Lipo battery questions

[BamaRuckus]

I have 3s zee 11.1v 2200 lipo, I am charging 1 currently.

1. Tenergy tb6b charger

How long would is avg take to charge one and once I charge it. Do I need to run a storage on it or is it ok to store?

New guy needs help.

 

[89Industries]

Length to charge depends on how low the battery was when you start. If I start my 3s 3700mah pack from storage charge (11.4v) and charge at 3.7A it generally takes about 35-40 minutes to get to full balance charge.

If you are starting lower it would take less time, etc. You can also charge at a higher rate but for optimal battery longevity, charging at 1C(multiply mah of battery by 1000 to get amps for 1C rate) or less is better.

I try to leave my batteries at full charge no more than 3 days. Then back to storage charge.

I'm pretty much just regurgitating the info I found on this forum and a few others though.

 

[BamaRuckus]

Thats good I have it on a storage charge of 1a now I think I am doing it right. I have no idea, I read the directions that came with the unit but confused. So I guess I am going to store it in a safe place for tonight and not tomorrow but saturday I plan on using it in the yard and starting to drive the trx around.

 

[89Industries]

So when I first got into lipo batteries when I got back into RC I bought a charger that could only charge one battery at a time. Then with storage charging and a kid with a truck and so on, I quickly realized that my lack of planning was going to need a charger that could charge 2 batteries at the same time and with the first charger I can do 3.

Also, realize you can easily keep batteries at storage charge and if you're just going to go mess arounds in your yard for a bit, you can just run the battery starting at storage charge. You just get less run time and a bit less power (lower voltage).

You don't HAVE to start with a fully charged battery.

If course I'm staying with a bigger capacity 3700mah battery than your 2200mah batteries so might work better for me. But I've done the same with the one 1500mah 3s battery (I bought on a whim) and still got a good 10 minutes of testing time on my backyard piles of rocks.

But you then what you bring the batteries back up to storage charge before you leave them.

 

[JimrC]

I have a couple of b6 chargers, good value for money in my opinion to start off with. I charge 3S 2200mAh with this at 2.2A on balance charge and usually takes about an hour to fully charge. This is from 3.2v per cell.

I'm not fussy where I keep them when unattended but do closely monitor the health of the batteries at all times.

 

[BamaRuckus]

ya took an hour to charge it beeped when done. My thoughts based on what was said - it to hold Saturday at full charge or alittle less then to run the car since I did this at night. And I dont know what I am doing.

 

[durok]

BTW - brand new LiPo batteries may not perform quite as well as they do after about 5-10 full charge-discharge cycles.

If these are your first experiences, you'll be amazed at how great they are compared to the old NiCd and NiMh packs!

 

[Saltrock]

I’ve never heard of lipo’s getting better after a few charge cycles. Where did you find that info, I could always use more smarts about batteries.

 

[hnoroian]

Balance Charge at 2.2a. From dead should be less than 60min. Never drop below 3.3v/c all(most) modern esc for our use have LVC. I do not storage charge them anymore, but they are usually ran and cycled within a month or two. I charge in the open but on a heavy cork board so I can see if there is an issue while charging and not too far away. I keep them in a fire bag and while traveling. When I get home I balance charge them again. Always take the spare when our trailing and playing, nothing like carrying back a 7lb pig with a dead battery on the trail.

 

[durok]

I’ve never heard of lipo’s getting better after a few charge cycles. Where did you find that info, I could always use more smarts about batteries.

Helios RC mentions it on their site...

 

[BamaRuckus]

Thanks for the info, I’m learning more.

 

[89Industries]

Helios RC mentions it on their site...

I second this information. Never confirmed if it applied to all lipo batteries or just Helios though.

I run mostly Helios batteries and honestly still can't tell if the batteries got better. I don't have a consistent enough trail or truck that would make it super noticeable.

I could see racers doing laps with a known car being able to tell the difference.

 

[K.O.M.]

I'm not quite sure about lipos getting better with use, it's possible, but most of the literature states they basically start degrading beginning with the 1st charge and degrade faster the more you discharge them below 20% and charge them above 80%.

I used to race on-road and there were some things we did to improve charging/discharging performance like heat the battery up with a blowdryer when it was cold outside and give them a bit of "overcharge" to get some more punch out of them initially (until they started checking for max voltage before you lined up at regional/national events).

For the most part, common best practice without getting too technical and using up your valuable free-time managing batteries instead of playing with the toys is to keep them above 3.2v/cell, storage charge at 3.7v/cell (if not using for longer than 30 days), and let it cool down before recharging.

 

[diezel666]

It seems REALLY odd to me that any company would make the claim that a li-po pack Improves after a break-in period.

Yes, however it IS true that some/most packs, will improve after the chemical makeup of the pack stabilizes after the first few charges and discharges. But simply put, It's almost completely un-noticeable to the user. Making that claim, seems to me that it would just open them up to warranty returns out the wazoo. Extremely foolish to do.