Skyrc MC 3000

[Oz18650]

If you haven't bought a charger/discharger yet, I would opt for the SkyRC MC 3000. It costs more than the others, but if I knew about it before I started with an Opus, I would have definitely bought one.

Could you tell us more about why you would have a Skyrc MC 3000 over an opus?
Do you only have an opus, or both opus and skyrc MC 3000?
If so how do you use them that makes the skyrc better for you?

 

[Wolf]

I will interject here as I do have a SkyRC MC3000 along with LiitoKala, Foxnovo, Opus, and Zanflare.




The SkyRC MC3000 is a "professional" charger /tester as it allows you you adjust the parameters of your charging and discharging profile for each battery. You can adjust both charging and discharging separately.Let say you have a Panasonic CGR18650EA2550mAh 18650.
To properly test this battery you would have a "standard"charging current of 1.75A with a 50mA cutoff current at 4.2Vand a "standard" dischargeof 490mA to 3.0Vall programmable on the SkyRC. Cant do that with any of the others! Also it has a temp cutoff an adjustable rest period between charge and discharge, on screen software to adjust settings on a PC, graphing of the charge and discharge curve, 2 very good fans, individual temp sensors for each cell, very robust contacts, and 30 programmable programs. There is more but you get the point.
The only negative there is, the IR readings suck. But that is why we have the YR-1030.
The SkyRC MC3000 is basically my reference tester.
I no longer use the Zanflare and have chosen to bypass the LiitoKala for testing purposes because they seem to be very generous in their resulting readings at least 10% to 5% high respectively.
For all you Opus lovers the Opus is OK I find it to be slightly higher by around 3% to 5%.
The Foxnovo is really close to the SkyRC and I like it. Very simple and skips the IR circuitry to concentrate on accuracy.
How do I determine all this you ask?
Constantly checking cellsbetween chargers and running brand new cell through the chargers.
When you get 2 charger/ testers to agree within ~50mA on a consistent basis I consider that an acceptable test.
Here is one of my many tests of these popular chargers.





Wolf

 

[Oz18650]

Thanks wolf! (Once again ? )

 

[Geek]

If you haven't bought a charger/discharger yet, I would opt for the SkyRC MC 3000. It costs more than the others, but if I knew about it before I started with an Opus, I would have definitely bought one.

Could you tell us more about why you would have a Skyrc MC 3000 over an opus?
Do you only have an opus, or both opus and skyrc MC 3000?
If so how do you use them that makes the skyrc better for you?

I don't own one. But it does have a ton of extra features. However, since I begun my testing with an Opus, and are about half way through, I will stick with it.

 

[friedpenguin]

Wolf I appreciate your knowledge on the MC3000. Could you provide a quick rundown on your program for it to do capacity testing on 18650 cells?
How far should I charge or discharge before starting?
What capacity rating should I use when I don't know the capacity to begin with?
What mode should I use? Charge? Refresh?
Preferred software? Windows app? Mobile over bluetooth? 3rd party app on Windows or Linux? (please don't say Mac)

Thanks

 

[gauss163]

[seeking] knowledge on the MC3000. [...] How far should I charge or discharge before starting?

It depends on what your goal is.

If you aim to compare your capacity tests todatasheet values or someone else's test results then you should program the MC3K to use the same parameters. i.e. same charge and discharge currents. and same termination voltages and currents.

Otoh, if your goal is to determine how much energy they will deliver in some device then you should match to that device, i.e. determine how it charges and mimic that,thenmatch the discharge current to its average current, and set the termination voltage to the voltage it shuts down at.

See also the handy MC3000 Cheat Sheet.

 

[Wolf]

Wolf I appreciate your knowledge on the MC3000. Could you provide a quick rundown on your program for it to do capacity testing on 18650 cells?
How far should I charge or discharge before starting?
What capacity rating should I use when I don't know the capacity to begin with?
What mode should I use? Charge? Refresh?
Preferred software? Windows app? Mobile over bluetooth? 3rd party app on Windows or Linux? (please don't say Mac)

Thanks

I'll get back to you on that this evening.
Wolf

 

[Wolf]

......................on the MC3000. Could you provide a quick rundown on your program for it to do capacity testing on 18650 cells?
Thanks

@friedpenguin


The SKYRC MC3000 comes from the factory in Dummy Mode.You need to get into advanced mode. Thats where all the goodies are
Hold the Setup button till you see the Setup screen. Scroll to the UI Mode and hit enter choose Advanced.




When you insert a battery the button just below the cell will flash and it will show a cell in a slot . Push that button you will get a menu and program [**] some number but probably will be [01] hit enter.Now you can program the SKYRC to do your bidding.
My [01] program is my default 1000mA C/D/C 1 cycle. Answer to your Mode Question. Refresh is for NiMH you wont use that.
As far as selecting mAh I use 2900 as a standard because my cells are 2600 and I know I wont reach that. If you set it to low for example 2200mAh and your cell is a 2600mAh it will stop as it has reached that setting and error out. So I set mine just a bit higher than the cell and you are safe. Its basically a safety feature if you have a cell that wont finish charging because of an internal issue the charger will stop at that value.
The screen shots are here.










At the bottom of that menuyou can save those setting to Program [01] or whatever one you want there are 30 of them.
That program can be then transferredor I should say selected by the otherslots.
This is a general program for my 18650 testing.
That will be a good start for you if you get that down and have more questions let me know.
I of course check the cells IR and if it passes it will go into the charger. My cutoffV is 2V if its below that I don't really want it in mypower wall.
Software: You can download the windows software from the SKYRC website. Ifyou need help with that let me know.
You can set up or change your default parameters in it and initiate a C/D/C cycle etc . Also graphing.
Bluetooth works but limited functionality. Why would anyone use it? IDK maybe hey look I can see my batteriesbeing charged on my phone. WOW.Yea till I walk into another room.






Hope this helps

Wolf

 

[friedpenguin]

Actually, the Android app has a bunch of options and you can setup a bunch of programs so it really isn't bad! You can set charge currents, cut off, which channels, rest period, and more.

If you haven't looked at it in a while you could be surprised. I appreciate the pointer of select higher capacity to reach the intended goal.

For capacity testing would you start with a full charge or discharge? How low would you discharge for accurate results?

 

[Wolf]

Actually, the Android app has a bunch of options and you can setup a bunch of programs so it really isn't bad! You can set charge currents, cut off, which channels, rest period, and more.

If you haven't looked at it in a while you could be surprised. I appreciate the pointer of select higher capacity to reach the intended goal.

For capacity testing would you start with a full charge or discharge? How low would you discharge for accurate results?

I capacity test all my cells with the general settings you saw in the screenshots.

1000mA Charge to 4.2V 50mA cuttoff/Discharge 2.8V/Charge 4.2V that is the C/D/C cycle I use.

The only time I use custom perimeters (such as Manufactures C/D/C specs)is if I want to investigate a certain cell.

Ill take your word for it on the bluetooth android app and if I get the time I will check it out.'

Wolf

 

[Bigfoot48]

I use the MC3000 I'm really happy with it. I leave a laptop connected and adjust the specific program accordingly.
The software could use some more improvements, but it works really well.

I bought it for around 84,- at NKON.

By using the program it goes a lot faster then adjusting the parameters by hand. Not that I'm lazy .... But I try to be as efficient as possible

 

[Wolf]

............By using the program it goes a lot faster then adjusting the parameters by hand. Not that I'm lazy .... But I try to be as efficient as possible .........

I have used the PC interface a lot also and I do like it and it does work very well as you say.
I personally programed all 30 program slots to the most commoncells that I wanted to test with manufactures standards. Program [01] is the default for my 1000mA C/D/C.
My excel sheet has the SKYRC program set up for these specific cells. So all I do is enter the cell part number and if I have a program set upfor that cell it will tell me which programto run for that cell. I also try to be as efficient as I can.
Wolf

 

[gauss163]

Note that most MC3000 power users are using DEX (DataExplorer)- which is much more powerful and featureful than the SkyRC software (and it works with many chargers). You can find much discussionin this long CPF thread (where someof the development of the MC3000 occurred). For example, here is an animated gif showing how to backup and restore your programs.

 

[Bigfoot48]

............By using the program it goes a lot faster then adjusting the parameters by hand. Not that I'm lazy .... But I try to be as efficient as possible .........

I have used the PC interface a lot also and I do like it and it does work very well as you say.
I personally programed all 30 program slots to the most commoncells that I wanted to test with manufactures standards. Program [01] is the default for my 1000mA C/D/C.
My excel sheet has the SKYRC program set up for these specific cells. So all I do is enter the cell part number and if I have a program set upfor that cell it will tell me which programto run for that cell. I also try to be as efficient as I can.
Wolf

Wauw, that is a really good idea and a very impressive sheet!
One day I will get as far as you

---

Note that most MC3000 power users are using DEX (DataExplorer)- which is much more powerful and featureful than the SkyRC software (and it works with many chargers). You can find much discussionin this long CPF thread (where someof the development of the MC3000 occurred). For example, here is an animated gif showing how to backup and restore your programs.

That is really neat! I was already searching for on the internet but used the wrong search criteria ...
I will dive into the links you posted.

I was already wondering, the interface is accessible by bluetooth and USB. Not that I'm lazy, but try to be as efficient as possible.
Thank you, when I buy a new charger it must be supported by DataExplorer or I dont want it :shy:

 

[Slasher]

I have had the MC3000 for some weeks now and I am going through some boxes of 18650 cells I want to test the capacity on. I am however quite disappointed with the software options so far, both on the charger and the android app. I might be that I havent understood how to do things but here are my issues.

* I want to test the capacity during discharging and then leave the battery in storage mode until I later will build a battery pack. But I see no way to tell the MC3000 to do C->D->S. So it is always charging the battery up to 4.2V and I have to use Storage mode separately

* On my Liitokala 600 I can interrupt the charging after discharge at around 3.7 V and I can still se what the discharge capacity was. But on the MC3000 you cant. You have to wait until it is finished charging again before it will show the discharge capacity. Even on the android app it doesnt show the capacity separately even though there is plenty of room for it.

* Doing Storage mode it doesnt seem to taper the current when discharging from 4.2 to 3.7 so when it hit the limit and stops discharging the voltage will bounce up some 0.1 V or so. So if I want to end around 3.7 I have to put the limit on 3.6. I would have liked it to do a fast discharge in the beginning but then ease in until it ends on the limit value I set.

* I find the programming on the unit extremely confusing so I start a Refresh or Storage from the phone app. I havent tested the PC program. Will that solve all my issues?