** LIPO BASICS ** Read me first!

[sierracharlie]

If my charger only reports in voltage, how do I know what mah I am putting back in. I fly a 450 mah battery for 4 minutes and the voltage is 7.6.

[Slyster]

You cannot tell. What charger do you have? A blinky charger? You need, at minimum, a charger like this.

$24

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

[sierracharlie]

Its a G.T. Power 606-d I had for my foam planks. I going to upgrade but it works good for my 450 and 2200 batteries. I just started using My RC Log . com and wanted to start keeping data on my batteries.

[jessdigs]

Originally Posted by Slyster

You cannot tell. What charger do you have? A blinky charger? You need, at minimum, a charger like this.

$24

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

I read the link about that charger. What is funny is at the bottom it warns about buying clones of this unit. That there are copies being produced and sold out of China, and that it is dangerous buying clones. Pot-> kettle


Team Blue Collar "Footin' the bill since 2012" Sent from my S5 using tapatalk.

[franknsled]

I've read the entire thread. My brain is swollen!! Lots of good info. I haven't seen anything on what to do with puffed lipos. How do I make them safe to dispose of?

[Slyster]

Discharge fully (I use two car 12v headlights in series) then cut off connectors and twist main leads together and put in you garbage can. Not recyclable. Not dangerous to landfill.

[franknsled]

Thanks Sly. Soldering a bulb.

[Heli ascot]

As a newbie, is there an easy way for me to figure out the fast charge, discharge rates for my 11.1 3S 2200mah. I have a X4 Hitec charger and it wants to know charge, balance charge, fast charge, and discharge rates. I know a safe charge is 2.2 but not sure about the other rates.

Is there charging and battery 101 somewhere in HF? I searched but was not successful

Thanks, Heli Ascot

[D_Vail]

The battery should list the max safe charge rate such as 3C, or 5C, etc. of course, 1C would be 2.2, 2C = 4.4, etc..

If it does not list that, then you would safely be limited to 1C unless the manufacturer says otherwise.

[Heli ascot]

Originally Posted by D_Vail

The battery should list the max safe charge rate such as 3C, or 5C, etc. of course, 1C would be 2.2, 2C = 4.4, etc..

If it does not list that, then you would safely be limited to 1C unless the manufacturer says otherwise.

The X4 also allows me to internally set a fast charge rate, discharge rate, and storage rate. How do I determine these rates of charge? Maybe I am over thinking this?

[jessdigs]

Originally Posted by Heli ascot

The X4 also allows me to internally set a fast charge rate, discharge rate, and storage rate. How do I determine these rates of charge? Maybe I am over thinking this?

The hitec x4 will allow you to set up to a 6.0 amp Charge rate. To set a 5000 mAh to 1c charge rate, set the charger to 5.0 amps. To set a 2200 mAh battery to 1c rate, set the charger to 2.2 amps. To set a 2200 mAh battery to a 2c charge rate, set the charger for 4.4 amps, 3c rate would be 6.6 amps, but your charger will only go to 6 amps.
The charger will automatically stop charging/balancing when the battery reaches 4.20 volts per cell.
I made the mistake of setting the safety cutoff amperage in the x4 when I first got it, but it is not needed. It will stop charging when it is done.

To discharge, you set the desired end voltage, you can set up to a 1 amp rate on the x4.

To store batteries, set your battery voltage ie 22.2V(6S), and you can ssh up to a 1.0 amp storage charge rate.

For my lager packs like the 5000mAh I always go with the 1.0 amp rate for discharge and storage. For a small capacity pack, like the 800mAh on my small plane, I go with a lower discharge/storage rate

Hope that helps



TREX 700N, 600N, 600E, 550, 500, 450s. DX9. AMA# 1042808

[Heli ascot]

Yes thank you.

[Aikiguy]

Whats up Heli Freaks,

So am I in way over my head? I know nothing about mah and draw and voltage and balancing. I am sure someone has posted this same comment/question, but I have to ask. Just got into the hobby in april and I am charging one battery per flight. Way economical i know. I need a charger and other accessories. The question is what do I really need. The "nice" to have vs the "need" to have is always important. I am now flying a nano cps with single cell lipos and a blade 230s with 3 cell lipos. What do I really need? and what would be nice to have? In addition to that, is there any real guideline on how to know what battery is best? (example, my nano cps can use a 150 mah with a 45 c rating. really don't know what that means but, what does a 220 mah with a 45 c do?) Sorry if this is a repeat post. Thanks for all your help. Everyone is so educated here and helpful. I love the comradery of this sport. I hope I can be as well versed as all you guys after some time in this hobby.

[Well Driller]

Just thought you should know. The link to the cell spy is outdated.

[cover8]

After reading all of these posts about lipo care...now way I want an E-heli. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

[ticedoff8]

The attached PDF file is from the RCG Battery section.
It is a short 9 pages long and is focused on "Safe LiPo disposal".
It covers thing like:
- Proper disposal of a damaged battery (hint... Saltwater is BAD)
- Proper discharging before disposal
- How to build a simple discharge setup to safely discharge any LiPo down to 0v for disposal.
- Recycling LiPo packs
- Puffing - why it happens and why it is bad.

Download it and keep a copy laying around.