Batteries Lipo storage
- Thread starter Rikrik51
- Start date
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.
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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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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rikrik51
Member
Hi smoggie,I found that discharger got one coming matey,tnx for info
Hi,tnx for information,definitely a pain still rather have
yes definitely a pain,tnx for your info
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.
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.
Smoggie
Well-Known Member
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.
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.
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.
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
Nice one,I see on your list you've got some big stuff,can't wait to see them