Lipo Battery Basics from AMA

[Mike]

Lipo Battery Basics from the AMA

Good info at the link. I've embedded the video here as well. The text that accompanies the video (at the link above) goes into more details and they will get into those details in later videos in the series they say.

 

[Cliff. Johnston]

Good video series. Thanks for posting!

 

[Mike]

NP!

 

[Chewy]

Hey guys I am a newb and trying not to burn anything up or down. I have a 3s 4000mah battery that I ran really low on my first build not knowing, actually forgot you need to stop them at 3.2v or so right? Anyway I was able to charge the battery after following some you tube videos but now 2 of the cells wont fully charge. When the charger says its full the cells read 420 410 396. I need to get rid of this battery now? If yes how do I properly dispose of it?

Thank you
Chewy

 

[ansarogu]

Hello dudes, i was wondering if you guys can help me out. I live in Mexico and cannot find a site that will ship lipo batterys to me.
Gearbest, nope.
Banggood, nope.
Hobbyking, nope
Buddyrc, yep but pricey.
Ebay, yep but take ages to get here.
Does anyone know of a site that sells and ships internationally?
thanks.

 

[Mike]

What about Amazon?

 

[ansarogu]

No go for Amazon, "This item does not ship to Mexico."

 

[Mike]

https://www.rchobbiemexico.com/inde...art&page=shop.browse&category_id=693&Itemid=3

 

[ansarogu]

wow thanks, never seen that one before. Unfortunately they only carry MASSIVE 4000+ mah batteries, i need 700mah ~ 1000mah for an mjx x600.
But thanks!


Those big cells might be excellent for a big 2216 quad i've been saving $$ to build, but until then, I have to keep practicing with my toy hex.

 

[Mike]

wow thanks, never seen that one before. Unfortunately they only carry MASSIVE 4000+ mah batteries, i need 700mah ~ 1000mah for an mjx x600.
But thanks!


Those big cells might be excellent for a big 2216 quad i've been saving $$ to build, but until then, I have to keep practicing with my toy hex.

Might be worth reaching out to those guys and seeing if they know of anyone selling smaller batteries or if they can get some in stock for you.

 

[Duttydel]

Hey guys, I'm new to the racing quadcopter hobby, I bought a eachine 180 tilt rotor, and would like to find out if I got a bigger capacity battery for it, would it burn any thing out and if it would increase flight time? The stock battery is 1100mah 4s 30c 14.8v and the one I'm looking to buy is 2800mah 4s 30 14.8v. Would that be ok?

 

[Mike]

Hey guys, I'm new to the racing quadcopter hobby, I bought a eachine 180 tilt rotor, and would like to find out if I got a bigger capacity battery for it, would it burn any thing out and if it would increase flight time? The stock battery is 1100mah 4s 30c 14.8v and the one I'm looking to buy is 2800mah 4s 30 14.8v. Would that be ok?

As long as cells/voltage, discharge rate, etc. are the same, you technically won't have any issues - but bigger battery = more weight, and depending on the rest of your system, it might not do you any good. There are a lot of calculations to do to find the optimal battery size for the best balance of performance/flight time. There are some calculators online. I don't have the links handy right now, but they shouldn't be hard to find.

Also - sometimes it's easiest to search for others who have added a bigger battery to the same platform and discussed the results online. The calculators are good, but sometimes you need to do a little trial and error to get it right, so seeing what others have had success with is always a good way to quickly figure out what you should get.

 

[Duttydel]

As long as cells/voltage, discharge rate, etc. are the same, you technically won't have any issues - but bigger battery = more weight, and depending on the rest of your system, it might not do you any good. There are a lot of calculations to do to find the optimal battery size for the best balance of performance/flight time. There are some calculators online. I don't have the links handy right now, but they shouldn't be hard to find.

Also - sometimes it's easiest to search for others who have added a bigger battery to the same platform and discussed the results online. The calculators are good, but sometimes you need to do a little trial and error to get it right, so seeing what others have had success with is always a good way to quickly figure out what you should get.

OK thank you very much, I really appreciate it and I will research some more about it to see if I can find anything... thank you

 

[Jaynatello]

Okay, so I get the dangers, but am I really supposed to sit around and monitor my battery for five hours while it's charging? I wish I had that kind of free time!

 

[Mike]

Okay, so I get the dangers, but am I really supposed to sit around and monitor my battery for five hours while it's charging? I wish I had that kind of free time!

I don't. I drop the charging battery into a cinder block with a bag of sand over it. If it burns, the bag will melt and the sand will smother the fire (theoretically). Lot's of different ways of making a battery bunker.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bat...17PZAhUvja0KHccUCakQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=974

 

[Spork]

I don't. I drop the charging battery into a cinder block with a bag of sand over it. If it burns, the bag will melt and the sand will smother the fire (theoretically). Lot's of different ways of making a battery bunker.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bat...17PZAhUvja0KHccUCakQ_AUICygC&biw=1920&bih=974

Another solution I've seen people talk about is using ammo cans with a couple holes drilled into it for ventilation. I've got a couple out in the garage I'll use. Something like this:

Also, check out this thread for a vid and a pic of recent battery fires:
http://quadcopterforum.com/threads/batteries-and-their-storage.15042/

 

[Spork]

Okay, so I get the dangers, but am I really supposed to sit around and monitor my battery for five hours while it's charging? I wish I had that kind of free time!

Mine only take an hour or so to charge (4 at a time) - so maybe look at getting a better charger? Also I don't sit and stare at them. I just sit them on an empty table or something in the same room as me. I figure I'll notice a fire and can grab a fire extinguisher or something before it burns up more than the table.

 

[Mike]

Another solution I've seen people talk about is using ammo cans with a couple holes drilled into it for ventilation. I've got a couple out in the garage I'll use. Something like this:

Also, check out this thread for a vid and a pic of recent battery fires:
http://quadcopterforum.com/threads/batteries-and-their-storage.15042/

I store in lipo-safe bags inside of ammo cans with vent holes drilled in the top. Since I store at storage voltage, I'm not too worried about it blowing the lid off if a battery does go off. I don't regularly charge in them any more though since no one can agree on whether or not the vent holes would relieve enough pressure if a 4S+ charged/charging lipo would still blow the lid off. If I do charge in an ammo can in a pinch, I just leave the lid open and treat it like a BBQ. If it goes off, at least it will (hopefully) stay in the can.

 

[Spork]

I store in lipo-safe bags inside of ammo cans with vent holes drilled in the top. Since I store at storage voltage, I'm not too worried about it blowing the lid off if a battery does go off. I don't regularly charge in them any more though since no one can agree on whether or not the vent holes would relieve enough pressure if a 4S+ charged/charging lipo would still blow the lid off. If I do charge in an ammo can in a pinch, I just leave the lid open and treat it like a BBQ. If it goes off, at least it will (hopefully) stay in the can.

Thanks for that. I like that idea. I just have four 1S at the moment. But I'll definitely start using your advice going forward.

 

[Mike]

Thanks for that. I like that idea. I just have a four 1S at the moment. But I'll definitely start using your advice going forward.

I will charge 1S batteries out in the open as long as I'm around while they charge and I have a bag of sand and a fire extinguisher (for any secondary fires) nearby.