lipo question

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N4SIR

Retired NYPD full time Basher
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Fruitland Park FL
Arrma RC's
  1. Kraton 6s
  2. Mojave
So is it
balance THEN charge
run battery
then storage?

or balance then charge run batt then balance (if you plan on running again in 2-3 days)

storage only when not using more than 3days?

whats the right cycle?

the arrma FB group seems to have many differing opinions
 
Balance charge is one step.

When you want to run, you balance charge the batteries to full capacity. If it turns out you won't be able to run within 2-3 days of the full charge, use the storage charge function to bring them back down to storage voltage. Draining a battery down to storage charge can take a long time with most chargers. You can invest in discharger if you want to speed that process up.

Basically, your battery should always be at storage charge until you're ready to run, then balance charge when you are. Try not to leave a battery fully charged more than 2-3 days, but the world isn't going to end if you exceed that occasionally.
 
Balance charge is one step.

When you want to run, you balance charge the batteries to full capacity. If it turns out you won't be able to run within 2-3 days of the full charge, use the storage charge function to bring them back down to storage voltage. Draining a battery down to storage charge can take a long time with most chargers. You can invest in discharger if you want to speed that process up.

Basically, your battery should always be at storage charge until you're ready to run, then balance charge when you are. Try not to leave a battery fully charged more than 2-3 days, but the world isn't going to end if you exceed that occasionally.
i have a dota d6+ which is pretty beast i also have a balance discharger
just trying to get the hang of using them etc
 
Balance charge is one step.

When you want to run, you balance charge the batteries to full capacity. If it turns out you won't be able to run within 2-3 days of the full charge, use the storage charge function to bring them back down to storage voltage. Draining a battery down to storage charge can take a long time with most chargers. You can invest in discharger if you want to speed that process up.

Basically, your battery should always be at storage charge until you're ready to run, then balance charge when you are. Try not to leave a battery fully charged more than 2-3 days, but the world isn't going to end if you exceed that occasionally.
I personally would not go more than a day or two. I've seen tests showing that damage can start to occur within the cells after 12 hours at a full charge. I've made the mistake a few times of forgetting to discharge my batteries, imagine my surprise 2 weeks later when I went to charge my battery and it was at 4.15v per cell. :?
 
what if i fully charge then drive it a bit and leave it a day or so and run the rest of the battery?
The closer to fully charged the battery is the greater the damage will be. Beyond that it is hard to say. Damage will likely be done, but probably not a lot.
 
I personally would not go more than a day or two. I've seen tests showing that damage can start to occur within the cells after 12 hours at a full charge. I've made the mistake a few times of forgetting to discharge my batteries, imagine my surprise 2 weeks later when I went to charge my battery and it was at 4.15v per cell. :?

For sure, the shorter you leave it at full charge, the better. Personally, I haven't had any issues with 2-3 days or even longer on occasion. I have also forgtten to discharge!
 
Here is the way I do it:

1) Packs stored at 3.8v per cell (storage charge)
2) Immediately before leaving to run my truck, I Balance Charge my packs to 4.2v per cell (balance charge)
3) Run my trucks and pray to the RC gods that I hit LVC, which is usually just under 3.8v per cell (discharged charge)
4a) If I hit LVC, then I put them back on the Storage Charge on my charger and store them back in the ammo can. (End cycle, Go to step 1)
4b) If I hit something other than LVC, like a pole, then I put the packs on my discharger (SkyRC BD-100) and bring them down to 3.7v per cell, then I go back to step 4a.
 
I always just balance charge mine.

I don't store mine ever when not at storage charge. Even if I run the next day, I bring them down to storage. It's rare that I make it out 2 days in a row... maybe if I did that more often, I'd leave them, but not likely.

I don't discharge them to "empty" if I don't use them. I just put them on the charger in storage mode and let it bring them down to storage voltage.

Before using a lipo the first time, I'll balance charge it, then discharge it on my charger, then take it to storage charge after it cools. I usually do that once at least just to cycle the battery a bit as the first few cycles are usually a bit weak.
 
I always just balance charge mine.

I don't store mine ever when not at storage charge. Even if I run the next day, I bring them down to storage. It's rare that I make it out 2 days in a row... maybe if I did that more often, I'd leave them, but not likely.

I don't discharge them to "empty" if I don't use them. I just put them on the charger in storage mode and let it bring them down to storage voltage.

Before using a lipo the first time, I'll balance charge it, then discharge it on my charger, then take it to storage charge after it cools. I usually do that once at least just to cycle the battery a bit as the first few cycles are usually a bit weak.
I guess I was hitting poles more often than LVC and had no choice but to buy a discharger. My charger was too slow at discharging.
 
I guess I was hitting poles more often than LVC and had no choice but to buy a discharger. My charger was too slow at discharging.
Mine's not that fast. I think it only pulls 50watts (5A). Not sure what the hitec D7 does, but I charge/storage 4 packs (2 in parallel on each port) with it. The dynamite 4x100 charger only goes up to 5A on each port. It's not as bad now that I run 5000-6200mah 3S packs. Was worse when I ran 9000mah 2S packs.

I do my best to avoid taking all the stupid with me when I go bashing... but after about 2 hours, stupid seems to find me. :)
 
Interesting thread. Thanks for asking the question and the thoughtful comments following. I'm still a newbie, to there is lots to learn.

s
 
Mine's not that fast. I think it only pulls 50watts (5A). Not sure what the hitec D7 does, but I charge/storage 4 packs (2 in parallel on each port) with it. The dynamite 4x100 charger only goes up to 5A on each port. It's not as bad now that I run 5000-6200mah 3S packs. Was worse when I ran 9000mah 2S packs.

I do my best to avoid taking all the stupid with me when I go bashing... but after about 2 hours, stupid seems to find me. :)
I must be two times zones ahead of stupid ??????
 
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