when do you charge your lipos before flying?

[biffo]

hey guys.curious to see what other people do when it comes to charging before flying?i have a x3 and oxy 3 that i take to work with me and fly if i have time and theres a field near by.so basically ill charge my packs and take them with me and depending on work etc they may stay fully charged for up to a week at most.is this bad for the life span of the pack?and is it dangerous?i read somewhere of people storing them in metal boxes for safety.

[CrashandBurn]

I have a three day rule for fully charged batteries. After three days they go back to a storage charge.

I've read were guys will fully charge their batteries and then store them in a freezer.

Lipo batteries are at their most dangerous point when fully charged.

[CrashNburn420]

Now that I can I only charge at the field. Arrive at the field, hook up packs and start charging at 3c. While they charge unload my car and BS with whoever else is there.

[FlyBri3]

On rare occasions I will charge the night before depending how early I want to leave for the field. Most of the time I just charge first thing in the morning while I am gathering up my stuff for the flying day. And I never leave them charged for more than 24 hours! I have had to many large packs I got lazy with and left fully charged for up to a week that lost power and went bad!

[TheBum]

I usually charge them the night before if I'm reasonably sure the weather will be good. If not, I typically would charge at the field, but this past Saturday I charged them while I ate breakfast, showered, and dressed.\

If I don't get them flown, I'll keep them in a charged state until the next weekend. Keeping them charged isn't dangerous unless they're allowed to short out on something metal.

[DougC]

Now that I have a generator and charging case I charge just before flying. When I am done flying I storage charge and discharge to storage if I did not use a full pack. With parallel charging and charging at 2 to 3C It only takes about 20 minutes to charge my 3 or 4 packs.

[Relisys190]

I charge 3c at the field. My packs only ever sit charged for 20 or so mins. Then I fly the snot out of them and charge again.

Back to 3.85 per cell when I get home. Stored in fire proof boxes in the A/C of my garage.

[Slyster]

I have 2 packs.. 1 for each heli... and charge as I fly... all day long.. that's where it's at these days.. 13-15 min charge times... save $$.. especially if you use a $300 stick pack for a 700.

[cajkat1073]

I charge my batteries as soon as I possibly can after flying. I try to fly almost every day but sometimes I can't. They sit charged sometimes a month. I have 4 batteries that went about 3 months charged. I have used the same 10 batteries for 2 years next month. I charge at 5c every time. As long as they are good batteries they will last no matter how you charge as long as you don't over discharge. I never run lower than 3.4 per cell.

[Diogenes]

Usually I charge the night before. .....

[Martinshelis]

I charge while I am packing everything up for the field. This also gives me enough time to make sure I have everything in order and make a fresh cup of coffee for the drive. The fastest I have charged at is 2c. I have 7 packs for the 180cfx 6 packs for the 450l and 3 so far for the g570. I'm going to be selling my 450l soon so I will probably buy 4 more 6s packs for a total of 5 12s packs. If you have the right amount of batteries you don't have to wait or fast charge. With as many packs as I have I can balance charge at 1c with only a short break here and there if I want. When I get home I make sure they are all balanced and at storage level.

[K2Freak]

My experience is that when I used to store my packs fully charged they lasted about a year. Now I charge them right before I fly and leave them storage charged otherwise. Oldest packs are 2.5 years and seem like new.

[niget2002]

I do the same as you. Typically I get to go fly at least once or twice a week at lunch. I have a power supply and charger at work that I use to charge my packs.

Sometimes a meeting pops up during the morning and I don't get to go fly.

My threshold is about a week. If it's been 7 days and I don't think I'll fly that day then I'll discharge down to storage.

What I don't understand is does it really make a difference if you discharge to storage and then re-charge the next day to fly? I thought 'battery cycles' were just as bad as leaving it sit idle fully charged?

I think I've only had to do that once or twice.

[thepiper92]

I charge the night before, considering my little IMAX won't charge 6s over 2.5a. I'll then charge the other two when I get up in the morning. When I fly my UMX Pitts, I have 7 packs, 300-500mah, so I can charge them all at once at 3-3.5a.

[Hawkboy000]

I honestly charge them like hours before flying. 1c or 2c rate.

[myxiplx]

I charge my packs over breakfast if I'm going to be flying that day, and generally fly that day or discharge them.

Packs start to get more expensive once you fly these larger helicopters, so its worth the investment into a good charger so you can look after your packs.

My Trex 250 packs (3S 850mAh) and previously my mCPX BL packs get abused. Those I don't care about so much, so while i try to look after them, if they stay charged for a week so be it.

[mba83]

I try to charge the same day, or the night before if I plan to fly in the morning. I try to not keep them charged for more than a couple days.

After flying, I storage charge only if the resting voltage is less than 3.75V per cell.

[thepiper92]

Originally Posted by myxiplx

I charge my packs over breakfast if I'm going to be flying that day, and generally fly that day or discharge them.

Packs start to get more expensive once you fly these larger helicopters, so its worth the investment into a good charger so you can look after your packs.

My Trex 250 packs (3S 850mAh) and previously my mCPX BL packs get abused. Those I don't care about so much, so while i try to look after them, if they stay charged for a week so be it.

I feel the same way...although my 250 packs show the what happens when the packs are not discharged. All of my Nanotech packs have issues with one cell. I never left them charged more than a week however, leaving me skeptical of Nanotech packs. For my UMX/ 130x (whenever I get the 130x flying again) packs, I have left them charged for 2 weeks, accidentally mind you, and only a couple are having issues, albeit not as severe as the 250 packs. The issues are with the Eflite packs, not the higher quality Hyperion packs. These issues are also over around 500-600 flights.

[smiler.se]

I usually charge them the same day or the day before. If they don't get used I discharge them within a day or two.

[im4711]

I try keeping them empty and charge at the field.
If you keep them charged at home for a few days only it should be OK. However do not try to keep them for weeks fully charged.