Storage Charge Spektrum G2 LiPo if I know I won’t be using it?

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Adamator

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South San Francisco, Ca
Arrma RC's
  1. Granite
Title basically says it all.

I got into this hobby pretty hard at the beginning of Summer. Invested in the Spektrum G2 LiPos and have been really happy with them. I find myself slowing down a bit lately and as such, don’t use my Granite daily anymore.

I was wondering about storing these Smart batteries when I am pretty sure it’s gonna be a few days until I run them again.

Do I charge them to full and let the “auto discharge” do its thing? (Which I have set currently to 48 hours) Or Do I just storage charge them to begin with?


Edit: something that prompted this question is I noticed that when I have storage charged my G2 LiPos that the charger doesn’t actually put a ton of mAh into the battery and it seems to put what little it does at a lower speed. The last time I storage charged the battery was not totally empty and still had about 30% left. Isn’t storage charged about 60% full?
 
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Every time tme you full charge them it counts as a cycle. Whether used or not, it wears out the lipo. Lipo cells approach End of Life with each full charge cycle. Thats why there is a limit of how many times they can be charged before they fail. Lipos are best charged and run soon after. They don't sit well at full charge. Also wears them out. Just Storage charge them between runs and for long term storage. The G2's are supposed to be fine like that. They Auto discharge if stored with more than 3.8v. ( very slowly discharge) I would check them every few months and storage charge them again to 3.8v. They can lose charge at Rest for sitting long periods. Months and months. NG to let them drain down that way.
All lipos the same.
 
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^^^^

@Adamator I have a few of the first Spektrum left. Storage charge them to 3.8v when done smart or non-smart just good practice. I have the Spektrum S2100 charger with the newer FW update to look like the G2 charger display so at storage charge 3.80 v is between 30-33% so that is correct what I am seeing on my charger....happy battery until next time for full charge.
 
Thanks for the replies. Since my charger is automatic I don’t really have to set the storage charge voltage, I just choose storage charge. :)

My charger is actually a G1 but upgraded to G2 firmware. It’s only a S1100 single battery charger but I got a great deal on it. Takes less than an hour to charge a 5000 Mah battery at 1C and I only use 2 batteries regularly so it’s worked well for me despite only being a 1 battery charger.

As for my best practice I’ll go ahead and just storage charge if I know I won’t be going out for awhile.
 
1C charge on any charger (capable) is 45min-1h max. Else your battery has issues balancing. Just for reference!

Get into a habit and check your lipos on first day of the month, easy to remember and ok to skip a month.
I always have some surprises over the off-season and checking up always helps.

As a reminder, lipos are susceptible to humidity, try and keep them below 50% rh, they can care less about 'normal' temps (-20F-120F storage is perfectly fine). You can go colder but do not exceed 135F for storage.
Always bring them to ambient temps prior to use. Cold temps art probably not an issue in SF but this is for reference as well.
 
1C charge on any charger (capable) is 45min-1h max. Else your battery has issues balancing. Just for reference!

Get into a habit and check your lipos on first day of the month, easy to remember and ok to skip a month.
I always have some surprises over the off-season and checking up always helps.

As a reminder, lipos are susceptible to humidity, try and keep them below 50% rh, they can care less about 'normal' temps (-20F-120F storage is perfectly fine). You can go colder but do not exceed 135F for storage.
Always bring them to ambient temps prior to use. Cold temps art probably not an issue in SF but this is for reference as well.
Morning.

I appreciate the tips and the reference for charging. I hope I didn't come across like I thought my charging speed was slow at 1C. I was actually saying the opposite really, that despite only having a one battery charger, I've never had to wait around for charging as I always plan ahead.

Good to know about checking my LiPos once a month. Generally speaking if a LiPo is at storage charge does it hold it pretty well? I was very against using LiPos at first but quickly changed my mind although I try to be as careful as possible with them. That being said, I store them in a Bat-safe in my garage, which is always cool due to the city I live in which often being overcast and foggy.
 
Morning.

I appreciate the tips and the reference for charging. I hope I didn't come across like I thought my charging speed was slow at 1C. I was actually saying the opposite really, that despite only having a one battery charger, I've never had to wait around for charging as I always plan ahead.

Good to know about checking my LiPos once a month. Generally speaking if a LiPo is at storage charge does it hold it pretty well? I was very against using LiPos at first but quickly changed my mind although I try to be as careful as possible with them. That being said, I store them in a Bat-safe in my garage, which is always cool due to the city I live in which often being overcast and foggy.

My S2100 by default goes well past the 1C charge rate and Spektrum said it is correct to do so. I have no need for a 3C or max charge rate it can do...feel slower is better at that 1C standard. It takes time to feel what you like and need. I prefer now a 1C charge rate on all my batteries and the Spektrum as well to force/set 1C.

Have to admit coming in new to the hobby in 2000 with all Spektrum batteries I was very happy. Now it is the least battery I use if at all. Found battery to battery a 3S 5000mah Spektrum to same style other brand bashing is a far shorter run time with Spektrum...very short...but I bash like I stole it full on until it dies so this may not be others habit.

Enjoy at your pace and learn from the vets here and on the way you will surely find what you like. I like the Spektrum charger but now dislike all the batteries I have I rarely use :cool:
 
Morning.

I appreciate the tips and the reference for charging. I hope I didn't come across like I thought my charging speed was slow at 1C. I was actually saying the opposite really, that despite only having a one battery charger, I've never had to wait around for charging as I always plan ahead.

Good to know about checking my LiPos once a month. Generally speaking if a LiPo is at storage charge does it hold it pretty well? I was very against using LiPos at first but quickly changed my mind although I try to be as careful as possible with them. That being said, I store them in a Bat-safe in my garage, which is always cool due to the city I live in which often being overcast and foggy.
Leaving any Lipo at storage charge volts, 3.8v/cell, will lose voltage sitting at rest unused for a few months. Aways check those unused lipos and run a Storage cycle, charging them to 3.8v/cell again. May just take a few minutes if that. They will get a balance as well. Most important they stay as matched cells through out its life. A rule. They will last much longer this way.
 
Yes, they will discharge, but are also very stable. They will hold it for ~6 month or longer, i.e. no need to panic.
I have also seen where one or 2 cells drop off while the rest stays stable.
The 1/per month rule is just easy to remember. I have also had instances where a lipo would just drop to 1V or even 0V, and you want to catch those quickly. In some cases you can revive, but generally those are trash. Those were manufacturing defects, they performed well but couldn't stand the 'non-use' oddly enough. That was on a bunch of smaller flight lipos and no big loss, but still. Point being, doodoo happens, and stay on top of it.
On the charger, yes, point taken on my side as well. Only tried pointing out that is normal for any charger. Sometimes people read this and think it's a miracle, while it's just standard. Nothing wrong with what you stated and hope my reply didn't come across as smart-butt'ish ;)
 
If it is the stock esc, I'd put a storage charge on them when done bashing. If you have an esc with programmable LVC, set it to high, and it will usually be around storage charge already. One less thing to take care of when you get home.
 
^^^That works for some of us. "Around" storage charge is not exactly storage charge. (3.80 -3.85v/cell is) 3.78v for instance is not. Neither is 3.89v.
Still need to place it on the charger and select storage mode anyway. It will either discharge or charge as needed to storage volts. WiIl take a shorter time to reach 3.8v, less of a hassle.(y)
Others will want all that run time.
LVC set low. Or ESC default value.
 
Yes, they will discharge, but are also very stable. They will hold it for ~6 month or longer, i.e. no need to panic.
I have also seen where one or 2 cells drop off while the rest stays stable.
The 1/per month rule is just easy to remember. I have also had instances where a lipo would just drop to 1V or even 0V, and you want to catch those quickly. In some cases you can revive, but generally those are trash. Those were manufacturing defects, they performed well but couldn't stand the 'non-use' oddly enough. That was on a bunch of smaller flight lipos and no big loss, but still. Point being, doodoo happens, and stay on top of it.
On the charger, yes, point taken on my side as well. Only tried pointing out that is normal for any charger. Sometimes people read this and think it's a miracle, while it's just standard. Nothing wrong with what you stated and hope my reply didn't come across as smart-butt'ish ;)
With these being smart batteries, would I just plug them in once a month or so and see what it says? Or just do a quick storage charge again and call it good?
 
It's a toy; not a nuclear reactor. "Around" storage voltage is close enough for me. ;)
With these being smart batteries, would I just plug them in once a month or so and see what it says? Or just do a quick storage charge again and call it good?
While good practice, once a month is probably overkill. I've had batteries on storage charge for over two years when I got busy with other hobbies. When I got back into RC this year, they were fine.
 
@Adamator, yes, check them once a month. I have a small standalone Lipo checker instead of digging out the charger, but either will work.

Manufacturers typically recommend 3.7 - 3.85V as storage charge. The entire range is ok and no need to panic but keep in mind what it's meant to do i.e. as the word implies. Lipos do loose charge over time. Starting out at 3.7V is therefore not a good idea. The only thing that will happen is that Lipos lose their capacity to store energy when they are outside this range for extended periods (weeks-month).

Chargers therefore will charge to the max allowed to allow for loss in voltage/capacity. If you are using them weekly I don't care if it's at 3.7V and since I check every month I would catch it anyway. Granted, it's been 2-3 month on some because I know they have been stable. Once you get in the habit, it's easy to adjust to reality.
 
Hey all. Reviving an old thread. For those who use G2 Batteries and use the "Auto storage" what do you have it set to? I think a new battery will be at 72 hours by default. Is 3 days safe to leave a fully charged Lipo?
 
Thank
For Spektrum Lipos, yes that is fine, leave as is.
Thanks. The range you can set the auto discharge to is pretty broad. Its at 72 hours for a new battery, but can go up to like a week I think. I have had mine set to 48 hours for months, but thought I would give 72 a try to give me a bit more leeway when I charge up my batteries to when I actually use my RC. Spektrum doesn't have much in the way of what is a "Good" auto discharge time.

Not even factoring in smart batteries, what's the general rule of keeping a battery fully charged before you either run it, or storage charge it down yourself?
 
I never leave mine charged for longer than a weekend, i.e. I charge Friday night to run Saturday, any leftovers I'll keep until Sunday.
I always bring all of them to storage level after that, I would simply forget otherwise.
2-3 days for any Lipo should be fine, I wouldn't go beyond a week, it simply eats up service life like nothing and some might start to swell a little.
 
I never leave mine charged for longer than a weekend, i.e. I charge Friday night to run Saturday, any leftovers I'll keep until Sunday.
I always bring all of them to storage level after that, I would simply forget otherwise.
2-3 days for any Lipo should be fine, I wouldn't go beyond a week, it simply eats up service life like nothing and some might start to swell a little.
Id go 2-3 days at most so if even a week would be ok, I should be more than fine. Thank you!
 
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