Charging any batteries at 12a?

[xplatinum]

Someone is telling me that charging any LiPo at 12a is OK. It will shorten the lifespan of the battery but it will still take a long time to happen. His reasoning is that it takes 400 cycles (1c) to deplete the life of a LiPo. And 400 cycles is a very long time. The battery has a higher chance of losing its charge over time than reaching its 400 cycles. So might as well charge faster.

I'm new to all this by the way.

 

[mrfurious40k]

Study up on Lipos. 12 amps isn't ridiculous depending on the capacity of the battery. If your pack is a 6000mah, 6amp charging would be 1c so 12amp would only be 2c and that's not uncommon for people to do. I don't do it and I don't recommend anything above 1c but some people do it. Lipos are serious business and they can injure or kill a person, burn down your house and destroy everything in it if not charged and stored properly. Again, take yourself to school before you try and do anything more than manufacturer's recommendations. Don't listen to a guy. Learn everything there is to know and make informed decisions.

 

[xplatinum]

No worries, I was not planning on following a recommendation without counter-verifying first. I took his word for it at first because he owns an RC store and participates in races. That does not make him the holy grail of RC knowledge but it's still disappointing if you cannot trust your local RC shop.

 

[mrfurious40k]

Racers push limits to get their packs done faster between races. If you're a hobbyist, take your time and make tour gear last as long as you can. The more cycles you get, the less you paid per run over the life of the pack.

 

[xplatinum]

He was applying that logic for everyone. Told me to set it at 12a, set it and forget it. He knew I was not a racer. Anyhow, thank you for confirming that 1c is the way to go. Here's what I got...

SMC 4S 6700mah 90c (extended capacity (~7200mah))
SMC 6S 4300mah 40c

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Yeah, it depend on the battery. Know your packs. I have some packs that have a max charge rate of 1c, 2c, 5c, and 10c. That 10c pack is 6000mah, so that would be 60 amps!

 

[mrfurious40k]

He was applying that logic for everyone. Told me to set it at 12a, set it and forget it. He knew I was not a racer. Anyhow, thank you for confirming that 1c is the way to go. Here's what I got...

SMC 4S 6700mah 90c (extended capacity (~7200mah))
SMC 6S 4300mah 40c

1 amp per 1000mah is the general rule

He was applying that logic for everyone. Told me to set it at 12a, set it and forget it. He knew I was not a racer. Anyhow, thank you for confirming that 1c is the way to go. Here's what I got...

SMC 4S 6700mah 90c (extended capacity (~7200mah))
SMC 6S 4300mah 40c

Check out this article. I found it to be very informative when I was learning Lipos.

http://www.fpvforme.com/charging-lipo-batteries/

 

[xplatinum]

Yeah, it depend on the battery. Know your packs. I have some packs that have a max charge rate of 1c, 2c, 5c, and 10c. That 10c pack is 6000mah, so that would be 60 amps!

I could not find anything related to charge rate on the specs page of my batteries.

Check out this article. I found it to be very informative when I was learning Lipos.

http://www.fpvforme.com/charging-lipo-batteries/

Thank you. I already started reading some sites about lipos and charging but some go in very technical details. I'll take a look at your site for sure.

 

[lonee]

If you are not sure concerning the max. charge power of you´re battery, it is better to put an question to the manufacturer.
In case of Lipo´s it is better to be on the secure side!...

 

[xplatinum]

If you are not sure concerning the max. charge power of you´re battery, it is better to put an question to the manufacturer.
In case of Lipo´s it is better to be on the secure side!...

Good idea. I just sent them an email.

 

[lonee]

I had done the same. I was also nor sure how many max. amps my Lipo´s can take.
So I asked and now I know that I can charge my 2s 6000mA up to 14 amps.
But the guy which had tell you that high power charging will reduce the lifetime of the battery has also tell nothing wrong.
Normally it is recommended to charge up to 1C. For example 5000mA battery-> charge power 5A.
Just in case that the manufacturer described that you can charge with an higher C-rate, than you CAN do that.

I do charge my Lipo packs mostly just with 1C. That will keep you´re battery cold and did not decrease the lifetime.
Some of my Lipo´s from my plans are older than 2 years but maybe 80% charge volume now.
We will see how will be the lifetime of our Nero-packs....

just my 2 cents...
lonee

 

[72Z15SS]

He was applying that logic for everyone. Told me to set it at 12a, set it and forget it. He knew I was not a racer. Anyhow, thank you for confirming that 1c is the way to go. Here's what I got...

SMC 4S 6700mah 90c (extended capacity (~7200mah))
SMC 6S 4300mah 40c

Probably wants you to buy more battery packs from him. Miss-information might be good for business, but not for the end user; especially if it does you serious harm. I personally only charge at 1C and watch my packs through every minute they charge. It might be more boring than watching paint dry, but it's better than losing your house and all you stuff. My charger defaults to balance mode and I programmed every pack I own into the battery memory. It also has a "fast charge" mode, but never tried it.

 

[lonee]

Right,
Best way to keep you´re hause while charging LiPo´s->
Good charger / Lipo while charging in an not flammable box (in my case an thick metal cooking pot) and charging just with 1C.

One problem, from my point of view, is that a lot of people buy an expensive RC but they buy cheap chargers and Lipo´s to save money.
For the money which I had spend for my chargers an battery´s since I started with RC (OK, 35 Years ago) I had could buy me an real middle-class car.. But therefor I had just one blown Lipo in that time (manufacture failure).. *knock on wood*

 

[xplatinum]

@lonee this is the charger that I got. Good investment?

https://www.teamassociated.com/parts/details/27200/

 

[72Z15SS]

@lonee this is the charger that I got. Good investment?

https://www.teamassociated.com/parts/details/27200/

I have a similar charger. Better than my older ones!

 

[lonee]

platinum that charger ist not bad on the paper.
I miss for the future the higher Lipo voltage and the charger has with 300mA a little less balance current.
Miss Edit means that there are an update for HV-Lipo!
Who knows whats inside on the circuit board. Anyway. The first look isn´t bad and the charge power on both lines seams OK.
Concerning the 300mA balance current, check that you´re lipo did not drift away in his cells, because 300mA is not much if you charge with high power.
It can be necessary to charge a bit, stop charging and than start just balancing before you might charge the Lipo fully.
But that is an workaround and not usual or standard.
This charger will give you the information which voltage per cell your Lipo will have before an after charging. So you can see what happens with drifting cells.
Also I think that 120W per channel is a bit to low. Please calculate for example: 22v (6S) x 5500mA = 121W That means that the charger is working at its limit on one chanel. But maybe you don't have an Nero or just run 4S. Than you will have no problem.

 

[xplatinum]

platinum that charger ist not bad on the paper.
I miss for the future the higher Lipo voltage and the charger has with 300mA a little less balance current.
Miss Edit means that there are an update for HV-Lipo!
Who knows whats inside on the circuit board. Anyway. The first look isn´t bad and the charge power on both lines seams OK.
Concerning the 300mA balance current, check that you´re lipo did not drift away in his cells, because 300mA is not much if you charge with high power.
It can be necessary to charge a bit, stop charging and than start just balancing before you might charge the Lipo fully.
But that is an workaround and not usual or standard.
This charger will give you the information which voltage per cell your Lipo will have before an after charging. So you can see what happens with drifting cells.
Also I think that 120W per channel is a bit to low. Please calculate for example: 22v (6S) x 5500mA = 121W That means that the charger is working at its limit on one chanel. But maybe you don't have an Nero or just run 4S. Than you will have no problem.

Thank you for the input. I plan to always charge in balance mode (no regular charging or fast charge). Is that okay?

I have an Arrma Outcast and I will be running it with these two batteries:

SMC 4S 6700mah 90c (extended capacity (~7200mah))
SMC 6S 4300mah 40c

 

[lonee]

It will be a good way to charge always in balance mode!
I do not know the SMC Lipo´s, so I can´t judge how is the quality. Anyway, important is to check the voltage of each cell after charging.
The charger can show you the voltage per cell.
If the voltages have bigger differences you should reduce the charge power, because it means that the 300mA are not enough to balance the battery.... I had done just an short look into the description; I could not find if the charger can charge without balancer lines.
If this charger can that so it is possible to use an external balancer with more than 300mA.
Mainly I think you will be OK with the charger from the link which you had posted.

 

[DivenParker]

Hello xplatinum. Lipo battery charge Current electricity are recommend 1C, the largest charge current electricity can be 5C, but it will shorten the lifespan of the battery. For example, a 5000mAh Lipo battery, 1C=5A, so its recommend charge current is 5A; if your battery capacity is 12000mAh, the 1C=12A, so it is a recommend charge current. I don't agree charger with a high C, because as time goes by, your battery capacity will get lower and lower, and the discharge rate and voltage will get lower and lower.

 

[lonee]

DivenParker are right. 1C is mostly recommended. Sometimes charge- C-rating of some brands are higher than 1C.
But always it will reduce the lifetime of the battery to charge mostly or more often with more than 1C.
Just do it if it ist absolutely necessary, for example... just fast an small bashing event behind the house before it gets dark!