Longest life for LiPos - charge 95% or 100% capacity

[RockinRyan]

I saw a list of do's and do-not's for lipo care the other day and one that caught my eye was a recommendation to only charge to 4.15V and specifically NOT to charge to 4.2V. Is there any credibility behind this recommendation? The list made reference to the fact that the TP 1010C offered a 95% capacity charging option and suggested that better battery life was the reason.

Any experience or research to back up either claim here?
Thanks,
Ryan

[LITHIUMSTATIC]

I think it has the 95% option because it's a long time to charge the last 5%. I used to limit my flight time and charge to 95% and that would give me more flights during to day taking only 30-35 minutes to charge.

[Pinecone]

The fast charge or 95% charge options typcially still go to 4.2 volts, but terminate the charge at a higher amp point.

For maximum life, charge you lipos to only 3.7 - 3.8 volts. :) Apparently that is used in a lot of devices for very long cycle life. That and not running them too far down, you can get thousands of cycles.

[RockinRyan]

For maximum life, charge you lipos to only 3.7 - 3.8 volts. :) Apparently that is used in a lot of devices for very long cycle life. That and not running them too far down, you can get thousands of cycles.
So maybe there is some validity to a partial charge? Even if it takes them to 4.2 I'm sure they back off soon after when charged to 95%...

[charlieh]

The lipo chemistry is safe at the range of 2.8~4.3V but that's for lab purpose, most manufacturer recommend 3.0~4.2 to keep a buffer. Personally I charge at 12.66V but never go beyond 3.5V.

The key to TP's 95% setup is by charging only 95% of the capacity, it actually bypass the CV stage to achieve the fast charge effect. It just save time and I can't see that it prolong pack life.

[Pinecone]

Agreed, if you hit 12.6 volts, that is the key. If you set up to charge to a lower voltage, but fully charge at that voltage, you can get around 95%, but with a lower peak voltage. And from what I have read, it is not the fully charging, but the voltage level that the pack sees.

[RockinRyan]

FWIW - here is a link to that article:
http://www.purplepower.co.uk/pdf/How%20to%20prolong%20the%20life%20of%20your%20expe nsive%20Lithium%20Polymer%20Cells%20-%20Rev%203.pdf