Clearing things up about storage and fully charge

[theone2007]

I know once a fully charge lipo should either be discharge or use within 24hrs after charged up. Now my question is about the storage charge...why do some people put them in storage charge when they can just go fly it until it gets down to 3.8 per cell? Is the term discharge means the same as draining the lipo during use? Is it safe to drain the lipo by flying the heli and when the pack gets down to 3.8 per cell then stop and put it away until next time before flight charge it up and go? That points to this....so storage charge means the charger either discharge the lipo cells to 3.8 per cell or charge the lipo up to 3.8V per cell....am I correct?

[TRex700MRX]

so storage charge means the charger either discharge the lipo cells to 3.8 per cell or charge the lipo up to 3.8V per cell....am I correct?

The Above is Correct.

why do some people put them in storage charge when they can just go fly it until it gets down to 3.8 per cell?

I personally after flying put my batteries through the "storage" mode. I understand "all cells" need to have the same charge. I also understand all LiPo batteries will last longer when put in the proper Storage mode.

So I don't take any chances, I just put them all in Storage Mode until I am ready to fly again.

Hope this helps, Dennis

[Slyster]

It is convenient to fly down to 3.85v or so then I don't have to store charge.. but I only need to do that on the last flight of the day since I fast field charge and only use one lipo per heli.

[TRex700MRX]

Originally Posted by Slyster

It is convenient to fly down to 3.85v or so then I don't have to store charge.. but I only need to do that on the last flight of the day since I fast field charge and only use one lipo per heli.

Probably not a problem, others may chime in with their expertise.

Dennis,

PS: I HAVE done exactly what you are doing, but once a person told me to have battery longevity, put them in storage mode.

JMO my opinion,
Dennis

[theone2007]

Originally Posted by TRex700MRX

So I don't take any chances, I just put them all in Storage Mode until I am ready to fly again.

Hope this helps, Dennis

Before you fly again, you still have to charge it up to full right?

Does the charger automatically knows how to storage charge once I set up the setting?

[TRex700MRX]

Before you fly again, you still have to charge it up to full right?

Does the charger automatically knows how to storage charge once I set up the setting?

1st: Charge your batteries within 24 hours of flying.

2nd: My icharger Duo 406, when set to storage mode (easy), it knows which cells need charging, and which needs discharging. It will balance cells while putting the batteries in storage mode.

You want to keep the cells almost even at all times.

I have tried several chargers, but the 406 and 4010 are the best IMO.

Dennis

[theone2007]

Originally Posted by TRex700MRX

I have tried several chargers, but the 406 and 4010 are the best IMO.

Dennis

Ahh, just in time for me to find a charger, does the 406 or 4010 have built in power supply. I am tired of having to worry about carry two items. I am using two 6S 3700 mah 45C pulse lipos...whats your recommendation on charger that has built in power supply?

[TRex700MRX]

Ahh, just in time for me to find a charger, does the 406 or 4010 have built in power supply. I am tired of having to worry about carry two items. I am using two 6S 3700 mah 45C pulse lipos...whats your recommendation on charger that has built in power supply?

YES, all the decent charges will require there own power supply. I have a 1800 watt supply connected to my chargers. I don't think anybody makes one with a built in charger until you get to the smaller ones, only 200 watt chargers. You will be there all day charging on one of those.

Infact, I have one I am going to get rid of.

Dennis

[Smoggie]

Bear in mind that there isn't really an optimum single value for 'storage charge'. All that really matters is that the battery is in a 'medium' state of charge, so not below about 3.7V per cell and not above about 3.9V per cell.

Often you see it recommended to charge to 3.85 volts because that's nominally 50% charged, but there is nothing 'magical' about that voltage. 3.8V or 3.7V works equally well especially for shorter term storage where self discharge is of no concern.

Personally I just put my batteries away at the voltage that they come off the heli which is typically in the 3.7-3.8V range. Charging up to 3.85V is just a waste of time and effort IMHO, especially if you plan on using them again in a week anyway.

It's also something of a waste of time to balance the batteries at storage voltage. The batteries will get balanced when you charge them anyway, being precisely balanced in storage is in most cases of no benefit. While some chargers do have the capability to balance at storage (iCharger Duos for instance) to my knowledge all have the feature disabled by default because it's not generally required.

But definitely agree on the not leaving them fully charged point....

[theone2007]

I am a cheap skape and DO NOT spent money on wasteful things...now that is out of the way is this a good charger to charge my lipos I mentioned --->

ULTD120AC - Ultra Power UP120AC Duo Dual Port Charger Overview (19 min 45 sec)

[mba83]

Originally Posted by Grumpy_Old_Man

not below about 3.7V per cell and not above about 3.9V per cell.

+1 Don't be too paranoid about the actual voltage.

For me, storage voltage is 3.75 - 3.9 per cell.

[Crashalotjoe]

Originally Posted by mba83

+1 Don't be too paranoid about the actual voltage.

For me, storage voltage is 3.75 - 3.9 per cell.

Yep, and don't worry about small variances between the cells as long as they are all in the 3.75 - 3.9v zone. They should get balanced out when they are charged.

Just fly them down to around 3.8v, check all cells are in the storage voltage zone and store them until the next charge.

[theone2007]

Well...can someone tell me if the above charger is enough to charge the pulse lipos?

[Slyster]

It can charge any lipos. But time is key. At the field I would use a deep cycle (or two) to power a good charger (306b, 4010 duo, PL6 etc 1000-2000 watt chargers) and parallel charge both at the same at time at 22A to get them done in 15 mins. So I can fly a lot... all day long.

The charger you show is only ~100W per channel. So it might take a couple of hours per lipo. LONG time. No good chargers have built in power supplies.

[TRex700MRX]

It can charge any lipos. But time is key. At the field I would use a deep cycle (or two) to power a good charger (306b, 4010 duo, PL6 etc 1000-2000 watt chargers) and parallel charge both at the same at time at 22A to get them done in 15 mins. So I can fly a lot... all day long.

The 306, 406, and the 4010 are "hard" to beat. Well worth the investment if you are a serious flyer. Plus be assured your batteries are being charged correctly.

I love my 406, last weekend I charged 10 batteries in 1 hour. I had to split them up, plus two were receiver batteries, 7.4v.

All the others were 22.2v 5000mAh Batteries charging "normal mode" @ 1.5amps. I don't like to push them too hard, but some people do.

I have seen a few charge theirs at 5c, and yes, the wires were getting warm. But they were flying in 10 minutes.

Dennis

[Relisys190]

I fly for 4 mins and typically that puts my packs at 3.81-3.82 per cell.

To me, it's good for storage.

-Markus

[Thoemse]

I fly them down to about 30 to 40% capacity and put them away. That is storage charge for me.

Connecting them to the charger for storage charge puts another unneccessary cycle on the lipo in my opinion.

Most people charge to storage levels to cut the time it takes to fully charge it down.

[Crashalotjoe]

Originally Posted by Thoemse

Connecting them to the charger for storage charge puts another unneccessary cycle on the lipo in my opinion.

Most people charge to storage levels to cut the time it takes to fully charge it down.

If you have flown down to storage voltage, you will not add another cycle by connecting it to the charger, it will only charge or discharge a little to get it exactly to the predefined storage level (usually around 3.85v) and balance the cells. It is not another cycle. I agree though, if you're happy that the cells are in the storage voltage band when you land there is no need to put them on the charger.

Not sure what you are saying about cutting time (2nd sentence). Storage charging is there to prolong battery life by making sure the battery is not left in either a too high or too low charge state for any length of time.

[Thoemse]

Originally Posted by Crashalotjoe

If you have flown down to storage voltage, you will not add another cycle by connecting it to the charger, it will only charge or discharge a little to get it exactly to the predefined storage level (usually around 3.85v) and balance the cells. It is not another cycle. I agree though, if you're happy that the cells are in the storage voltage band when you land there is no need to put them on the charger.

Not sure what you are saying about cutting time (2nd sentence). Storage charging is there to prolong battery life by making sure the battery is not left in either a too high or too low charge state for any length of time.

Storage charging charges the lipo to about 50 to 70% of it's capacity very often (depends on the charger). Going from storage to full does not take long and definatly a lot quicker than charging from 20% to 30% to 100%.

If I charge from 20% to 50% and weeks later from 50% to 100% I charged the battery twice. That's my logic to it and the reason I simply store it after flight.

Edit: If you have to discharge cells to storage after flight you are landing too early.

[Crashalotjoe]

Originally Posted by Thoemse

Storage charging charges the lipo to about 50 to 70% of it's capacity very often (depends on the charger). Going from storage to full does not take long and definatly a lot quicker than charging from 20% to 30% to 100%.

If I charge from 20% to 50% and weeks later from 50% to 100% I charged the battery twice. That's my logic to it and the reason I simply store it after flight.

Edit: If you have to discharge cells to storage after flight you are landing too early.

Charging from empty to storage and then from storage to full is not two cycles it's just one (actually it's only a half cycle as you need to discharge it again to count a full cycle). Just as you shouldn't leave a pack fully charged for more than a day or two, you shouldn't leave one below storage level for more than a day or two.