Newbie Lipo Charging Qu.

[Bigdawgracer]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to the world of Lipos and could do with a little advice before I plug anything in for the the first time.

I have an Imax B6 charger and a Reedy saddle pack.

The saddles are 7.4v, 5200mah 60c

So I charge these as 2S?

How many amps do I charge them at and for how long?
Is there an auto cut-off when the cells are charged?

I have the balance lead all set up just waiting for a little advice

Apologies for the silly qu's but I don't want a fire blazing.........

Cheers guys.

[OneKiwi]

Charge them at 5.2A = 1C if your charger does that. 5A will work but will take a few minutes longer.

Charge them as 2 cell if you have the bridge balance cable,

Im not really familar with the reedy saddle packs as some have banana plugs some have deans.

[Bigdawgracer]

Thanks for replying.

Charger only goes up to 5.0 amps.
Will that be a problem when charging between heats at my local track?

Do these lipo chargers normally cut-out or is there some other way of telling when the lipo is fully charged?

Thanks again!

[Col]

I don't know anything about your charger, but any self respecting charger uses a specific mode (called cccv or something) that regulates charge amps. It will start charging at min (0.01amps) while it works out how charged the lipo's are, and will increase to maximum (in this case 5.0amps) until voltage hits 8.4v, then reduce down to min to regulate at 8.4v. It should then cut off automatically after a set period of time to prevent overcharging.
Some chargers will auto detect capacity and cell number, some will need it telling to them, but all do the same job at the end of the day.

HTH

[morpheus2010]

I have one of these and you will find that set the Lipo Charge to max = 5a, and Balance charge. When you initiate a charge it does a confirmation check e.g. 2S You have to confirm it. What then happens is the charger ramps up to maximum rate depending on the current unused capacity of the batteries and then slowly drops the charge rate as the peak charge is reached. It then Beeps and displays FULL on the readout and stops charging.

Sensible to use a Lipo bag ( compulsary at BRCA meets ) IMax B6 is a good charger

[blue_pinky]

That kind of charger is like a lot of others, make sure you select a lipo charge mode...and as has already been mentioned, set the charge current to match batteries as closely as you can...under is ok, just a little slower, over is not recommended.

The charger will take care of itself after that, so hit go and wait until it stops automatically.

You'll find that the lipo charge mode, and particularly balance charging, means that if you look at it late on in a charge it'll look like it's not putting much/any current in at all. This is normal...it's just part of the program. The cells are basically charged by that point and just slowly peaking/balancing.

Even if your a little short on current compared to the size/current value of battery, that charger will be fine at a race meeting, mines the same! You'll find you only use around 1500mah during a 5 min race, so even if you don't fully peak/balance your cells between races, you'll get plenty in them for the next race. Even over the course of 4-5 races of slightly short charges you'll never get low enough to worry it! Just make sure you get a full charge in at some point.

Make sure your speedo has a lipo cut off set though...this means you'll never run them down below the cutoff voltage

They really aren't that scary...like any other battery technology/chemistry...respect them and they will be fine!

[mark christopher]

no one else mentioned it you dont need to cycle or dischasrge them

[OneKiwi]

Isn't this how you charge lipos???

[neallewis]

Originally Posted by OneKiwi

Isn't this how you charge lipos???

No, I think he's using the lipo's to jump start the car