Batteries Battery Life

Capn Pete

Active Member
  1. How important is it to discharge to storage level for LiPo's if they're not used right away?
  2. How long would you let them sit before doing this?
  3. Will they naturally discharge to a lower level?
  4. How far gone is a LiPo that has just a little swelling?
  5. Will it spontaneously catch fire?
I have disposed of ones that have swollen up a lot.
Thanks,
Pete
 

Tony

Staff member
1. very important. They do not like being fully charged or over discharged. Reduced life will result.
2. You can keep them charged for up to a week without any 'Major' damage, but no more than a couple of days is ideal.
3. Yes, and this is a bad thing. This is due to the IR of the pack and the higher the IR, the faster they will self discharge. If you are noticing this, completely discharge the pack and toss it.
4. A little swelling is not that big of a deal. Not in my opinion anyway. If a pack gets warm, it will slightly puff. Excessive puffing though, see #3...
5. If you overheat a pack bad enough, have a crash or compress the cells so the two elements touch, they will catch fire. Slight puff I'm not worried about, but anything more and again, see #3.
 

RandyDSok

Well-Known Member
What Tony posted... applies to all RC craft, not just airplanes ( the forum area this is posted in )... should have probably posted in the forum electronics area.
 

murankar

Staff member
All I know is that a fully charged 5000 mah pack stored at 70℉ for 1 year will loose 20% capacity. Which means a 5000 mah pack becomes a 4400 mah pack.

There is so much that goes into pack care that it becomes a big ball of mess. RCHN covered over the importance of pack care. It was towards the end of the broadcast. In fact it was right around the time when Nick started the pack test/shootout with Dan.

So its best to keep the internal heat to minimum during storage, ie refrigerator or freezer is ideal. If you plan on cycling the packs often, ie fly them then its not as important to keep them in the freezer. What ever you do, do not store them in your car during the summer. Unless you have a way to keep them cold.

I am sure tony hit a the important parts already sink won't step on his toes.

One thing in want to address that I don't think was: your resting pack voltage will fluctuate with temperature changes. That's the reason for 50% storage charge. If they get to cold your voltage will droop, if to hot the voltage will climb.
 

Tony

Staff member
Instead of getting in to dead nuts specifics, unless specifically asked, I try to keep it minimal and to the point.
 

Tony

Staff member
It's no worries, I didn't even notice what area it was in but this is a great question that will definitely help others in the future. So I stuck it in the batteries section.
 

RandyDSok

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Tony. I just hit the general button and posted. Didn't know people would get their knickers in a knot.

"Suck it up buttercup" lol ( Tony quote from the "Off Topic Chit Chat" thread that just fit here )

My knickers were not knotted... its just nice to keep things in the right category so others can find the info they are looking for... it's just an organizational thing so stuff can be easier to find...
 
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