Batteries how many cycles for a new battery?

[danhampson]

ive just got a new charger, so that i can charge the batterys for my protos (ive been charging my 3s with an esky charger through the balance lead)
I was wondering how many charges/discharges is good to condition a new battery?

 

[Tony]

You do not need to condition a lipo or life battery. Only NiCd and NiMh need to be run though cycles to get to the full potential. With that said, you will notice your second or third complete charge and flight to discharge you will gain a little power from getting the flat spot out of it. But it's not "needed" at first like the others.

 

[stokke]

I agree with Tony, but I still do one cycle on the charger before using the pack - just to be sure

 

[danhampson]

thanks tony got a bargain on the charger i ts a hyperion eos0720i it works out about 106 dollars.

 

[Lee]

I just tend to do 4 or 5 flights were i fly very gently and don't drain the packs to there limits.

 

[RandyDSok]

I actually do know what the OP was talking about and I do believe the term "condition the battery" got carried over to the process even though technically it is for different reasons.

What the others said in terms of conditioning a battery like was needed with NiCd and a NiMh battery is true... it isn't needed. But certain brands of LiPo batteries do have an additional stabilizer compound added to them so that the batteries can have a longer shelf life at the warehouse and on the store shelves while they are kept in their nominal voltage charge ( 3.7v also known as the storage charge ). This added compound is neutralized after about 5 charge/discharge cycles. You can actually use the LiPo's while the compound is still active though you'll likely not get quite the amperage output or as long of a flight, but this won't harm the battery or affect it's lifespan etc. Not all batteries will have the added compound but many will.

The difference in meaning of the term "conditioning" seams slight but isn't... they are done for different reasons. With NiCd's and NiMh's it helps set the working window or memory of the cells. With LiPo's it is just used to help neutralize a compound that is added only for the initial storage of the cell and doesn't effect the long term health or life of the battery.

- - - Updated - - -

Addendum...

I used the word "memory" when talking about NiCd's and NiMh's... Technically it only applies to NiCd's and I'm unable to explain the differences on this issue. The term "conditioning" on both of these types does still apply to help end up with the same results but for slightly different reasons since NiMh's don't technically have a "memory effect" per se.