Blade 230s battery issue

[ConductorJimmy]

I recently bought an used 230S V1 that come with 4 Turnigy 1000 mAh 3 S batteries. Most of them worked really well, except one that having an issue that I could not figure out. After a full charge, the heli takes off about 10 seconds and will lost the power. I checked the voltage and the numbers are No. 1: 4.07, No. 2: 4.10, No. 3: 4.08.
The battery is looks fine without any puff. I tried to discharge it and charge it again and same issue. Has anyone had this issue before? Would that be just a bad battery or something wrong with the connector? Thoughts? Thanks.

[BrokeDad]

You should really use IR to measure the health of any lipo. I'm guessing one or more cells are "worn out" with a high IR value.

[ConductorJimmy]

Originally Posted by BrokeDad

You should really use IR to measure the health of any lipo. I'm guessing one or more cells are "worn out" with a high IR value.

Just checked the IR value, the battery that is having issue is 52 which is MUCH higher than the other 3 (15,16,16)... Does that means this battery is done? Is there anything I can do the make this battery work again? Thanks.

[BrokeDad]

Yeah it's done. Shoot it, drive a nail through it, use it for bench testing/setup. It's not going to come back. These lipos are cheap (around $11-$15). I have a bunch of Turnigy 3S 1000's myself.

P.S. If you drive a nail through it you will get smoke and probably fire just FYI in case you didn't know. So be safe.

[ConductorJimmy]

Originally Posted by BrokeDad

Yeah it's done. Shoot it, drive a nail through it, use it for bench testing/setup. It's not going to come back. These lipos are cheap (around $11-$15). I have a bunch of Turnigy 3S 1000's myself.

P.S. If you drive a nail through it you will get smoke and probably fire just FYI in case you didn't know. So be safe.

I am so glad that you mentioned in the end about the smole and fire thing.. Otherwise, it might scare the crap out of me!

[onepiece]

What is the currently "best" way to test for IR readings?


Hope there is a way to test that is more economical than this item:
https://www.progressiverc.com/lipo-e...r-mark-ii.html


While we are on the battery topic...but can anyone direct me to a resource where lipo batteries are evaluated and quality rated WITHOUT any hype or shilling?





Thank you.

[Flyguytruckguy]

Originally Posted by onepiece

What is the currently "best" way to test for IR readings?

While we are on the battery topic...but can anyone direct me to a resource where lipo batteries are evaluated and quality rated WITHOUT any hype or shilling?
Thank you.

Quite a few modern chargers have the "IR" test option, what are you using. I'm using a relatively cheap Hitec "X2".

[onepiece]

Thanks for the update.



My charger is about 8 years old...and doesn't have the built in IR evaluation feature. I've been decommissioning batteries based on poor performance...or out and out fault (puffin).


Could be time to upgrade my charger. Thanks again.

[BrokeDad]

You can get an inexpensive tester (around $10). While it's IR may not be as accurate as a good charger it will let you know when one has a bad cell(s). It's also handy if you are wondering if you really charged that lipo up.

[Brick]

Originally Posted by Flyguytruckguy

Quite a few modern chargers have the "IR" test option, what are you using. I'm using a relatively cheap Hitec "X2".

That is what I use. Love that thing. Thinking about getting a second one

[onepiece]

IR May be a tough beast to understand.

This video gives a good overview:

LiPo Charger IR Function vs. Pro ESR Meter (8 min 43 sec)

[Flyguytruckguy]

Oh! By the way, if you parallel charge, just like one rotten apple, one bad battery will damage the rest. For those who para-charge, check voltages of cells before charging and after charging to match batches of batteries. Check the IR's every season or upon something amiss. P'S, I have 3 Hitec X-2's.

[fiddle]

Originally Posted by Flyguytruckguy

Oh! By the way, if you parallel charge, just like one rotten apple, one bad battery will damage the rest.

I've heard that before ... never understood what the guy meant. What is parallel charging? Hooking up multiple batteries to the same charge output? That sounds dangerous if so...

[The_Fox]

...never understood what the guy meant. What is parallel charging? Hooking up multiple batteries to the same charge output? That sounds dangerous if so... never understood what the guy meant. What is parallel charging? Hooking up multiple batteries to the same charge output? That sounds dangerous if so...

Right! Putting mulitple Batterys (of the same Type) together, (by Balance Wire) and charge. Its not dangerous, if all cells are at the same level. If one is empty, and another one is full, the full one will charge the empty one with the amount of curent it`s C-Rate will afford. And that might be much more the empty battery can take of charge C-Rate. It might damage Connector, Cable, Battery, Charger or might hurt You. So, it might be dangerous if You are unattentive, or a Cell fails. I am human, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, i may loose concentration... so i do not cahrge this way. Others do. Its up to anybody.

[fiddle]

I'm not into risk ... I have patience ... I'll just wait for stuff to charge the slow safe way. I don't even charge over 1C even though I understand that certain batteries allow you too (depending on specs).

[TomazB]

I charge parallel all the time. 100+ cycles on packs charging this way and they still do fine. Cant imagine not charging parallel if one wants to put in a decent amount of flights. And charging with 1c is outdated too. Materialsl used were improved over years, its quite common a pack will alow 5c charge rate. Afcourse permited rate stated on the pack has to be obeyed.

[fiddle]

I have 4 packs so I don't have any problems getting in flights - especially while waiting my turn at the flight line...

[BrokeDad]

I will parallel charge my cheap packs but the expensive ones get charged alone and never above 2C. Things like a good 6S 5000 are an expensive investment.

[The_Fox]

I do charge 1C aswell. My RC Helicopters are scale modells, i watch the batterys very close. If any battery seems to fade or loose performance, i replace. I have a cahrger for charging 4 batterys simultanously, and if i ever need more, i will buy another one of this type.



Its true batterys have improoved over last years. But chargers have improoved aswell, why should i ignore that fact? No need to charge parallel, when you can get a charger with 4 outputs. Or two of them...


Charging with 1C will never be outdated, its still best for any cell. And as they print any fantastic discharge C-Rate on some batterys, they prit fantastic charging C-Rates on them aswell.

Paralell charging is outdated, they did so before multiple output chargers were available. I am not in a hurry, when i fly my helis...

[fiddle]

Yes - I have a 4 output charger as well... hence the reason for whatever heli I get 4 batteries. Then I can take a single charger with me to the field (due to it being quite small). I can charge batteries at the field with this, though I hardly ever do ... I usually have more than one heli with me - each with 4 batteries. Thats a lot of time when you factor in waiting your turn.