Notorious Charge rate question

[blakeaowen15]

I just got a 6s 7000 mah battery, so is the max safe charge rate to charge it 7.0A?

 

[ross_jsy]

The max safe charge rate is usually stated by the manufacturer. 1C is generally considered safe though.

 

[blakeaowen15]

The max safe charge rate is usually stated by the manufacturer. 1C is generally considered safe though.

So than is 7.0 amps that max?

 

[Johnny b]

If your going by the popular charge rate of 1c, then yes.

 

[quiznatodd bidness]

Yes. However, that will decrease the actual run time when you charge that fast. You can ‘safely’ jam the power in that quickly, but it’s harder on the battery as well. So the overall life of the battery will shorten as well. I would recommend .5C or 3.5 amps in general. If you need a battery in a pinch you can fast charge occasionally without hurting it.

 

[ross_jsy]

So than is 7.0 amps that max?

The maximum is whatever you can throw at it lol. The maximum without effecting life is generally considered around 1c or in your packs case, 7amps. But I have batteries that state a safe charge rate of 2c and a quick charge rate of 5c. Read the battery manufacturers recommendations for that particular pack and remember the faster you charge it, the shorter the batteries life will be.

Do you have a decent charger capable of charging a 6s pack at 7amps?

 

[nomis38]

Im a field charger primarily, and been charging lipo's for about 2 decades... As long as its a good pack and you pay attention to how you treat it. 2c and 3c is fine and most packs list it on the back.

I charge all my 5000 mah's at 10 amp. Usually I have two on at a time charging parallel at 20amp. I don't see any reason now days to charge at 1c. My charging capabilities currently is up to 18 batteries at once and up to 40amp's. And I often use that when out in the field.

I say do what is in your means, and what your comfortable with. I'm just letting you know this so you understand you are not stuck at 1c by any means.

I also rip lipos apart and build what I need cell by cell. So my comfort zone is above average.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Yes. However, that will decrease the actual run time when you charge that fast. You can ‘safely’ jam the power in that quickly, but it’s harder on the battery as well. So the overall life of the battery will shorten as well. I would recommend .5C or 3.5 amps in general. If you need a battery in a pinch you can fast charge occasionally without hurting it.

Everyone has their own tolerance for risk. And I am risk-averse. But I've always heard 1C as a gentle, safe charging speed. I've never intentionally used under 1C, except for maybe a first charge cycle or something.

Everyone is free to charge their batteries how they like. But even I would consider suggesting 0.5C to be rather slow, and probably not necessary

Now, admittedly, if you aren't time limited, there's no real downside. If it's 10AM, and you want to use them at 1PM, sure, start the charge now at 0.5C. But if you're starting the charge, and are just waiting for it to finish so you can go play (that is, time matters) I would absolutely charge at 1C, and not feel bad about it at all.

When charging at the field, cycling through packs, and time matters even more, I will charge at 2C. Occasionally faster, though I try to not go above 2C.

My 6S packs are almost 10 years old, and have been in storage for 5+ years, since getting out of flying aircraft. But trying them in my new truck, they still seem fine to me.

Not saying that your approach is wrong, merely sharing protectives. In this case, I would use 7A, for 1C.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I just got a 6s 7000 mah battery, so is the max safe charge rate to charge it 7.0A?

The real question is does your charger actually go over 100 watts? Most do not...

The battery goes through different voltage levels while on the charge, but a simple example here:
7a * 24v = 168 watts.

 

[nomis38]

Also to add to what Liberty is saying, AC chargers rarely go over 10 amp or 100/150w. To get real wattage like my 1000W charger you need a 24v DC power supply and a DC charger...