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Besides puffing, what else is a sign its time to ditch a lipo?
How do you know if a lipo is going bad?
- Thread starter sumguy75
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Dan B.
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Check individual cell resistance and if they’re decent and they balance when you charge them then run them until they suck. 
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Ive got a couple that always finish with one cell way off lately, around 3.270ish when the others are just under 3.400. One is 4s the other 6s and I run them on separate rigs.
The 4s balances with normal charging. The other requires charging at 1.0A and gets off balance quickly when I check it a couple minutes into a run.
The 4s balances with normal charging. The other requires charging at 1.0A and gets off balance quickly when I check it a couple minutes into a run.
Greengaunja
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When it starts to act up, give you lip and stay out at all hours of the night lol
Seriously.....
Sometimes you have to go with gut feelings. Evaluate the damage, risk, potential problems vs what you paid for it and your need for it. The above advice means you will almost always chuck it. Better safe than sorry, right? The one on the bottom had no swelling, tested great on charger, lost almost no MAH was still holding a charge. Yet I chucked it. My gut said, "Sure, maybe I could continue using this for another year with no issue. And maybe it will go off in the house."
$120($60 actually as it was a set) vs $380k and lives of my family? Easy choice.
Seriously.....
Sometimes you have to go with gut feelings. Evaluate the damage, risk, potential problems vs what you paid for it and your need for it. The above advice means you will almost always chuck it. Better safe than sorry, right? The one on the bottom had no swelling, tested great on charger, lost almost no MAH was still holding a charge. Yet I chucked it. My gut said, "Sure, maybe I could continue using this for another year with no issue. And maybe it will go off in the house."
$120($60 actually as it was a set) vs $380k and lives of my family? Easy choice.
had a lipo that charged ok and ran ok but the cells were a bit off and it got hot and had a sweet smell so dumped it. just thought if it goes up in the car it would be a lot of money for the sake of a new lipo
I usually do a combination of what the others already mentioned.
1. After a run I check the voltage of the cells (after the run wait for about 15 minutes before checking). The individual cells should show mininal differences.
2. If a balance charge starts taking longer than usual this is usual a sign the lipo is detoriating.
3. If either 1 or 2 starts happening I check the internal resistance of the cells; or just once in a while. If the resistance starts to increase this is a sign deterioration.
And then there are others signs such as decreased runtimes/hitting LVC quickly, puffing, lipo getting warmer.
At some point (gut feeling) it's time to replace the lipo. Especially with the occasional CNHL deals it's not worth the risk to run the 'old' lipo any longer.
1. After a run I check the voltage of the cells (after the run wait for about 15 minutes before checking). The individual cells should show mininal differences.
2. If a balance charge starts taking longer than usual this is usual a sign the lipo is detoriating.
3. If either 1 or 2 starts happening I check the internal resistance of the cells; or just once in a while. If the resistance starts to increase this is a sign deterioration.
And then there are others signs such as decreased runtimes/hitting LVC quickly, puffing, lipo getting warmer.
At some point (gut feeling) it's time to replace the lipo. Especially with the occasional CNHL deals it's not worth the risk to run the 'old' lipo any longer.
Hector_Fisher
Very Active Member
When things start to change.
Lipos are a thing where you need to be frequently checking the health of the lipo. When you first get it, benchmark it. Check internal resistance, check capacity, check temperature under discharge/charge. When things start to change (more dramatically), then you'll know it's had its time. But seriously, if you haven't done your initial testing, then you don't know whether the numbers you are seeing are good or not. You have to have a point of reference.
If you don't have that, then look for the visual suspect: getting hot during charging, puffing, they smell like that sweet "lipo" smell, inconsistent IR from cell to cell.
Lipos are a thing where you need to be frequently checking the health of the lipo. When you first get it, benchmark it. Check internal resistance, check capacity, check temperature under discharge/charge. When things start to change (more dramatically), then you'll know it's had its time. But seriously, if you haven't done your initial testing, then you don't know whether the numbers you are seeing are good or not. You have to have a point of reference.
If you don't have that, then look for the visual suspect: getting hot during charging, puffing, they smell like that sweet "lipo" smell, inconsistent IR from cell to cell.
