Care in Lipo battery purchase

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27 July 2015 at 18:45 #59429
mike farrell
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@mikefarrell21522
Hi All I did not want to include this in battery charging as its ?.Well I have decided to go Brushless with my latest project ,so also had to buy Lipo batteries .I am not totally new to brushless as 8years ago I flew a helicopter for my sins, Current problems for me was to get up to date .I went back to my old friends in model flight for advice and was in for some shocks

1/ all batteries are not the same different manufacturers different quality control.

2/ all lipos should be balanced before charging (there can be differences in cells). One battery had .3 volt difference between cells

My old friend told me to get a battery checker .this will tell you if your batteries are unbalanced and will balance down to the lowest common denominator when you can charge with some confidence

All batteries were charged at 3 amps whilst can be charged at 4 amps

I now have 6 lipos fully balanced and safe to use

I will publish how the batteries perform and when next charged will record Watts used and how many mA the battery will take and the time taken per chargeMichael

All batteries are charged at
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27 July 2015 at 18:45 #5381
mike farrell
Participant
@mikefarrell21522
why to check Lipo batterys
27 July 2015 at 19:52 #59431
Paul T
Participant
@pault84577
Very sound advice Michael I will be buying some lipos next month and will keep this in mind.

Paul
28 July 2015 at 09:19 #59435
ashley needham
Participant
@ashleyneedham69188
Mike . Not sure why you HAD to buy Lipo to use with a brushless motor??

You also need some "on board" low voltage bleepers to use when on boat. these give you warning to come in quick, if using an aircraft or lipo ESC they usually cut power when they see a low voltage to save the battery.

Assuming you purchased a Lipo charger, this should have a balance lead connection. If so, you are ok to just plug the batts in to charge. iI it has no balance lead you should not use it.

Ashley
28 July 2015 at 09:59 #59436
Dave Milbourn
Participant
@davemilbourn48782
This is a very handy little gizmo which will display all cells' voltages in turn and sound an alarm if any cell drops below a level which you can program. Pretty good value, too. **LINK** I currently use two separate devices, also from the same supplier, to do these jobs. This is a new one to their list.

For charging I would be hard-pressed indeed to find a better one than this **LINK** I've had one since they first came out and it's the most versatile and easy to use charger I've ever seen. It's all Touch-Screen selection so you don't need to remember which combination of buttons does which function. It will charge NiMH, LiPo, LiIon, LiFe, SLA and even NiCads; it also has a 5v USB output for charging phones or i-Pads. Here's a video of it (sorry, but the drums are annoying!). **LINK**

Dave M ("Just a satisfied customer" etc)
28 July 2015 at 10:11 #59437
Kimosubby Shipyards
Participant
@kimosubbyshipyards
Mike, I have to agree with Ashley, you don't have to go LiPo just because you are going brushless. I only went LiPo for weight saving on small boats.

And the gizmo Dave mentions is definitely a very good thing, can check your batteries before sailing, and leaving it in gives an unmissable annoyingly loud alarm when a battery cell reaches the pre-set alarm level. AND always use it. Recently one of our chaps used his to check battery condition, result was ok. He then sailed his 1m long Lifeboat for 40 minutes until one engine stopped running. Retrieval of boat showed he'd blown that engines LiPo big time, it was double its thickness and trying to do a good impression of the Hulk.

I've the Turnigy Accruel 6 charger but that one looks very nice that DM links to. Do I need two? Suggestions in brown envelopes please.

Aye, Kim
28 July 2015 at 11:53 #59438
Dave Milbourn
Participant
@davemilbourn48782
If the ESC you use doesn't have a low-voltage cut-out then you could always fit one of these – alarms aren't always easy to hear especially in a strong wind or if you're a touch Mutt and Jeff…… **LINK**

DM

(Oh, and Kim – yes, you do! It's a wonderful toy; you'll end up recharging your batteries just to play with it!))

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 28/07/2015 11:54:52
28 July 2015 at 13:03 #59440
mike farrell
Participant
@mikefarrell21522
Hi Folks Ashley ,the reason for changing batteries is simple . My old Nims were about 10 years old and well passed their sell by date ,not holding charge over night . Lipos are now becoming so cheap why not.

Dave ,will invest in 4 alarms as project carries 4 drive systems

I bought a Imax 6 which is a balanced charger which is adequate for my needs (if I,d seen the more fancy units would have acquired one )

I have an Etronix Power Analyzer which serves as a Watt Meter balancer and servo tester.

Thanks for your comments and hope their are people out there who benefit
28 July 2015 at 20:50 #59447
Kimosubby Shipyards
Participant
@kimosubbyshipyards
A final from me;

just rummaged through my ever growing battery equipment accessories and discovered I'd purchased this gizmo as well, it's a CellShield Advanced Lithium Cutoff (that's what it says on the packaging. I got it from Technobots in their clearance offers and I note it's no longer available.

It's used in-line twixt ESC and receiver and one can set the minimum voltage (between 2.5 to 3.5V/cell) using a small screw dial and when the lowest cell in the pack reaches that voltage it cuts the power. It says a soft cutoff, which may mean the power drops low permitting a short recovery period to get back to shore. It is used in aircraft so I imagine that's what the soft means. It can only function with a 2S or above lithium or lithium polymer.

I'll give it a go at the weekend and see what happens. It's still available http://www.dimensionengineering.com and there's a few other interesting gadgets offered too.

aye, Kimmo

Edited By Kimosubby Shipyards on 28/07/2015 20:55:20
17 August 2015 at 11:16 #59761
harry smith 1
Participant
@harrysmith1
Hi all

The Hobbyking car ESC's have a battery cut off setting which you can set for 2 to 4S Lipo's.

I agreed that the audio alarms are good if you can hear them.

Usually with all the talk going on around, that's impossible!!!!!
17 August 2015 at 13:01 #59763
Dave Milbourn
Participant
@davemilbourn48782
Kim

A word of caution for anyone intending to pursue this:

I've just noticed that the Cellshield and Liposhield units on that website are both intended only for aircraft ESCs i.e. forward only, and that "a future product will be aimed at cars". So far there's no sign of this future project.

There's no information on the Elite Models website about the Leton unit, but it's out of stock anyway. Caveat emptor, guys!

Dave M
17 August 2015 at 20:24 #59766
Kimosubby Shipyards
Participant
@kimosubbyshipyards
Dave,

yep, found that out, and usually, when boating the vessel is in forward operation most of the time. Once it operates it's on, so back to shore for new batteries.

A quick note also on charging, with the new Ix200, I've managed to get more power in because the LiPo charges to 4.20V/cell when my old charger was suggesting a full charge at 4.02V/cell. That equates to about 600mAh in difference, or another 10 minutes on the briny!!

More to follow on charge site. Kimmo

PS Briny – slang for water……
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