Battery Terms and Numbers...

[Michael Fox]

In case newbies (like my self) have questions regarding power packs for their electric heli. I think it would be really helpful if someone could tell us what it all means:

(2200, 4350, 5000, etc.) "mAH"
(6, 8, 10, 12, etc.) "S"
(10, 20, 22, etc.) "C"
(11,1V, 22,2, etc) "V"
(0,75, 5, 10, etc) "A"
"Li-po"
"Ni-Ca"

Ok, some of the type's and numbers are of course very obvious... But maybe not for all of us :wink:

And some terms used in balances:

"Balances 2-6 cells pack"
"Charge rate"
"Self Balancing"
"Alters imbalanced voltages"
"Voltage data output"
"Y-cable"
"Charge time/maH = A output"

This was a thread for Newbies, right? :wink: :)

[Pinecone]

mAH = milli Amp Hour - a measure of the capacity of the battery pack, sort of like the capacity of a fuel tank.

S = Series - the number of cells wired in series. For Lipo packs, each cell is 3.7 volts nominal, so a 3S pack is 3 cells in series or 11.1 volts nominal.

P = Parallel - the number of cells in parallel. A 3S2P pack would be 3 cells in series with another 3 series cells wired in parallel to the first 3. Parallel adds the capacities together, so a 3S2P pack of 2100 cells would mean 11.1 volts nominal, 4200 mAH capacity.

C = rating of available amps, based on pack capacity - for a 2100 mAH pack 20C, it means you can draw amps at up to 20 times the packs capacity or 20 x 2100 = 42000 milliamps = 42 amps.

V = Volts - measure of how hard the pack "pushes"

A = Amps - meausre of how fast a pack "flows"

Lipo = Lithium Polymer - a form of battery, this requires a special charger and if miss handled can be dangerous.

NiCd = Nickle Cadmium - a form of battery

NiMH = Nickel Metal Hydride - a form of battery

[jason1070]

Very good info :noteworthy :noteworthy