The HGLRC Thor Pro is a parallel charging board with built-in fuses which is an important safety feature for parallel charging LiPo batteries. In this review I will show you the quality and features of the HGLRC charging board and how I use it.

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Before getting an parallel charging board, you should learn how to safely parallel charging LiPo batteries first.

What Protections Does HGLRC Thor Pro Offer?

Common user errors in parallel charging are:

• connecting batteries of different cell count, or the voltage difference is too great
• reversing positive and negative
• balance port incorrectly plugged in

All of these could result in current surge and burn out the charging board, causing battery overheat or even catch fire. The built-in fuses in the HGLRC Thor Pro can potentially save you from these mistakes and protect your equipment from further damage.

Where to Buy?

Update: There’s a new version, the Thor 6 Pro: https://oscarliang.com/hglrc-thor-pro-6-parallel-charging-board/

• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A5A4CD
• GetFPV: https://oscarliang.com/product-1l3v
• RDQ: https://oscarliang.com/product-t2lp

The HGLRC Thor Pro comes with an XT60 male to XT60 female cable and 6S Balance Port cable.

Specs

• Max Total Current: 40A
• Max Balance Current: 2A
• Cell Count Support: 2S – 6S
• Main Port Fuse: 15A

Features:

• 15A automotive fuse for each XT30/XT60 output
• Self-resetting thermal fuse and LED indicator for every balancing pin
• Dedicated discharge module

Is 40A Enough?

Absolutely. That’s 10A for each output.

As an extreme example, to charge four 6S 1500mAh at 1C, that’s only 6A in total (1.5×4). Even at 5C that’s 30A (1.5x4x5).

For me personally, that’s more than enough.

Are 4 Outputs Enough?

I used to own 6-channel boards and I rarely use all of the outputs. Even if I do, I find it difficult to plug in all the batteries as it gets very crowded. 4-channel is perfect for me personally.

The fact that it has both XT30 and XT60 connectors, means I don’t need to get two different boards which is handy.

Closer Look at the HGLRC Parallel Charging Board

It’s a simple board with a CNC transparent PE top plate.

There are automotive fuses for every XT60 output, these are blade fuses with 15A rating. When the fuse blows, it effectively becomes an open circuit and your battery would be disconnected. In my opinion this is a must-have safety feature on parallel charging board.

Note that when the fuse blows you have to replace it. These fuses are widely and cheaply available: https://amzn.to/3eDd8X0. Make sure you get the ones with long legs.

The balance port also has its own self-resetting thermal fuses, which are rated for 2A. These are great for preventing damage caused by user errors such as accidentally plugging the balance connector in backward. When a balance port fuse blows, the corresponding LED lights up to indicate which cell is causing issue. These fuses automatically reset after disconnecting the battery.

I bought two of these charging boards for my ToolkitRC M6DAC dual channel charger. The included balance lead uses standard 7-pin JST-XH connector, it should fits most smart chargers perfectly.

It has a discharging module too, which is completely separated from the parallel charging circuit. Plug in your LiPo, set your voltage and it will start to discharge it, and stops automatically when it’s done. However, it’s not a balance discharger and is super slow, so it’s kind of pointless in my opinion. I kind of wish it wasn’t included so it’s cheaper.

Things I don’t Like

I really like the price of the HGLRC parallel charging board, only $20, but honestly they can do better with the soldering quality.

You don’t have to and it’d probably be fine, but you can redo all the joints, and add a bit more solder to the traces for better reliability in the long run. If you do that, make sure to check continuity of the XT30/XT60 and balance ports to make sure nothing is shorted. It might be a bit more work, it’s still better value than some other boards with similar specs/features.

The other thing that they could have done better is the finish of the CNC PE top plate. It has pretty sharp edges which I wish they rounded off for nicer handling.

Conclusion

It’s not the best quality parallel charging board, but it’s good value and it gets the job done. You can get them from:

• Banggood: https://oscarliang.com/product-dydy
• AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A5A4CD

Check out the manual here.