what do you use to warm your batteries?

[Spork01]

I noticed a decrease in performance flying today. all of my packs felt the same way. the temp really dropped here so it must be the cold. what do you use to warm your batteries and how long. thanks.

[halley]

Wear them in inside coat pockets. Before the flight, this serves to keep THEM warm. After the flight, this serves to keep YOU warm. Be sure to keep the connectors where they won't short on coins, pens, etc., and you can grab them quickly if they feel too warm.

Some people have mentioned carbon hand-warmer packets and tinfoil, but unless you gotta fly in the freezing temperatures, probably overkill.

[12/07/41]

Cold in Orlando you’re funny!
I fly year round in New England and I just keep them in my packet.

[jesse717]

ya im from CT and it not that cold yet

[Spork01]

its was 55 degrees today. that's pretty cold for orlando

[nexgen]

+1 on the pockets thing.

[TheBum]

I've actually used a thermo-electric food/beverage cooler in heat mode to warm my packs. Of course, the temps were in the 30s. You just have to make sure you don't leave them in too long and make sure you elevate them above the heat-exchange plate.

[B400flyer]

I just take a butane lighter/torch and run it across the bottom of the pack untill it feels warm

[fflier9]

Originally Posted by B400flyer

I just take a butane lighter/torch and run it across the bottom of the pack untill it feels warm

Ahaha that's a good one.

[JasonJ]

I don't think 55 degrees is cool enough to be a factor. Now, you get down into the 40's, 30's or colder, then it could be an issue. They only need to be warm initially. Once they are discharging, they generate their own heat.

Pockets seem to work well enough...

Now, if you have links that are a bit snug at 90 degrees, ,they may tighten enough at 55 degrees to drain the battery faster, though it needs to be around 40 or colder for me to notice the tight links.

[Nuclear Dave]

55 in Florida is basicly -10 to the rest of yall. Considering it was averaging 100 a week ago, this is thick jacket weather for us.

[Creaky Cactus]

We had a guy at the field who had a pack in his pocket. He was using micro deans connectors and the pin on the connector managed to engage the balance plug while it was in his pocket. It heated up pretty fast, but he managed to disconnect it before he got hurt. It was a one in a million shot, he said he couldn't have done it if he tried.

The Cactus

[Blade~400~er]

Originally Posted by newbflyer101

I noticed a decrease in performance flying today. all of my packs felt the same way. the temp really dropped here so it must be the cold. what do you use to warm your batteries and how long. thanks.

flat 100% throttle curve for 6 mins I dont bother going flying if its below 50 Ive got indoor chores piling up from a summers worth of neglect. gotta "clean house" at some point..lol...this sunday was actually the first in 3 months that i didnt go flying because it was too cold and too windy...and DAMN i got alot done today

[helijack]

hehehe......55F translates to 12.77C up here! Man, that's a heatwave!

[ken22golf]

I know it's not cold down here, but I too noticed a drop in pack performance today in the cooler weather. Going from mid-nineties down to the fifties definitely made a difference. After the first couple packs, I stuck the next couple in my pockets to warm them (well, under my sweatshirt) and they were noticably more powerful then the first two that were ambient temperature. Couldn't have been just my imagination.

[peterdk]

Easy, live in Australia and you can fly all year round without ever worrying about having to warm your batteries!!

Peter

[baldgeek]

Originally Posted by peterdk

Easy, live in Australia and you can fly all year round without ever worrying about having to warm your batteries!!

Peter

Better still, live in New Zealand. You have all the benefits listed and you don't have to put up with the Ozzies!

[peterdk]

Originally Posted by baldgeek

Better still, live in New Zealand. You have all the benefits listed and you don't have to put up with the Ozzies!

Live in Oz and you do have to put up with the Kiwi's cause they're all over here!

[RocketSled]

Unless you're storing the packs where they're exposed to the lower temperatures, the lower temperatures make no difference. It's not how cold the air is, it's how cold the chemicals in the batteries are, those chemicals are pretty dense, it takes 'em a while to cool down, and if they're making power they generate their own heat.

55ºF is definitely cold enough to effect LiPo performance. The data I've read says that performance starts to fall off at about 15ºC, and 55ºF is 12ºC, sooo....

I have a place in Ocala (though I'm in the much-colder N.E. now). I usually charge my packs in the garage (which has a comforting amount of concrete and cinderblock), but when I know the weather's going to be cold enough to put a chill on my hardware, I bring it indoors overnight after it's been charged up.

[TheBum]

If you pack up the car the night before, make sure you wait until you're ready to leave to carry the batteries out to the car. If you leave them sitting in a cold car all night, they will be cold throughout and they will take a while to warm up (for the same reason they take a while to cool down).