Opinions On Usefulness Of Smart Batteries

[305HemiGuy]

Hey guys, I know this is highly debated/discussed topic, but I just wanted to pick some brains. So there have been quite a few times where I've charged up my regular lipos with the intentions of using them soon after. But what has happened on a few occasions is that sometimes life (kids, work, family, etc.) gets in the way & prevents me from taking my rigs out & running those freshly charged packs. I'm pretty sure I've messed up at least one of my 4S packs by letting this happen. I know there's a rule of thumb that you're supposed to discharge them, but I don't have a charger capable of such, and like I said earlier, sometimes life just intervenes and I don't have the time. My question is, would investing in a mid-level Spektrum charger with a few self-discharging Spektrum packs be worth it? Feel free me to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't know of any other smart batteries that will auto-discharge. Thanks!

 

[gotnitro]

There is a really thick line between anal retentive RC'ers and reality.

Reality is what happened to you. I've had packs sit fully charged over a whole winter, I've also had packs that sat for a week fully charged. Some still work perfectly, some not as much but I'll dispose of those properly. The time a pack can go bad from sitting fully charged can range dramatically. Batts are relatively inexpensive and by the time one might go bad from sitting fully charged to the time when I like to replace them anyway will always work for me. There are always new batts coming out and new contenders for the "MAX C-ratings" From my experience, spektrum packs suck anyway.

 

[chilly81]

Yeah people definitely go overboard on the internet on details every time. It still has some real impact though (it's not like buying Monster Cables instead of the same thickness generic speaker cables and saying you hear it sounds better). There is legit scientific test data and plots showing how things like this affect battery lifespan significantly if it's frequent. That said, people can go way over the top on stuff like this.

Spectrum is probably fine but not worth the price if you ask me. Maybe if you have one smaller car and one set of batteries. I've got (2) 7kAh 4S, (8) 1.3Ah 4S, (2) 5kAh 6S, (5) 5K 3S. Lots of people have a lot more than that. You'd be insane to buy that many Spectrum batteries imho... use the money to get a nice charger and discharge setup, then buy better non-spectrum batteries. There's nothing especially complicated about hitting the 'storage' function on a normal charger.

 

[TL01magic]

There's nothing especially complicated about hitting the 'storage' function on a normal charger.

I have cheapest AC dual charger I could find and it discharges for balancing if needed....is super slow but does it

just need to shop for charger that has storage ability.

 

[305HemiGuy]

There is a really thick line between anal retentive RC'ers and reality.

Reality is what happened to you. I've had packs sit fully charged over a whole winter, I've also had packs that sat for a week fully charged. Some still work perfectly, some not as much but I'll dispose of those properly. The time a pack can go bad from sitting fully charged can range dramatically. Batts are relatively inexpensive and by the time one might go bad from sitting fully charged to the time when I like to replace them anyway will always work for me. There are always new batts coming out and new contenders for the "MAX C-ratings" From my experience, spektrum packs suck anyway.

I appreciate the alternative point of view, and you definitely present some valid points. Based on your personal experiences, it sounds like packs don't go bad as often from being left charged as some would lead you to believe. And you're right, batteries are definitely getting cheaper & cheaper, and you can usually find pretty good deals on Amazon...perhaps it's just the "frugal parent" in me, but man do I hate spending money on thigs that could've been avoided

 

[chilly81]

I have cheapest AC dual charger I could find and it discharges for balancing if needed....is super slow but does it

just need to shop for charger that has storage ability.

Really, it doesn't have a storage setting? Even my old basic IMAX B6AC has that setting. Kind of surprised, what is it? Can you at least manually set a voltage - that's all storage is 3.85v (ish). They are very slow for big batteries without an external discharger. idk how fast the Spectrum ones are... but it's physics, the heat has to go somewhere - that's why basic chargers are typically slow to discharge like at 15W or something.

tbh I don't know the specific specs of the Spectrum chargers, but I doubt they discharge super fast - unless they are big and have fans etc. You can get a 200W 25A ISDT discharger for $80 that is most likely much faster, and works for all batteries.

 

[RedOctobyr]

I think the Smart tech is a cool idea, especially for those uncomfortable with LiPos. It will help prevent you from using inappropriate settings, and the auto-storage feature is slick.

That said, I'm chea.... value-conscious. I will buy standard LiPos, and standard chargers. A charger with a discharge-to-storage is a pretty standard feature, and should be on every charger over maybe $50 or so. Though it will be pretty slow, getting faster over $100, say.

With that said, it's overkill for most folks, BUT, if your charging setup was otherwise great, and you just needed to add fast discharging to storage voltage, you could get something like this, $80: https://www.amazon.com/ISDT-Discharger-Wireless-Capacity-Discharging/dp/B07VS2JSN9

At 200W discharge, it could bring down a charged 6S 5000 pack in roughly 15 minutes, far faster than just about any charger (a charger with >100W of discharge power is quite rare).

I'd rather spend $80 on that once, than a cost adder for every smart battery going forward. But again, I'm value-conscious

 

[305HemiGuy]

Yeah people definitely go overboard on the internet on details every time. It still has some real impact though (it's not like buying Monster Cables instead of the same thickness generic speaker cables and saying you hear it sounds better). There is legit scientific test data and plots showing how things like this affect battery lifespan significantly if it's frequent. That said, people can go way over the top on stuff like this.

Spectrum is probably fine but not worth the price if you ask me. Maybe if you have one smaller car and one set of batteries. I've got (2) 7kAh 4S, (8) 1.3Ah 4S, (2) 5kAh 6S, (5) 5K 3S. Lots of people have a lot more than that. You'd be insane to buy that many Spectrum batteries imho... use the money to get a nice charger and discharge setup, then buy better non-spectrum batteries. There's nothing especially complicated about hitting the 'storage' function on a normal charger.

That's actually a great idea, that money spent towards a better charger with the storage function as opposed to a bunch of new batteries sounds a lot more economically feasible.

 

[gotnitro]

Yeah people definitely go overboard on the internet on details every time. It still has some real impact though (it's not like buying Monster Cables instead of the same thickness generic speaker cables and saying you hear it sounds better). There is legit scientific test data and plots showing how things like this affect battery lifespan significantly if it's frequent. That said, people can go way over the top on stuff like this.

But... But... I can truly hear a difference! No placebo or psychosomatic effects! It sounds.... Warmer.

 

[305HemiGuy]

I think the Smart tech is a cool idea, especially for those uncomfortable with LiPos. It will help prevent you from using inappropriate settings, and the auto-storage feature is slick.

That said, I'm chea.... value-conscious. I will buy standard LiPos, and standard chargers. A charger with a discharge-to-storage is a pretty standard feature, and should be on every charger over maybe $50 or so. Though it will be pretty slow, getting faster over $100, say.

With that said, it's overkill for most folks, BUT, if your charging setup was otherwise great, and you just needed to add fast discharging to storage voltage, you could get something like this, $80: https://www.amazon.com/ISDT-Discharger-Wireless-Capacity-Discharging/dp/B07VS2JSN9

At 200W discharge, it could bring down a charged 6S 5000 pack in roughly 15 minutes, far faster than just about any charger (a charger with >100W of discharge power is quite rare).

I'd rather spend $80 on that once, than a cost adder for every smart battery going forward. But again, I'm value-conscious

Thanks! Something like that would definitely be beneficial to my setup, and it's not a bank breaker either