Lipo batteries

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

I agree with Colin almost word for word, I am starting to regret ever starting to use Lipos . I have a fireproof charging bag and have bought a Lipo charger that also charges NIHM, but to date I cannot get it to charge anything ,I must be doing something wrong but I can’t think what. What chsrging amps would you programme to charge a 3700 ma battery.

regsrds

Bryan

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bryan,

Does your charger have indicator lights to tell you the charge state of each cell of the pack? called a balanced charger.

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bryan,

I thought a picture of my charger may help to show how simple it can be, as each cell is fully charged the red lights turn green 😀 been working for 10 years like this, flying/boating tomorrow 😃

Regards Ray charging @ 1.5 Amps

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 28/12/2019 20:58:40

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

What boat is the black battery from, eh Ray??

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley,

You mean my field charging auxiliary power unit 😀 £60 @ Halfords, great when the kids cars won't start as well !!

Regards Ray

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Ray

Whst is the make and model of your charger

Bryan

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

There are some excellent chargers on this website **LINK**

Dave M

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bryan

Yes George at 4 Max is very helpful with advice on the phone, nothing is to much trouble.

My simple charger is pre-historic now but still works 😀

Regards Ray

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Dave

I have a imax b6 charger which is at the moment is chsrging a 7.2v NIHM bsttery ,I have tried to use this charger before without success , I must be doing something wrong.

I also have a B3 pro charger which I have never used, once I find an adapter for the plugI will try it out.

i have many other chargers for NIHM batteries which have never been a problem.

I only want to charge a Lipo battery without it catching fire.

watch this space ,I will win in the end.

Isnt building model boats supposed to be a peaceful hobby.

Bryan

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Bryan

Has your Lipo battery the small charging plug with 4 wires? Which should fit a matching socket outlet in your charger?

The nicads just have a + & – supply this is completely different method of charging.Regards

Maybe a photo of your set up may help us advise you.

Regards Ray

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Bryan

I believe there are a number of videos on You Tube which demonstrate how to use the B6 charger. It's apparently one of the most popular types. I personally use an X200 which sadly went out of production because there were too many cheap and unreliable clones of it around – these effectively killed the market for it.

Component-Shop should be abe to sort out a plug adaptor for you. Just send a photo of what you need to adapt to Kyje Randall there.

Dave M

[Gary Hill 1Participant @garyhill1]

Hi Bryan

the screen and layout look the same as my old sigma 2 which needs the output leads connected plus the balance lead if you want to balance charge a lipo. I charge my lipos at 1C rate so for a 3700 mah I would use 3.7 amps, remember to select the correct voltage 7.4v for 2s, 11.1v for 3s etc. The other difference is that the charger is ‘intelligent’ so if you over discharge a lipo it won’t attempt to recharge it, hence the need for a voltage checker.

Gary

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greetings all

Thank you all for your advice ,I am following your advice and tips and I will be in touch in due course. I have sent for a voltage checker and alsrm
I will win in the end.

Thank you all

Bryan

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greetings all

I went on utube to watch a video on how to use an imaxB6 charger and it showed the difference between a genuine charger and a fake and it appears that I have bought a fake, the obvious difference is the writing on the back and front of the case, however when I went on the website of a well known Chinese dealer they were offering the same charger as mine with the same writing which according to utube is fake, so who is correct?

I bought a Lipo low voltage alarm , but I didn’t know a Li-PO JST-XH balance lead was also required ,this is certainly a steep learning curve ,NIHM used to be so simple.

onward and upward

Bryan

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Bryan

LiPo battery packs require the cells to be closely 'balanced' for voltage. This is done via a thin-gauge ribbon cable "balance lead" on the battery pack which plugs into a port on the charger. The voltage of each cell is monitored by a circuit in the charger. This lead is fitted in addition to the main (thick) power leads through which the charging current is passed. JST-XH is the type of connector used on the balance lead, and you can buy extension leads in much the same way that you can buy servo extension leads. Note that "slow" LiPo chargers, which generaly connect to the mains, will not have the thick power leads and you charge the battery at a few hundred milliamps solely through the balance lead.

Hope this helps with your climb up the learning curve.

Dave M

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 07/01/2020 12:25:23

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Dave

Thanks for your reply, have ordered Lipo balance lead as described, I will get there in the end.

Bryan

[TelstarParticipant @telstar]

Hi.
Now LiPo batteries have become much more prevalent. I have noticed in larger capacity batteries, particularly used on electric bikes/scooters that the balance for charging and discharging is build into the battery.
On a 36v 8Ah battery I have, there are only 4 wires (only 3 connections since 2 wires connect to the same place on the battery).
two to connect to the charger, two to the load. Inside the battery "casing" is a BMS circuit board (Battery Management System) This monitors max. charging current; max. battery voltage on charge; also min. battery voltage; maximum discharge current; it is a built in balancer, both charging and discharging and this one has a temperature probe tucked in between the cells. It can shut down the system in event of overcharge, over discharge or over temp., protecting the cells
This means that the charger is a simple dc supply, no extra connections to be made.

Looking on E-*** there are now various BMS circuit boards to be obtained, from 1S 2A to 13S 60A units.
While I can understand model flyers not wanting extra weight, perhaps for model boats including a BMS permanently connected to the battery makes it easier and safer to use these batteries, Except for some waterproof special BMS boards they were all less than £10.
Perhaps instead of using special chargers (which only protect the charging side) fit boards to the battery (protecting both charge and discharge) and use simple chargers.

Just a thought Dave, cheers Tom

[BRYAN ASTONParticipant @bryanaston57723]

Greetings all

could I have a translation of the above, it sounds great

Regards

Bryan

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bryan. you must really want that translation badly!

Interesting idea. My electric bike charge socket is a simple two-pin type, but my sons bike has a multi pin one, so obviously the battery has a board on board, if you see what I mean.

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

I must be behind the times my bike has pedals 😮

Day 9 😇

Regards Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Bryan,

Your posts are being duplicated! The last one four times!

Colin

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Posted by BRYAN ASTON on 09/01/2020 17:09:12:

Greetings all

could I have a translation of the above, it sounds great

Regards

Bryan

It means that there is a box that you can put into the boat so that you can pretend that your multi-cell LiPo is an "ordinary" battery, and you can charge your boat the same way that you charge your lapop.

Some batteries come with the magic box built into their case.

Edited By Malcolm Frary on 10/01/2020 10:03:11

[TelstarParticipant @telstar]

Hi.

Ray, While waiting for a hip replacement I started using a Power Assist System. I still have to pedal but much of the pressure on the pedals is reduced, I now use this to go to the shops instead of using the car. Going green?

Ashley. A BMS of some kind is incorporated into LiPo battery drills cordless vacuums etc. so the chargers are just 2 pin connectors .

Bryan, A BMS is an additional circuit connected to the LiPo battery that controllers charging and discharging, so it can be treated just like a "ordinary" battery, no special precautions. It is selected to match the battery it is to be connected to

 

Cheers Tom

Malcolm   Nicely explained 

Edited By Telstar on 10/01/2020 10:16:53

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

For what it's worth….

I just had a look on E-*** under Battery Management Systems and I couldn't find anything which seemed to apply to the sort of LiPo battery packs we use in model boats. Most are intended for motorcycles, scooters and caravans and are well over £100. Contrast that with the charger I've just bought for the 2S pack in my grandson's new boat. It has a mains input cable and a socket which connects directly to the balance lead on the battery. It charges at 700mA until the red LEDs for each cell turn blue, then it stops charging. How much easier could it be? It cost £14. 700mA LiPo charger

I can well understand why you would want the assurance of not having a 36v 8AH LiPo pack explode betwen your knees or under your bottom while you ride your electric bike but I don't see any reason why such an exotic device is necessary for a model boat with a maximum of maybe 6 LiPo cells. A low-voltage cut-out is incorporated into all brushless ESCs or you can buy an alarm for a few pounds. You still need an electrical device to charge the battery and if you buy the correct charger in the first place there should be no need for add-ons.

DM

[TelstarParticipant @telstar]

Hi Dave, Not sure where you looked, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-6V-3S-20A-Cell-18650-Li-ion-Lithium-BMS-Protection-Battery-Charger-PCB-Board/303396492826?epid=15022083824&hash=item46a3d7161a:g:qLkAAOSwJKhd7eE~

but this is in the range that would come into the right area. I have no no problem in incorperating industry standard items from my professional life into my hobby.

If 3S is too much how about https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3A-1S-BMS-Protection-Board-For-3-7V-18650-Li-ion-lithium-Battery-Solder-Belt-UK/183506977732?hash=item2ab9de43c4:m:mVx1cdSauDpYB7Bw96cu5BA

battery safe charging and in use

It was just a thought

TD

[Author]

Posts