Time to replace ?

[stuartd]

Any advice on whether this is ok or time to get rid?

 

[jondilly1974]

What are the voltages like?

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Doesn't look too bad. I personally ditch them as soon as they start to puff. Once they start they can escalate very quickly. So for the sake of a few more cycles I play it safe and ditch them

 

[stuartd]

What are the voltages like?

After I got back home (I often run until the car slows down, but today it stopped under LVC) and put it onto the charger the cells were showing
Upper Row: 3.34, 3.30, 3.31
Lower Row: 3.34, 3.22, 3.34.

I put it onto storage charge 3.80V, the cells have balanced and charged evenly. This took around 50 minutes with the charger set to 5A, although 15 minutes (or more) of that had all 6 cells showing at 3.80V as the charging completed at 0.6A.

It stays cool when charging and internal resistance is the same as it was when new: 1mohm for each cell.

I first noticed it was very slightly puffed a couple of charge cycles ago.

 

[Klappars]

After I got back home (I often run until the car slows down, but today it stopped under LVC) and put it onto the charger the cells were showing
Upper Row: 3.34, 3.30, 3.31
Lower Row: 3.34, 3.22, 3.34.

I put it onto storage charge 3.80V, the cells have balanced and charged evenly. This took around 50 minutes with the charger set to 5A, although 15 minutes (or more) of that had all 6 cells showing at 3.80V as the charging completed at 0.6A.

It stays cool when charging and internal resistance is the same as it was when new: 1mohm for each cell.

I first noticed it was very slightly puffed a couple of charge cycles ago.

I would say you are running the battery too low. You want the cells to be about 3.5V minimum when coming out of the car.

Unfortuantely the BLX185 ESC has a low cutoff voltage which is responsible for this and it cannot be changed.

That's one of the reasons why I bought a MAX8 to replace it. I would use a Lipo alarm in the meantime to avoid this.

 

[PaPa Thorn]

Like Bushman said, it looks ok but I wouldn't risk it. Especially since we're not even into July yet and it's already hot out. Better to loose a few cycles than to burn down your rig.

Then again, I'm a chicken-poop when it comes to soft packs.

 

[stuartd]

I would say you are running the battery too low. You want the cells to be about 3.5V minimum when coming out of the car.

Unfortuantely the BLX185 ESC has a low cutoff voltage which is responsible for this and it cannot be changed.

That's one of the reasons why I bought a MAX8 to replace it. I would use a Lipo alarm in the meantime to avoid this.

I usually run to somewhere between 3.5 - 3.6, and have learned when to call it quits but knew I’d pushed it further today.