Educate me on LiPo battery usage please

[Skyd]

Hey all,


Relative newbie here, I haven't owned a REAL RC since the 90's when I was a kid and it used NiCad batteries and I think maybe I had one with Nickel Metal Hydride also. Anyway, I know next to nothing about LiPo batteries in terms of how they are used with our sweet little crawlers.


I've got a new SCX24, which comes with I think a 350mah battery. I've read the manual, I know not to just leave it plugged into the charger indefinetly and all that. But, I guess I'd like sort of a practical users guide to owning a car with LiPo batteries.


I see stuff like boxes and bags to prevent fires and explosions from burning your house down and I'm like whoa....I need to know what I'm doing here. Unplug from car when done, or ok to leave it, charge from partially drained? Etc etc...just a basic overview of how to use and care for my battery without being overly ridiculous about it. At this point in time I'm not running expensive high end equipment, just having fun.


Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[ToCrawl]

Since LiPo is not the easist topic I think this is one of the best article explaining these batteries https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

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[Skyd]

Since LiPo is not the easist topic I think this is one of the best article explaining these batteries https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

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Awesome, i will check it out...thanks!

 

[Skyd]

I figured I'd come back and share.....that link was amazing! I've worked in the Fire and Security alarm business and other electronics based industries so I had some knowledge, but that was a great guide. I'll be bookmarking that for sure.

I will say - it was a bit of a bummer to read. LiPo's have really added alot of time and effort to the fun. Had I read that first it may have deterred me from reentering the hobby. As it seems, quickly grabbing your RC to fart around for 10 minutes and then setting it aside for a few days isn't really an option anymore. Cost of entry is also much higher if you want to do things right...the chargers cost almost as much as I paid for my SCX24.

Then there's the fact that you have to babysit your batteries while they charge. So this is very much a time sucker,

Now all of that taken into consideration, I think the best approach is to develop a routine and set of habits that mitigate risk, prolong battery life, and still allow you to have fun. I'm not sure short periods of play fit in here though which is a bit of a bummer in my case.

 

[Kingmeow]

You can always ditch the lipo and go back to NiMH packs. They are still around but not that prevalent. No fires, no baby sitting, cheaper chargers, etc. NiMH can't deliver the punch that lipos can but for non-racing land vehicles that's a moot point. If you're flying EDF jets or fast airplanes. that's another story.

 

[lonleycreeper]

Meh... Only battery fire I ever had was a Nimh...

Lipos are to be respected and properly cared for, but nothing to be afraid of.

I have puffed one by over charging it. And I have killed a couple by leaving them plugged in...

10 years of using lipos and no fires.

 

[Ninomaniac]

It's a tiny and cheap lipo. Put it in a glass jar or something for charging/storage (without the lid) and the most damage it can do is stink up the place if it blows. And it won't. You're walking around with a potential lithium fire in your pocket anyway. Now, for bigger packs (like 3s 5000 or 6s), they really should be taken care of with respect to safety (they hold a LOT of energy when full) and maintenance (i.e. you don't want your 100$ pack to die in a year for not properly storage charging it etc).

You just have to check and know what the different charge states and voltages mean, but you'll get used to that.

 

[Ragenwraith]

https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide Take a look here. Good info.

 

[ehstrike]

Since LiPo is not the easist topic I think this is one of the best article explaining these batteries https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

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Thanks for the link, I have also returned to the RC world recently and this was very informative and helpful.

 

[BlancaGrim]

Thank you so much for sharing this thread here. I will definitely check it out. I also need help with paper writers for hire. I'm ready to pay for his/her work will for me. I already visited a few sources from where I can hire writers. Study Clerk is one of the source I want to try https://studyclerk.com/hire-writers I already talked to them directly and shared my issues with requirements. I hope for the better writings. Let see

 

[swerv512]

So I let my 10 year old drive my trx4 sport for about an hour a few nights ago. I use 3s 4300mah lipo. Suddenly the truck stopped running So i figured it was the low voltage cutoff. Turns out 2 cells were at 2.3 and the third cell wouldn't even register. Let the pack sit on fire watch overnight as it wouldn't register on my charger when we got home. The next morning all cells measured about 2.0 so I cycled the pack slowly about 3 times. Resistance across cells were pretty even @ 6m-ohms. Dangers of low voltage cutoff when crawling... now I carry a voltage checker with me when trailing/crawling and set an alarm every 30 minutes to actually check it.

 

[DRED805]

So I let my 10 year old drive my trx4 sport for about an hour a few nights ago. I use 3s 4300mah lipo. Suddenly the truck stopped running So i figured it was the low voltage cutoff. Turns out 2 cells were at 2.3 and the third cell wouldn't even register. Let the pack sit on fire watch overnight as it wouldn't register on my charger when we got home. The next morning all cells measured about 2.0 so I cycled the pack slowly about 3 times. Resistance across cells were pretty even @ 6m-ohms. Dangers of low voltage cutoff when crawling... now I carry a voltage checker with me when trailing/crawling and set an alarm every 30 minutes to actually check it.

Ditch the esc and get a decent one that'll actually cut off at low voltage.

 

[durok]

HobbyWing 1080WP for the win, roughly $40.

There's also these inexpensive self-discharge devices on Amazon - someone else posted these a while back and had good luck with them:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PBCTRKC/?coliid=I1ONUZZHIYA7J0&colid=3IYUGAIM85QBA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[DRED805]

HobbyWing 1080WP for the win, roughly $40.

There's also these inexpensive self-discharge devices on Amazon - someone else posted these a while back and had good luck with them:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PBCTRKC/?coliid=I1ONUZZHIYA7J0&colid=3IYUGAIM85QBA&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Probably me. I have 4 of them that I use regularly. Takes a couple days to discharge a big 5200mah 4s down to storage, but you can just plug them in and forget about them. Plus they make good night lights. :lmao:

 

[swerv512]

Probably me. I have 4 of them that I use regularly. Takes a couple days to discharge a big 5200mah 4s down to storage, but you can just plug them in and forget about them. Plus they make good night lights. :lmao:

The night lights!! Never thought of that!

 

[Undead Jeeper]

Great info at the link and glad to know that it is a living link, edited and updated to reflect changes in technology or errors made in the text

The night lights!! Never thought of that!

I had to look... to see if it indeed had a light or LED :mrgreen:
It's ok if you like green light I guess.

 

[nightcrawler48]

For those who found the Roger's Hobby Center website lipo information useful, I just wanted to let you know the store permanently closed on July 17, 2021.
The website is still up and you can still access the information but no info as to whether or not it will remain up. I would think no new info will be added.

 

[OutLore]

For those who found the Roger's Hobby Center website lipo information useful, I just wanted to let you know the store permanently closed on July 17, 2021.
The website is still up and you can still access the information but no info as to whether or not it will remain up. I would think no new info will be added.

That sucks, was a useful site, although I don't think it was updated that often.

 

[Ddub]

You can still grab pretty much any crawler and run from storage charge of 3.85v per cell. Doing this for 10 minutes will be unlikely to put you too low and then you can just charge up to storage again when done. The key to this is a real charger that can show you cell level voltages and can charge to storage level. Really, I wouldn't consider RC without that. 100x better to get a real charger than to switch to NiMH