Quote Originally Posted by Mokichi
Also for either option could someone please recommend a good charger/balancer, thanks!
I've got two of these chargers:

http://www.giantshark.co.uk/power-a606- ... 05325.html

Can't really go wrong with them. They do everything from SLA through to various lithium types, come with a bunch of different charging leads, can be powered off the mains (a lot of chargers only have DC inputs, so require either big batteries or a separate AC power supply unit) and, best of all, they cost less than £30.

The downside for lipos etc is that you can only charge up to 6S packs as it doesn't have balance charge inputs for any larger packs. Depends on whether you envisage using larger packs in the future.