Batteries Lipo battery restriction

[murankar]

Storage is the noted voltages above and put in the fridge. I don't really like to fuss around. I have been known in the past to not discharge my packs and not put in a fridge from time to time. If I know for sure I will not be using the packs for a long time I will ensure that voltages are at 3.75ish and in the fridge. I do what I can now to keep my internal heat down as much as possible.

As for how long will they last at that voltage? Couldn't tell you. I know that a pack stored fully charged and at room temp (about 72 degrees F) will loose something like 3-5% capacity over a months time. To many variables to give an exact time span. I my cycle them once a month if I remember.

 

[D.O.G.]

I use the ammo box methods like murankar mention to put my batteries in when charging . I pick them up at yard sales. I use the lipo bag on the bottom of the box to set the batteries on and the parallel board also.

 

[Heliman450]

Great to see others methods.

I meant how long time-wise do you consider a battery to be in storage or just waiting to used next.

I seem to read here so that the guys are flying so frequently that I find it hard to believe there's any time to store a battery because they're being used

 

[D.O.G.]

Great to see others methods.

I meant how long time-wise do you consider a battery to be in storage or just waiting to used next.

I seem to read here so that the guys are flying so frequently that I find it hard to believe there's any time to store a battery because they're being used

I try to fly two battery for each heli. Example: I will fly the 450 then the X3 followed by the 500. That will give time for the helis to cool down between flights. Then I do the same thing, fly the 450, X3 then 500 again. After the battery has cool down then i will storage charge two battery at a time " Of course the same battery and cell" then after all the batteries get storage charge, if I know that I can fly again weather permitted, I will charge two batteries at a time for each heli. If for some reason I can't fly, the batteries are ready to be use when I'm can to fly again. I don't let them sit more then 48 to 72 hrs charged. If i know that the weather is not going to be good for the next couple of days, I just leave then storage charge til the weather clears up. Hope that makes sense.

 

[murankar]

I never know. If I had to give an average about 14 days between charge cycles. Between the kids, weather or work I never know when Ill be flying. Plus there is the wrenching that takes place also. I am currently in a situation that is affording me an opportunity that I normally would not have so I am taking advantage of it. My goal is to have everything ready for a decent no mess no fuss hobby kit.

With battery health being of priority I want everything put into place to help maximize my packs. Things I am taking into consideration is adequit storage solutions (fridge), proper charging setup and monitors for during use such as the Mikado UI sensor on the 570. My charging solution is going to consist of a 1500 watt DC power source thats purpose built, my PL6 w/ bump add on along with a pack tester. The pack tester is built into the Hobbywing ESC program box. Since I never know when Ill be flying again i think this setup will lend itself to being a great way to maintain and track my packs. When dealing with $90 packs I don't want to be throwing money at the wind so to speak. My final measure is going to ensure I have enough battery trays and at least 4 more packs. I want all my packs to stay mated and together for their in use duration. I figure with 4 stick packs in rotation I will be able to keep the abuse down and allow for proper settling between charge cycles.

 

[Heliman450]

Perfect! thanks very much for the insight from the experts

 

[Smoggie]

Phil,

To respond to a couple of your queries.. yes crash damage can be very much like knocking a nail through the pack. main difference is (unless you actually wanted a spectacular effect) the nail would usually be applied with the battery in a part discharged state, and they tend not to burst into flames unless fully charged. Part charged you usually just get white smoke.

As for the question 'how long counts as storage'.. There is no definitive answer to that. It's a cumulative effect. Every minute that the battery is fully charged does a tiny bit of damage and it all adds up. So to maximise your battery life you should minimise the the time the battery spends fully charged. For me this means charging on the morning i go flying and if i have any batteries unused after flying I discharge them to storage voltage as soon as practical. Storage voltage for me is anywhere between 3.7 and 3.9V, my iCharger targets 3.85V on it's default storage mode.

One of the problems with pretty much all battery chargers is that they dont have very powerful internal discharge power, so on larger batteries discharge can take ages. My 4010 Duo has the most powerful built in discharge of any charger but even that is woefully slow if discharging a few 6s 5000mAh packs. I solved this by making a 1000W discharger out of a hairdryer. This connects to the iCharger and the icharger looks after controlling the discharge and stopping the process when it gets to target voltage.

But no point being obsessive about it. No matter how kind you are to your batteries they won't last forever. It would be daft to let excessive battery mollycoddling get in the way of your flying enjoyment.

 

[murankar]

I am by no means an expert. I listen and learn from others mistakes and advise. Technology is really starting to step up in the hobbies. Telemetry, RF tags and meters help with maintaining and keeping up with packs. Down side is I wont have a UI sensor for the X3, well not for the foreseeable future. The X3 is already a pig and needs to shed some grams as it is. For those packs I will only use the bump charger to help track those packs. At $28 a pack i am concerned but not like I am over an $80 pack.


I guess I will be looking at a fire suppression option at some point. Not sure when that will happen but it will, hopefully before I need it.

 

[Tony]

Holy crap you guys are paranoid. You guys would flip your lid if you saw my setup...

 

[Smoggie]

The other thing i've started to do recently is take a small charger to the field. I power it off some of my older large flight packs that are now getting a bit tired (4 years old). It's a good way to maximise the use of your packs and old lipos are lighter and more compact than lugging a large lead acid battery around.

 

[murankar]

your setup is no different than mine right now. 2 DPS 600PBs in series. They are sitting in the bottom of a tool box with a rats nest of wires connecting everything. Grounds crossing live wires and everything. Its an electricians nightmare. I want simple and to the point that's it. the only frills the new case will have are to fans some LEDs and the bump charger.

 

[Smoggie]

The lights in the neighborhood dim when i charge. I've got two DPS PB600's powering my little charger and a 2950W 50V HP ESP120 powering the ICharger 4010 Duo

 

[murankar]

In some respects I am upgrading to 1500w 24v 60 amps out. I think my breaker will trip if I go full 5c on charge. LOL

 

[D.O.G.]

Holy crap you guys are paranoid. You guys would flip your lid if you saw my setup...

Please to tell or show us.
PS, Did you get me e-mail Tony?

 

[murankar]

Tony's rig will scare everyone lol. If you want to see it go look at his video on building the PSU in series video.

 

[Tony]

Steve, I did not get an email. Did you send it to admin@rc-help.com?

 

[Smoggie]

In some respects I am upgrading to 1500w 24v 60 amps out. I think my breaker will trip if I go full 5c on charge. LOL

Luckily here in the UK we are on 240V, so a standard 15A outlet will do 3600W... But yeah, I've still managed to trip the breaker a couple of times

 

[murankar]

Damn I keep forgetting you guys have better power source. Once again the US has to be different than the rest of the world. One thing for sure at least we use a standardized outlet, lol.

 

[Heliman450]

I am by no means an expert. I listen and learn from others mistakes and advise. Technology is really starting to step up in the hobbies. Telemetry, RF tags and meters help with maintaining and keeping up with packs. Down side is I wont have a UI sensor for the X3, well not for the foreseeable future. The X3 is already a pig and needs to shed some grams as it is. For those packs I will only use the bump charger to help track those packs. At $28 a pack i am concerned but not like I am over an $80 pack.


I guess I will be looking at a fire suppression option at some point. Not sure when that will happen but it will, hopefully before I need it.

Hi Matthias, I've watched your threads for some time and compared to me you are certainly an expert. I don't have anyone outside the Forum to draw upon for the in-built knowledge that accumulates with time within the hobby.

Steve used the expression mollycoddling batteries..................... from what I picked up during yesterday, I'm positively neglecting my batteries and need to correct this asap. I very much doubt that I will have an incident with my batteries being a very cautious person anyway having been responsible for the safety of others. Here in Switzerland there's no option other than doing things right, albeit expensively.

Thanks for all the contributions! An extra thanks to Tony for providing the platform!!

 

[murankar]

Taking care of the packs in more about getting the most out of them than it is safety. By caring for your packs you will get more fun from them. Yes I too have been lazy in the past with my packs, leaving sit around at 4.2v per cell for weeks at a time. I have also over discharged due to my own negligence. I did care at the time and now I do.