Battery questions?

[Jalo]

Whats the best way to charge lipo batteries?

[RFick73]

In a LiPo battery charger! ;)

Seriously...

I stick to 1C charging most of the time.

If the Battery is 1800mAh use 1.8amps
If it's 3000mAh use 3amps
Basically divide the mAh by 1000 to get the max amps you should charge at.

NPWave would be your best resource on this question.
Care to chime in?

[Jalo]

Thanks for the advice !!! I have a charger that will work with all types of
batteries ....

[RFick73]

What LiPo's are you planning on using and what charger?

Best to find out the max C charging rate for them.

Be sure to always balance charge, it takes a bit longer, but worth it to save your LiPo's.

Also be sure to 'storage charge' them when they will be sitting unused for say a week or so more.

[npWave]

For most LiPo brands, the best way is to charge at <1C using a good quality LiPo charger balancing function. And don't forget to plug in your balancer while charging. You can charge at 1C or higher for some brands. But remember that higher C charging usually shorten the life of your pack.

[Jalo]

I'am looking at picking up a couple NP lipo 4000+ 2 cells batteries. Never charged lipo batteries before, I really don't want to burn my house down. Just want to be safe when I charge this type of battery.:) Will lipo batteries increase run time compaired to Ni-MH, I want to run lipo's in my Slash (stock), Eventually I will be installing a sidewinder brushless
system.


JC (Jalo)

[DVO]

LiPo will give more than runtime... More punch off the line thru the whole pack... NiMH/NiCad lose punch as it gets used... They're also lighter... My 6300 2S in my Clod weighs about the same as a 3600 NiMH pack does or less even....

If you're woncerned about fire, buy and use a LiPo Sack for charging your packs... It's a composite bag made to contain a LiPo eruption...

I've been running LiPo for a while now and I don't have a LiPo Sack... I just charge smartly... No more than 1C, don't walk away from it indoors, don't leave it plugged into the charger after charging, stored in a dry, cool-ish place and I ALWAYS balance with my Blinky every cycle...

[npWave]

You will get the maximum cycle life out of our NP brand LiPo packs as long as you
1. balance charge with a LiPo charger at 1C or less charge rate,
2. cut off discharge at 3V per cell - ie. 6V for 2S, 9V for 3S, etc.
3. store at 60% charge and top up to 60% if needed every 3 months.