We have a charging time testing, since the power of the power supply is the same, if the voltage of all the battery cells is pretty close, the total time for the same number of batteries is almost the same no matter the Cycle or Parallel Mode.
Because the charger will test the voltage of all the battery cells automatically, recognize the highest voltage, and then charge the other cells till all of the cells to this highest voltage by Cycle Mode, and then charge all the batteries in Parallel Mode.
For example, you charge two 4S batteries. One battery with 3.7V, 3.8V, 3.8V, 3.9V, the other with 3.9V, 4.0V, 3.7V, 4.0V, set charging with Parallel Mode, then CB86PLUS will charge all the cells to 4.0V by Cycle Mode first, and then charge each cell of the two batteries to 4.2V by Parallel Mode.
It is perfect if the voltage of all the cells is nearly the same while charging by Parallel Mode will take a longer time if there is a world of difference in cells.
When the voltage difference between each cell of the battery is large (this is especially true for the batteries that have been used for a while, and may suffer from virtual power during the charging process), there is a risk of easily destroying the balancing port (because the internal resistance of the battery is very small, the current will be very large).
Parallel Mode requires each cell of all batteries that are connected to be charged to the highest voltage before it can be triggered, while Cycle Mode will charge the batteries one by one. Sometimes, Cycle Mode may take less time due to the large voltage difference between cells or battery damage. At the same time, the voltage of the battery cells varies greatly after being used for a long time. Using Cycle Mode to charge can better protect the battery and make the battery more accurate and durable.