Batteries Lipo storage

Rikrik51

Member
Hi guys been told locally some conflicting info about lipos ie even if left for a week put them storage charge or OK for two weeks or can be left up to three months before dropping voltage what's best?
Regards,
Rick.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Rick, this one comes up often.
The way i understand it is that there is no 'totally safe' time to leave a LiPo in the fully charged state. Every minute that it's fully charged does a tiny amount of damage, so you should minimise that time as much as practical. Having said that, leaving it charged a few days once in a while wont do any significant harm but the damage is cumulative, leave it charged too long and/or too regularly and it adds up.

My personal routine is to charge on the morning that I'll be flying and if for any reason i dont fly all my batteries I'll leave them only for 24 max hours before discharging to storage. When they are left charged I usually stick them in a sealed container and put them in the fridge, though that's not really mandatory as long as you have a reasonably cool place for them.
 
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Rikrik51

Member
Tnx for your help again smoggie that makes sense, very well explained mate,I guess the worst abuse is overcharging/discharging
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Yes, and storing at high temperature will kill them pretty quick too. After flying the battery should have at least 3.7V per cell measured after removal from the heli.

I generally put my batteries away as they come off the heli, i dont bother charging them up to storage voltage unless they will be left for several weeks.
 

Rikrik51

Member
I have got some voltage checker/alarms which although good at Reading individual cell and total voltage are not loud enough to be heard whilst on the 600 pro but not exceeding the 5 minute timer on the dx9 usually leaves each cell 3.8 ish, at least for now whilst I'm at the general hovering about phase!.impressive fleet by the way
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
You could push a bit deeper into the battery, another minute or so would still leave plenty remaining. I fly my 600pro on 2600mAh packs which are a bit on the small side for the heli, but I still get 5.5 minutes of sport / mild 3D
 

Dennis H

Member
First, you not suppose to leave your batteries fully charged for more than 36 hours. The charge in the cells start to diminish the cells. Always put them in storage charge, store them preferably in a area to your home then when you're ready to use them, you can charge them 18 hours before flying. I have done this and I don't hardly have issues with my batteries. I use an i-charger 406. I always charge them @ 1c, normal balance. I rarely use the Fast Charge setup. This is the most recommended way, but some strongly disagree with the method. Again, It works for many.

Second, and what works great for me, I use a LiPo balance charge meter and leave it plugged in. Of course you do this on the balance cable. I set mine meter at 3.7 and it works great on every Heli I own. When the cells hit 3.7v, the alarm goes off, then it's time to land. They always stay around 3.5v's give or take a few tenths. To set the meter, there is a small button in between the ears of the meter. Plug it in and you will see how easy it is to set. If you fly 3D, your flying time will be shorter vs. flying around having fun, you max out your flight time this way.

Any questions, just let us know,
Dennis

The arrow points to the set button between the ears.
lipo_alarm_zpshsiqjxg3.jpg
 

Rikrik51

Member
Tnx Dennis for your input,due to work commitments I often find myself having to storage charge batteries from fully charged quite often I have two 80 watt chargers which take a very long time to bring batteries down ,will a higher wattage one help?
Regards,
Rick.
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Discharge power of a charger is independent of charge power, but it is true that more powerful chargers do tend to have more powerful discharge capability too. As a rule of thumb thats close on most chargers, discharge power is around 1/10th of charge power.
Discharging to storage for large batteries is a problem though because even the most powerful of charges still have a pretty modest discharge power capability. I've gotten around this by using a resistive discharge load on my iCharger Duo. The to iCharger controls the discharge and stops it when target voltage is achieved but the resistive load (a modified hairdryer) dissipates the energy. This way I can discharge at 40A / 1000W which brings even several 6S 5000mAh batteries down to storage pretty quick.

If you want a cheap 'off the shelf' discharging to storage solution this is a great option: AOK 150W 3in1 Battery Balancer Discharger Voltage Tester for RC Hobby Quad Car | eBay. This little gizmo uses light bulbs as a discharge load and will discharge at up to 150W of power, which is about 30 times faster than the typical low power charger can do.
 

murankar

Staff member
My charger has two different rates of discharge. If I discharge on standard 36v power supply it takes longer than if i was on a 12v deep cycle. Either way it still takes forever.
 

Rikrik51

Member
Hi smoggie,I found that discharger got one coming matey,tnx for info
My charger has two different rates of discharge. If I discharge on standard 36v power supply it takes longer than if i was on a 12v deep cycle. Either way it still takes forever.
Hi,tnx for information,definitely a pain still rather have
My charger has two different rates of discharge. If I discharge on standard 36v power supply it takes longer than if i was on a 12v deep cycle. Either way it still takes forever.
My charger has two different rates of discharge. If I discharge on standard 36v power supply it takes longer than if i was on a 12v deep cycle. Either way it still takes forever.
yes definitely a pain,tnx for your info
 

Rikrik51

Member
Hey smoggie just used that discharging gizmo (got the exact one you suggested) and that thing works fast ,like really fast!! Only used it on 1450 6s at moment but tnx for that,I was dubious that 3 light bulbs would work that well but it's amazing
 

vyrnguy

Member
For Lipo Discharging I have 3 setups, Fast, Medium, and Slow.

For my fast system I use: an Inverter and a 400 Watt Spotlight. This drains a full charge lipo real quick.(ps all my lipos are 65C or 45C)

For my medium system I use: AOK 150 light bulbs.

For slow system or completely drain a lipo I use a 50 Watt Car headlight bulb straight to the lipo.
 

Rikrik51

Member
You've got it figured out lol,haven't had to tackle my big batts yet,in an idea world ie no working late bad weather etc we wouldn't have this problem, your 400w idea is interesting, tnx for input matey
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Hey smoggie just used that discharging gizmo (got the exact one you suggested) and that thing works fast ,like really fast!! Only used it on 1450 6s at moment but tnx for that,I was dubious that 3 light bulbs would work that well but it's amazing

Great to hear that it's working good for you, the best thing is it's not only fat but it's 'intelligent' in that it stops discharging when it gets to storage voltage, so no danger of killing your LiPos due to over discharge. I've actually not used this specific discharger but I know a few who have and they all say only good things.

My own discharger takes some beating though, it discharges at 40A or 1000W, very useful when you have a stack of 6S 5000mAh charged and it starts raining!.. here is is:
 

Rikrik51

Member
Fantastic set up mate,one last question smoggie I presume storage per cell is gonna be the same both types of lipos I currently run (1450 6s for 450 dom 3300 6s for 600 dfc) what is the best voltage per cell to store at? I am talking short term 2-3 days or 1-2 weeks?
The video is impressive mate,really nice set up,would like to see pics of your machines (helis) when you've got time,
Regards,
Rick.
 

vyrnguy

Member
First, you not suppose to leave your batteries fully charged for more than 36 hours. The charge in the cells start to diminish the cells. Always put them in storage charge, store them preferably in a area to your home then when you're ready to use them, you can charge them 18 hours before flying. I have done this and I don't hardly have issues with my batteries. I use an i-charger 406. I always charge them @ 1c, normal balance. I rarely use the Fast Charge setup. This is the most recommended way, but some strongly disagree with the method. Again, It works for many.

Second, and what works great for me, I use a LiPo balance charge meter and leave it plugged in. Of course you do this on the balance cable. I set mine meter at 3.7 and it works great on every Heli I own. When the cells hit 3.7v, the alarm goes off, then it's time to land. They always stay around 3.5v's give or take a few tenths. To set the meter, there is a small button in between the ears of the meter. Plug it in and you will see how easy it is to set. If you fly 3D, your flying time will be shorter vs. flying around having fun, you max out your flight time this way.

Any questions, just let us know,
Dennis

The arrow points to the set button between the ears.
lipo_alarm_zpshsiqjxg3.jpg

I use this with my inverter + 400 Watt Spotlight. Works well
 

Smoggie

Well-Known Member
Rick,

Chargers aim for a storage voltage in the 3.8V to 3.85V range. On the other hand exact storage voltage isnt critical, anywhere between 3.7V and 3.9V is ok, so you can usually just put the batteries away after flying without the need to 'storage charge'. If your batteries are going away for a long time (like over winter) then it's best to have them toward the upper end of that voltage range to cover for any slight self discharge that might occur in long term storage.

PS......If the sun is out on Sunday I'll try to get a pic of the whole heli fleet, I've been meaning to do that for a while.
 

Rikrik51

Member
Rick,

Chargers aim for a storage voltage in the 3.8V to 3.85V range. On the other hand exact storage voltage isnt critical, anywhere between 3.7V and 3.9V is ok, so you can usually just put the batteries away after flying without the need to 'storage charge'. If your batteries are going away for a long time (like over winter) then it's best to have them toward the upper end of that voltage range to cover for any slight self discharge that might occur in long term storage.

PS......If the sun is out on Sunday I'll try to get a pic of the whole heli fleet, I've been meaning to do that for a while.
Nice one,I see on your list you've got some big stuff,can't wait to see them
 
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