Venom Pro Charger

This small, easy to carry around, verstital charger is a a definite thumbs up in my book.  We all know that finding a charger that will pretty much charge any type of battery is hard to do.  This charger pretty much does it all.  LiPo 1-6S, NiCd or NiMH 1-15 cell, lead acid LiFe and even lithium ion batteries are easily done.

The charger comes with leads for all the popular manufacturers so soldering chores are kept to a minimum.  The included leads for Traxas, JST, Futaba, Deans, and Tamiya are all there. The charger also comes with a lead for glow ignitors and yes alligator clip leads for the lead acid batteries.  Venom also made sure that you were equipped with a temp probe and a balancing lead for 1 to 6 cell LiPos.

The charger is sold with or without an AC/DC adapter.  This is really handy if you already have a power supply.

I found that using the Venom Pro Charger is straight forward.  It is relatively problem free.  All you need to do is plug it in, select a battery type and then choose the amperage then select enter and you are off.  The menu options are easy to see on the green backlit screen.  When you are home at night after the race, this feature is the greatest.

One of the issues that I did have with the Venom Pro Charger was the fact that the charge rate does not go as high as I wold like.  The maximum rate is five amps.  This means that charging a high-capacity pack such as one over 5000mAh will take longer than it should

I also did not like the fact that the first time you program the settings for a battery type it is as easy as I would like. To top it off the manuals simulated screen shots do not match what is actually displayed.  Once you get through it a few times it is very easy to do.

So .. the final answer…..

Pros – It will charge almost anything and the leads are included.  It is small and easy to carry.  It comes in two versions.  With or without the AC/DC adapter.  It has a back lit display.

Cons – Programming custom settings is not as easy as it should be. It has limited charging amperage. (Actually this feature can extend the life of you batteries if you wish to look at it this way)

Oh, and I really love the green anodized metal.  Colors may be a girl thing, but.. I do think it is really cool.

The final answer is a definite thumbs up !!

Specifics:  Made by Venom Racing.  Street price is $130  - $160 with the AC/DC adapter and $100 without it.  The venom pro adapter can be found at http://www.remotecontrolcarsstore.com/product/VNBC-105