The Gens Ace iMars Dual LiPo charger has pretty similar specs to the HOTA D6 Pro and ToolkitRC M6DAC, they all have similar output power and two output ports. But does the iMars come out on top in the competition? Let’s find out.
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And a bunch of adapter cables that you won’t need (if you fly FPV drones)
Specs and Features
The iMars Dual charger has a built-in power supply that allows you to power it directly from AC, it gives you a maximum output power of 200W. But when you power it from DC (using an external power supply), you can get up to 600W output power, that’s 300W per output channel! This is similar to what you can get form the popular HOTA D6 Pro and ToolkitRC M6DAC.
Here’s the specifications of the iMars Dual charger:
Input Voltage: AC100-240V DC7-30V
output Voltage: DC 1~30V
Max. Input Current: DC 30A
Max. Discharging Power: 15W*2(Main port 6W*2, Balance port 9W*2)
By having two output ports, you can charge two completely different batteries at the same time which speeds things up.
The Gens Ace iMars Dual is a smart LiPo charger and has a very familiar interface and menu that look just like all the other latest Lipo charger on the market.
It has a very bright display. Although it does not have a tilted display like the D6 Pro or M6DAC for better viewing angle, you can still see the screen very well even under sun light.
Before charging you can select charging parameters such as the charging current, and it simply remembers the values you enter the last time, so it’s easier if you are charging the same battery.
During charging, you can see the progress in percentage, the total voltage, the charging current, how long it’s been charging and other many other useful information displayed on the screen.
It uses all buttons to operate the menu, which in my opinion is not as user friendly as other chargers that use a scroll wheel, especially when selecting a value, buttons are just slower to use.
Each output channel can charge up to 15A and 300W when powered from DC. Here is the DC input:
If you power it from AC you can only get up to a total of 200W, as the built-in power supply isn’t very powerful, but it’s convenient to use. Here’s the AC input:
So to get the most out of this charger you can purchase an external power supply like this, but for most people, 200W is more than enough really:
The iMars has a feature called synchronous output, which combines the two outputs to charge one single battery. But for most of us this is not that useful, to use this feature we are talking about charging higher than 300W, the battery has to be massive (for a 6S pack charging at 5C the capacity would be more than 10,000mah) and FPV drones simply don’t use battery that big.
The charger can be used as a DC power source as well, and it has battery discharge function (up to 15W per channel).
It can charge many types of battery that are commonly used in FPV, and it can also measure IR (internal resistance) during charging which is useful for monitoring battery health.
It has rubber feet, the housing might look metallic but it’s all just plastic.
Voltage Calibration
I checked the voltage reading of the Gens Ace iMars Dual charger outputs against my calibrated multimeter, it’s pretty accurate.
Total
Cell1
Cell2
Cell3
Cell4
Cell5
Cell6
DMM
22.98
3.832
3.825
3.832
3.824
3.829
3.827
Charger #1
23.0
3.834
3.829
3.834
3.827
3.830
3.834
Charger #2
23.0
3.834
3.832
3.840
3.824
3.832
3.834
I strongly recommend doing the same check when you get your charger using a calibrated voltage checker. If it’s off you should calibrate it to ensure LiPo safety.
To calibrate the iMars, simply go to the system menu and select charger calibration.
How does it compares to the D6 Pro and M6DAC?
When I am using the iMars Dual LiPo charger, I don’t really feel much a difference from the D6 Pro or the M6DAC, the interface and operation are very familiar. But the buttons are slightly more cumbersome to use than the scroll wheel, so I prefer the D6 Pro and M6DAC in terms of user friendliness.
Fan noise is quite similar across the three chargers. The fan only turns on when it reaches around 60 degrees Celsius, the rest of the times it’s very silent.
The main consideration comes down to performance and price. At the time of posting, the D6 Pro is $118 and M6DAC is $150 on RDQ, while the iMars Dual is $137 on Banggood.
iMars
M6DAC
D6 Pro
Price (Lowest)
$137
$150
$118
Total Power (DC)
600W
700W
650W
Total Power (AC)
200W
200W
200W
Max Charge Current
15A
15A
15A
Max Balance Current
1.2A
1.0A
1.6A
Max Discharge Power
15W 3A x 2
15W 3A x 2
15W 3A x 2
Support External Discharge
Yes
Yes
Yes
DC Input Voltage
7V – 30V
7.0V – 28.0V
6.5V – 30.0V
USB Output
5V 2.4A
65W, max 3.25A, @ up to 20.0V
5V / 2.1A
Dimension
145 * 76 * 62 mm
126 * 105 * 57 mm
110 * 110 * 94 mm
Weight
519g
530g
555g
The D6 Pro is no doubt still the best deal out of the three.
Between the M6DAC and iMars, the latter seems to be better value, it’s cheaper with a slightly higher balance current. But if you want a smoother user experience, the M6DAC is worth considering because of the scrolling wheel, and it has a more powerful USB output and the output power in DC mode is 50W higher per channel.
I have had horrible experience with a toolkitrc charger and false claims in regards to using it as a power supply. Customer support sent me a PDF to rip open the device and attempt a fix as it’s a known issue and they still continue to sell the defective device.
Trying to get it replaced under warranty failed miserably so now I my local hobby shop is trying to get answers from them and they have been unsuccessful as well.
As much as I love the look and feel of the toolkit stuff, quality issues are a concern and I’d advise people to ignore this specific chinese company!
Very good review, as always! One thing I think is missing in these reviews (which may be difficult to do because of practicality) is regarding quality and product robustness. I do not know too much about quality control on Toolkit RC, but from my experience purchasing Gens Tattu batteries, I feel pretty confident about the quality of their products. Maybe you can include a “6 months later” edit section to talk about user experience.
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4 comments
Hi Oscar, how did you calculate the balance current for the iMars since they dont mention it in their spec sheet? Many Thanks!
It’s 1.2A/cell. It’s only mentioned in the product images.
I have had horrible experience with a toolkitrc charger and false claims in regards to using it as a power supply.
Customer support sent me a PDF to rip open the device and attempt a fix as it’s a known issue and they still continue to sell the defective device.
Trying to get it replaced under warranty failed miserably so now I my local hobby shop is trying to get answers from them and they have been unsuccessful as well.
As much as I love the look and feel of the toolkit stuff, quality issues are a concern and I’d advise people to ignore this specific chinese company!
Very good review, as always! One thing I think is missing in these reviews (which may be difficult to do because of practicality) is regarding quality and product robustness. I do not know too much about quality control on Toolkit RC, but from my experience purchasing Gens Tattu batteries, I feel pretty confident about the quality of their products.
Maybe you can include a “6 months later” edit section to talk about user experience.