Newb Question about 3S Lipo

[jbl_91762]

Just got back into RC's having nitro buggies for years and first time with Lipo. Im running 6S on my new Kraton V3 which are from Peak Racing 45c 11.1v 5kmAh. So I've read and learned to store lipos at 3.8V via internet. So I run the truggy till its basically at a crawl and figure ok the battery is very low. However I get it on my dual balance charger and hit the discharge or storage feature and the battery reads 10.6v! I confirmed this by testing on my volt meter. So help a new guy understand how these lipo's work as I don't understand how these still show almost 11v yet no power to move buggy and thinking its down to 4v or lower. Finally is the storage feature on my charger which slowly drains it down to 3.8v the best way to go for storing? Do I need to store it at 3.8v even if I play with the car at least twice a week? Thanks for helping another Newb enjoy the hobbie.

 

[ajdragon]

Hi

This might help you out, I know it sure helped me.

https://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/1009300-warning-lipo-c-discharge-ratings-invalid.html

 

[2fast4u]

A little more info

https://rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

 

[WTF MIKE]

I’m no expert but if your running your car twice a week you don’t need to put them in storage mode. And always balance charge your batteries

 

[bicketybam]

I always set my batteries at 3.8 per cell when I’m done for the day, even if I plan on running the next day.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

Just got back into RC's having nitro buggies for years and first time with Lipo. Im running 6S on my new Kraton V3 which are from Peak Racing 45c 11.1v 5kmAh. So I've read and learned to store lipos at 3.8V via internet. So I run the truggy till its basically at a crawl and figure ok the battery is very low. However I get it on my dual balance charger and hit the discharge or storage feature and the battery reads 10.6v! I confirmed this by testing on my volt meter. So help a new guy understand how these lipo's work as I don't understand how these still show almost 11v yet no power to move buggy and thinking its down to 4v or lower. Finally is the storage feature on my charger which slowly drains it down to 3.8v the best way to go for storing? Do I need to store it at 3.8v even if I play with the car at least twice a week? Thanks for helping another Newb enjoy the hobbie.

One very important thing - when talking about lipo's, we frequently talk about Volts Per Cell, rather than total pack voltage. It is generally safe to assume (unless otherwise noted) that any lipo voltage called out that is less than 5v is talking volts per cell. So with that in mind-

3.8v storage is 3.8 volts per cell. 3 Cells at 3.8 is 11.4v for the pack. Your 10.6v for the pack means your cells are sitting around 3.5v each. Not in the danger zone, but less than the 'proper' storage voltage.

Also - LVC - the Low Voltage Cut-off - this is a feature in the ESC that makes the truck slow to a crawl when activated. Our Arrma ESC's have the LVC set to 3.2v. At that point a power limiter kicks in, for a bit - and if you keep running the car, it will shut off all the way. Once the load is off the battery, the cells will recover a few tenths of a volt - which is why your batteries are at about 3.5v per cell.

Another point - Lipo, you NEVER want the cell voltage to be below 3.0v resting. Below 3.0v, the cell can be physically damaged internally, and the chance that it will fail when charged later increases bigly. So 4.2v is 100%, 3.0 is 0%.

Last - next time you make a RC purchase, throw a lipo meter in your cart. They are cheap, and help you keep tabs on your batteries.

Here is a cheap one -
https://www.amazon.com/Floureon-Bat...F8&qid=1536754552&sr=8-10&keywords=lipo+alarm
It is an alarm that doubles as a meter. Plug this into your balance lead, and it will show pack voltage, and cell voltage. Leave it plugged in while you run, and it will beep when it sees one cell at LVC. The flying guys use these by the bucket full, so you can get them cheap.

Another option -
https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Batt...TF8&qid=1536754719&sr=8-3&keywords=lipo+meter
Gives a bit more info about your battery. Some models even show cell IR - which can be handy to know if you have a cell that is failing.

 

[jbl_91762]

Thanks everyone!! Will read all the articles!

 

[jbl_91762]

One very important thing - when talking about lipo's, we frequently talk about Volts Per Cell, rather than total pack voltage. It is generally safe to assume (unless otherwise noted) that any lipo voltage called out that is less than 5v is talking volts per cell. So with that in mind-

3.8v storage is 3.8 volts per cell. 3 Cells at 3.8 is 11.4v for the pack. Your 10.6v for the pack means your cells are sitting around 3.5v each. Not in the danger zone, but less than the 'proper' storage voltage.

Also - LVC - the Low Voltage Cut-off - this is a feature in the ESC that makes the truck slow to a crawl when activated. Our Arrma ESC's have the LVC set to 3.2v. At that point a power limiter kicks in, for a bit - and if you keep running the car, it will shut off all the way. Once the load is off the battery, the cells will recover a few tenths of a volt - which is why your batteries are at about 3.5v per cell.

Another point - Lipo, you NEVER want the cell voltage to be below 3.0v resting. Below 3.0v, the cell can be physically damaged internally, and the chance that it will fail when charged later increases bigly. So 4.2v is 100%, 3.0 is 0%.

Last - next time you make a RC purchase, throw a lipo meter in your cart. They are cheap, and help you keep tabs on your batteries.

Here is a cheap one -
https://www.amazon.com/Floureon-Bat...F8&qid=1536754552&sr=8-10&keywords=lipo+alarm
It is an alarm that doubles as a meter. Plug this into your balance lead, and it will show pack voltage, and cell voltage. Leave it plugged in while you run, and it will beep when it sees one cell at LVC. The flying guys use these by the bucket full, so you can get them cheap.

Another option -
https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Batt...TF8&qid=1536754719&sr=8-3&keywords=lipo+meter
Gives a bit more info about your battery. Some models even show cell IR - which can be handy to know if you have a cell that is failing.

Wow Jerry thank you very much as your explanation makes perfect sense! Will order the battery meter!

 

[olds97_lss]

Wow Jerry thank you very much as your explanation makes perfect sense! Will order the battery meter!

Yeah, odds are, what your seeing as a "crawl" is your LVC has kicked in and is protecting you from killing your packs. Lipo's are extremely sensitive to too high or too low of voltage. Either spells a short life for them. A proper lipo charger won't even charge if the V is too low on any given cell. At that point, you either get creative and hope it works or run it dead on a light bar, twist the leads together and throw it away.