Review: ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger – better than HOTA D6 Pro?

by Oscar

ToolkitRC just released a new LiPo charger – the M6DAC. It’s a powerful and versatile charger with dual outputs and takes both AC and DC as power supply. It’s quite similar to the popular HOTA D6 Pro in terms of specs, price range as well as look, but which is better? Let’s find out.

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Further Reading: LiPo charger beginners’ guide

Where to Buy?

Get the ToolkitRC M6DAC from these vendors:

It comes with the following accessories in the box: AC power cable, USB-C cable for firmware update, and a manual. They put a sticker with my logo on the charger, it wasn’t me :)

Features of the ToolkitRC M6DAC Charger

User friendly roller button and a bright color LCD screen (not a touch screen).

ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger control menu button screen

Dual output channels – it can simultaneously charge two completely different batteries regardless cell count or battery type.

ToolkitRC M6DAC charging different types of battery Both outputs are XT60 connectors, with balance connectors that support up to 6S LiPo.

You can even use two parallel charging boards to speed things up.

ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger parallel charging

Built-in AC power supply, great for beginners who don’t know what PSU they should buy.

Note that with DC powered, you can use the full 700W power (350W per channel), but with AC, the max power is limited to 200W (100W per channel). As you progress and have more batteries to charge, you can just upgrade the PSU and get more power from this charger. One great option is getting a cheap refurnished server PSU on eBay and convert it as your charger PSU.

But even for me, 200W from AC is more than enough :) 200W can finish charging 8x 4S 1500mAh LiPo at the same time in under one hour.

It also has a powerful 65W quick charge USB-C output – same feature in the P200 PSU.

The M6DAC charger supports these battery types: LiPo, LiHV, LiFe, Li-Ion, NiMH, PB as well as UAVbat.

It can be used as a power supply with adjustable voltage output too, which turns it into a handy bench PSU just like the P200. The only downside is that it’s less convenient to change current and voltage.

There are 3 modes, charge, discharge and storage. Discharge only takes battery cell voltage down to 2.70V, it does not completely discharge it.

When a LiPo is connected to the output, the LED indicator lights up above the connector.

Bottom of the charger.

Charging settings just like any other smart chargers on the market.

ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger menu screen interface During charging, you can view the cell voltages, IR (internal resistance) of each cell, and power info.

System menu:

Here’s the manual if you want to learn more.

Voltage Calibration

I checked the voltage reading of the M6DAC outputs against my calibrated multimeter, it’s pretty accurate.

Total Cell1 Cell2 Cell3 Cell4 Cell5 Cell6
DMM 22.89 3.820 3.839 3.825 3.795 3.803 3.793
Charger #1 22.90 3.821 3.845 3.825 3.802 3.804 3.798
Charger #2 22.90 3.822 3.844 3.826 3.796 3.803 3.800

Input is spot on, DMM = 22.89V, charger = 22.89V.

I strongly recommend checking yours against a calibrated voltage checker and calibrate it accordingly to ensure LiPo safety.

To calibrate the M6DAC, simply turn off the charger, hold down the roller button while powering up. To scale down the voltage, increase the scale value.

ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger voltage calibration You can also calibrate charging current with a power meter.

M6DAC vs HOTA D6 Pro

Here’s a specs comparison between the ToolkitRC M6DAC and HOTA D6 Pro LiPo chargers.

M6DAC D6 Pro
Price (Lowest) $157 $119
Total Power (DC) 700W 650W
Total Power (AC) 200W 200W
Max Charge Current 15A 15A
Max Balance Current 1.0A 1.6A
Max Discharge Power 15W 3A x 2 15W 3A x 2
Support External Discharge Yes Yes
DC Input Voltage 7.0V – 28.0V 6.5V – 30.0V
USB Output 65W, max 3.25A, @ up to 20.0V 5V / 2.1A
Dimension 126 * 105 * 57 mm 110 * 110 * 94 mm
Weight 530g 555g

Just based on the specifications, there are certain desirable qualities from the new ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo charger. First of all, charging power when powered by DC is slightly higher with the M6DAC (700W vs 650W).

Both chargers have built-in PSU and can take AC, but the output power are both limited to 200W. Still that’s plenty for ordinary pilots.

USB output in the ToolkitRC is more powerful and modern, it’s rated for 65W and supports various protocols such as PD, QC, AFC, FCP, SCP, PE, SFCP, VOC. On the other hand the HOTA only has a simple 10W 5V USB output. If you have a modern mobile device that supports one of the faster charging protocols, the ToolkitRC will be able to charge it much faster, you can even use it to power a soldering iron like the TS80P, which is not possible with the HOTA.

ToolkitRC M6DAC LiPo Charger review

However, the advantages of the ToolkitRC M6DAC seem to stop there.

The HOTA D6 Pro is over $30 cheaper for similar performance. In fact the HOTA has higher balance current than the ToolkitRC (1600mA vs 1000mA), which means it could complete charging faster, especially when the cells in your LiPo battery are out of balance. This is an important attribute in LiPo chargers that often get overlooked.

If you want the more powerful USB-C output, you definitely want to get the M6DAC.

ToolkitRC M6DAC: https://oscarliang.com/product-xncz

But if you don’t need that, the HOTA D6 Pro might be a better value charger.

HOTA D6 Pro:

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8 comments

Tom 7th April 2023 - 2:48 pm

You missed the massive difference that the toolkit charger can do recycling discharge. The Hota doesn’t and requires an external resistor be added to burn away energy when doing a capacity test. The toolkit can recharge the battery pack used to power the device from the pack being discharged… Basically saving the whole damned planet in the process 😉

Reply
Paul 28th August 2022 - 7:03 pm

Hello Sir, when charging a radio transmitter battery that only have three pins to go into the balance socket of the Hota D6 pro… which side should I put ? To the left or to the right ?

Im using a 3000 5c 2s 7.4V

Thanks !!

Reply
Oscar 29th August 2022 - 12:49 am

you mean which channel? it doesn’t matter, both channels are the same and will work.

Reply
Leonie 10th December 2021 - 10:00 pm

Hi!

I read the M6DAC can also charge 1S batteries. However, there is no ph2.0 port. What do I need to (safely!) charge my tinyhawk‘s 450mAh 1S batteries with the M6DAC?

Reply
Oscar 11th December 2021 - 11:51 am

you need to get a parallel charging board that has 1S PH2.0 ports.

Reply
James Doble 29th June 2021 - 12:29 am

Hey Oscar, thanks for the review. Does the fan on the toolkitrc run even when the charger is not in use? On AC and/or DC source? I’ve heard the HOTA fan is a bit noisy. How do they compare when charging, which is louder?

Reply
Oscar 29th June 2021 - 2:09 am

No, the fan stops when the charger is cool (even when it’s working), so it’s pretty quiet most of the times. But when the fan runs it can be a bit noisy just like any other high power chargers.

Reply
ben 8th June 2021 - 2:03 pm

Hi and thanks for the comparison :)

I’m currently totally lost in the charger topic and missing some deep dives :(
e.g. I have a toolkitrc M8S and burned it because I was doing regenerative discharging AND charge also my phone from the USB port, looks like there is a hardware bug, so the USB part burnt. But I never ever saw this scenario tested in a review :(

another very interesting charger is the “UNRC A12 Pro” which I can’t find any detailed reviews. But it seems that this 12S charger has basically 12 isolated independent DC DC converters, it’s like this thing can do absolutely everything.

Reply