Do I need to use a balance board?

[RandomConflict]

Hi guys,

Just wondered whether for 2s LiPo balancing, the actual balance board is needed? The idea I had was to route the balancing leads from the battery directly into the plug which inserts into my charger, making it easier to fit the LiPo into the LiPo bag, not having the bulky balance board to accomodate.

Does the LiPo Balance Board literally just route the balance leads to the correct locations into the charger? Or does it have another function besides this? I only ever charge 2s LiPos for my 2wd/4wd buggies so never use any of the other connectors on the board.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Alex

[metalmickey0]

Not sure wether i can help, but i`ve never used a balance board but just plugged the lead into the correct socket on my charger. Admittedly there are 5 sockets on my charger to pick from so no board is needed. Plus i bought an extension lead for my balancing lead so its a lot longer. I can then shove the battery and leads into the lipo sack with no probs.

[Neil Skull]

Hi Alex,

Its possible you dont need the board.
The function of it is to adapt the balance connector on your charger to the one to fit your battery. It could be a different connector type or just giving you more choice of voltage packs! Ie some chargers only have a 6s socket so you need a board for any other size pack. but if your charger has a 2s socket and your battery has same connector then it is safe to plug directly into charger.

[adon30]

Alex, I never balance charge trackside. It's not necessary. I rarely balance at home either and make just check cells every couple of months. For all my packs of cells none of them are more than 10mV apart even with all the cycles they've done.
So if you have no balance board or lead they will fit in your lipo sack no problem.

If your at the cov mam next week and want any further info just pop over.

[RandomConflict]

Thanks for your help guys! Had a play around tonight and managed to link the 2s LiPo balance connector from my cells directly into the balance board port of my charger (the orion advantage touch, so only has a 7 pin connector in to the side of the charger). Just removed the 4 unnecessary wires from the 7 pin balance board connector and re-soldered the 2s LiPo connector from the balance board onto the 3 remaining wires. Now I have a link cable connecting my LiPo balance lead and my charger. I have probably made that sound pretty complicated but its a pretty simple solution and looks pretty neat and LiPos fit in charging bag nice and easy! Will try and get some pictures uploaded this weekend.

In the case of balancing the cells each charge, in fairly new to using LiPos as things changed dramatically in the time I was out of the sport. Are they pretty reliable things that don't need balance charging all the time? Heard stories of people's cells puffing up because their aren't balanced so try and balance every charge. Not having to balance trackside would make things easier!

Thanks again guys :thumbsup:

[mattr]

Alex, I never balance charge trackside.And on the flip side, i balance every time, as the less out of balance they are, the less time it takes to balance...... i reckon it adds a couple of minutes to charge times (from what poor checking i've done)

[adon30]

And on the flip side, i balance every time, as the less out of balance they are, the less time it takes to balance...... i reckon it adds a couple of minutes to charge times (from what poor checking i've done)

It will take longer to balance charge than not. If you charge your cells unbalanced and then check the balance. If they are not balanced then something is wrong with one of the cells. At this point it's probably to late to correct and no amount of continual balancing will help. On top of a fault with the cells you can easily get drops of a few mV across the length of a wire or a connection or even a balance board. This could result in descrepencies of several 100mv and the charger would then try to correct the cells to this.

The cells I have I do not balance charge. I only plug the balancer and check occasionally to confirm that none of the cells are faulty. So not balancing and allow the cells to settle at there natural point is my preferred method as its only usually a few mV anyway.
Ever since it was mentioned by a top driver in our region it has made sense. There are also top drivers on here who have mentioned it. ( you will have to search for quotes though).

If you believe forcing your cells so they are only a few mv apart helps prolong there life then balance charge. The real test on the cells however is on discharge and the current pulled whilst driving. That will all be down to motor, gearing, temperature, wiring, connections etc.
I've seen cells puff up but the more reason versions seem to be a lot better.

[raymondkerr]

With the orion touch charger that has a seperate balance board that plugs into the charger independantly of the battery red/black cables. I tried not using this board at all, just wanting go charge my 2s lipos without the board, but it never worked, the software under 2s lipo charge was looking for the balance board??? Wondering myself if theres a way to charge without the hassle of all the extra wires and balance board??

[jo90]

I balance charge every time i charge. This keeps the cells in way better condition than not. I have 2 sets of Demon cells that are now over 4 years old and still very very good in condition.

The point of balancing is simply to keep the cells in a closer match to each other for peak voltage and capacity. Similar to when we used to charge Nicad and Nimh its about making sure each cell 'peaks' at the same point.

I do know of a few who don't balance charge, but they buy new cells every year. I on the other hand have cells in as good a condition that are 2years+ now (these being my IP cells) and again these are balanced each time.

I would go by balancing each charge to simply add that additional lifetime to the battery.

[RandomConflict]

With the orion touch charger that has a seperate balance board that plugs into the charger independantly of the battery red/black cables. I tried not using this board at all, just wanting go charge my 2s lipos without the board, but it never worked, the software under 2s lipo charge was looking for the balance board??? Wondering myself if theres a way to charge without the hassle of all the extra wires and balance board??


It is possible to charge using the Orion Touch without balancing by simply connecting the LiPo directly to the charger without using the balance leads/boards. You just have to ensure that on the menu before you begin to charge, the option for 'balancing' is turned off :).

Although it sounds as though there isn't really a need to balance each time, with the new lead I have made I think I'll stick with balancing each time. Charge times aren't really an issue as I have a few LiPo's I use and have plenty of time to charge in between races. It's like anything I suppose, the more technology advances as time goes on, the better it becomes, and I can imagine that LiPo's will continue to improve (Although they are already a vast improvement over NiMH :thumbsup:)