for faster balancing. But yes, a more modern UI would have been neat.
Thanks for the info.. I’ll be sticking with my 4010 as the difference is not enough for the upgrade.. nice that it’s a smaller form factor however
This iCharger 458Duo I reviewed is certainly an upgrade for the older 308Duo, but I don't consider it an upgrade for the 4010Duo. I only used the 4010Duo in the video because I did not have a 308Duo to compare it. The only thing that tends to malfunction over time with all these iCharger Duos is the rotary knob potentiometer. Progressive RC (Seattle, WA, USA) sell replacement rotary knobs for only $5.00, but you are on the hook replacing it.
What does that mean you are on the hook ? Sorry I'm from UK never heard this before
@@barryorbik215 "on the hook" is a common expression used on this side of the pond. According to Merrian-Webster, it means "owing money for (something) : responsible for (something)". In this case, Progressive RC sells you the replacement potentiometer for only $5.00, buy you are responsible for desoldering and removing the old potentiometer and soldering the replacement potentiometer to the electronic board.
So the best charger is the 458 duo? I’m about to pull the trigger. Also what power supply u recommend.
Of the two chargers (458 Duo and 4010 Duo), the 4010 Duo has been around for about 10 years, so it has a proven record. However, it is my understanding that later versions of the 4010 Duo components have been updated over the past few years as older components were no longer available, so who knows how the newer components compare to the older components.
Since the largest cell count batteries I charge are 8S, and the fastest I charge is 27A/800W per channel, the more compact 458 Duo makes the most sense for me. I guess the real question is choosing between the iCharger 456 Duo vs. iCharger 458 Duo. The iCharger 456 Duo is a bit cheaper at $325.00, but it has a 6S LiPo cell limit. The iCharger 458 Duo is $25.00 more expensive at $350.00, and it has a LiPo cell limit of 8S. Since I charge 8S batteries, the 456 Duo is not even an option for me. Still, for the $25.00 price difference, I would still recommend the 8S capable 458 Duo over the 6S capable 456 Duo.
Since the released of this video, Junsi released the next generation charger to the 4010 Duo, the iCharger 4512 Duo. This iCharger 4512 Duo is the same physical size as the older 4010 Duo, but it features some of the same updates as the 456/458 Duo chargers, and it is capable of 53V input (compared to 49V input for the 456/458/4010 Duos). This 4512 Duo would be the choice for charging12S batteries (with 12S balance connectors).
As far as power supplies, I personally prefer power supplies from reputable companies, and I always look for power supplies with active Power Factor Correction feature. My preference is the MeanWell RSP-2000- either in the 24V or 48V versions. A close second is the Junsi/Chargery S1200 or S1500 power supplies.
www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/mean-well-rsp-2000-24-power-supply
www.progressiverc.com/collections/48-54v-supplies/products/mean-well-rsp-2000-48-power-supply
www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/chargery-s1200-power-supply
www.progressiverc.com/collections/24-27v-supplies/products/chargery-s1500-power-supply
Ok so my next question is what do u think the best charger on the market today is. Thanks for ur reply
I currently have a k2 air but it lacks a lot for sure
@@AaronBittenbender The ISDT K2 Air is nice and compact size. It is AC/DC, so it gives you the option to connect it straight to the wall outlet and charge up to a limit of 200W. This works pretty well for charging several 1S, 2S, and 3S micro size batteries in parallel without needing an external power source. With an external power source, it allows for charging up to 500W per channel, which is pretty good. I would pair it with a 1000W to 1200W 24V DC power supply or LiFePO4 batteries.
@@AaronBittenbender This really depends on your situation, and budget. For me, mainly charge 7S 4500mah and 8S 4000mah packs and occasionally 6S 1800mah packs. This iCharger 458 Duo is to me the best compromise of existing chargers in the market today for my situation.
Tell me more about your current and expected future charging needs.
Great insight about these chargers!
I like my 4010 I ont know why all these companies are making their chargers with xt60 and not banana plugs , im sticking with my old chargers .
Better for current flow for higher amp rate charging.
Nice video. How many amps can this charger discharge without a external bank?
80W per channel or 140W combined. I personally do not discharge using the charger's internal heat sink bank. I prefer using dedicated dischargers.
@@johnahamelv Is that because of the heat? Maybe harmful to the fets?
@@fredericktodd5789 I do not have formal education on electronics, but it does not seem like a good idea to me to heat up the internal heat sink of a charger to discharge batteries. I use my chargers just as chargers.
Can I charge a tablet phone or run a AAA USB-C charger with the UBS output?
I would just chop off the EC-8 Connector and replace them with XT90
The manual states the USBC port outputs 5V/3A, 9V/2A, and 12V/1.5A. So somewhere between 15W and 18W.
Considering the maximum input current is 70A, even the much smaller EC5 connectors (rated for about 120A) would suffice. The EC8's are way overkill. Wether to leave the EC8's as is or replace them with other connectors is just personal preference, but no impact on performance.
@johnahamelv I guess you own one? Do you like it?
@@CR3DT So far so good. Same compact size as the 308Duo and with a few improvements. The 308Duo was limited to 30 DCV input; this 458Duo can accept up to 49 DCV input. Further comparing the 308Duo to this 458Duo, the charge current increased from 30A per channel to 45A per channel. Balance drain increased from 1.2A to 2A; This may not sound like much, but it translates to 67% increased balancing speed.
Improvements that I would to see include:
1) Ability to program from a PC/tablet/phone. This would allow for much faster programming compared to the current method of using the rotary knob and going through multiple screens.
2) Find an alternative to the rotary knob. The potentiometer tends to wear over time. I already had three iCharger Duo chargers (one 308Duo, and two 4010Duo's) where the rotary knob eventually became intermittently responsive. You can get replacement rotary knobs from Progressive RC for only $5.00 each, but you have to feel comfortable desoldering the faulty knob and soldering the new multi-pin potentiometer knob onto the mother board, which is not for everybody.
Does the servo tester work on the 458 duo?
I cannot answer that. I have never tested the servo testing function in any of my iChargers.
Great video...👍
I bought the 458 back in july i bought more out of curiosity as i already own the 4010, was a little disappointed that the volume level is considerably lower when a battery is charged or theres a error tone i like it to be "known" i never leave my batteries while charging but i can be busy doing other things, i'll probably end up selling this 458 i'm not entirely happy with it 😢
This 458 prompt and alarm volume is softer compared to the 4010.