3s lipo run time

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Rummy12

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Arrma RC's
  1. Granite
I just bought my first 3s Lipo battery today. It's a lectron pro 5200 mah 50c. I'm running it in my granite blx 4x4. I didn't actually time it, but it seems like I have about half the run time when compared to the run time I was getting with my 2s 5000 mah battery. Is this normal or did I possibly get a bad battery? Thanks in advance
 
You should roughly time it if it’s bothering you, but make sure you’re driving more or less the same way (intensity, terrain, etc) than you were on 2S.

3S really wakes up the Granite and the other 3S models, and there’s often a propensity to drive harder and faster because it’s just more fun. Ha. That could explain your run time difference.

You should also check the individual cells for proper function and balance on your charger.
 
Thanks for the reply. Yeah im sure my driving has something to do with it but it just seemed like it was a much shorter run time. Unfortunately I don't know how to check the individual cells. I'm kind of an amateur at this stuff! I guess I'll have to start with timing the run time. I just want to make sure I didn't buy an expensive "bad" battery
 
Are you using adapters for the plugs? What plugs do your lipos have? What are the individual cell voltages when you hit LVC?
 
The one I just bought is ec5 connector. Sorry I'm not sure what lvc means. I believe it says 11.1 volts per cell on the battery.
And no I am not using any adaptors with this battery
 
The one I just bought is ec5 connector. Sorry I'm not sure what lvc means. I believe it says 11.1 volts per cell on the battery.
And no I am not using any adaptors with this battery
LVC is low voltage cutoff. When your ESC senses the voltage is low, it cuts off to prevent damage to your battery. Going below 3.8v per cell is potentially hazardous to your battery, depending on its composition.

You need to find out what each cell voltage is. You can buy a $10 lipo checker. You can also see if your charger has it built in. Worst case you can test with a meter on the balance leads.
 
Just ordered the voltage tester. Thank you for the info. Do you recommend I check the voltage when the esc senses low voltage and slows the truck down? I guess I'm not sure when the right time to do this is
 
Just ordered the voltage tester. Thank you for the info. Do you recommend I check the voltage when the esc senses low voltage and slows the truck down? I guess I'm not sure when the right time to do this is
Yoi can do that to see where the voltage is at on LVC, but voltage rises a bit after the lipo sits and cools so you can check again. Its a good tool to see where LVC actually cuts off and if to low for your taste you can use a alarm.
 
The point of the lipo checker is to make sure your cells are well balanced. You need to get into the mindset of knowing their voltages as a per cell value, not a combined value.
 
Ok thanks for the info. I noticed something else today that grabbed my attention. When I started charging my battery, I have my charger set at 5A. When I hit start, the charger is automatically switching to 4A. Any idea why this is happening?
 
Ok thanks for the info. I noticed something else today that grabbed my attention. When I started charging my battery, I have my charger set at 5A. When I hit start, the charger is automatically switching to 4A. Any idea why this is happening?
Amperage is drawn, not pushed. Your charger will provide up to 5A, but the battery will only draw what it needs.
 
Amperage is drawn, not pushed. Your charger will provide up to 5A, but the battery will only draw what it needs.
Pretty sure that is not how charging works, if that is how things worked when charging, it wouldn't matter what the charge rate was set to . My guess is his charger could only push 4amps at the voltage needed to charge the battery. Drawing what is needed is definitely how it works when running the car.
 
Pretty sure that is not how charging works, if that is how things worked when charging, it wouldn't matter what the charge rate was set to . My guess is his charger could only push 4amps at the voltage needed to charge the battery. Drawing what is needed is definitely how it works when running the car.
That’s for sure how it works. Chargers don’t push amperage. They set limits to how much is drawn. Chargers do set a voltage and an amp cutoff limit.
 
I agree on the amperage statement. Did quite a bit of reading on the subject this morning. I have the same battery and my charger(venom pro duo 160) will charge the depleted pack at 5.2 amps until near the end of the charging cycle, I can only guess that his charger has a limit of 50W. Thus when charging a 3s battery it can only provide 4amps of current.
 
I just bought my first 3s Lipo battery today. It's a lectron pro 5200 mah 50c. I'm running it in my granite blx 4x4. I didn't actually time it, but it seems like I have about half the run time when compared to the run time I was getting with my 2s 5000 mah battery. Is this normal or did I possibly get a bad battery? Thanks in advance
would you say around 30 minutes or more
 
No, should be fine but make sure that you are using a Lipo charger with balance ports. It will only take 5 times longer than charging at 5A.
Your charger might have a safety timer that will turn it off after a specified time.
 
I watched several YouTube videos on lipo batteries when I got back into rc cars in January. Cause I couldn’t find the info I was looking for. I just typed different things in the search bar, like: how to charge a lipo, what’s the best lipo, etc....
 
I have that same 3s lectron 5200 50c lipo. Mine runs about 10 mins maybe few minutes more if I don't push it, the thing is, its not at 100% nor 75% its running at TH limit 50% on the spektrum DX3 controller.
 
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