Charging at More Than 1C
 

More and more Lipo's now say you can charge them at more than 1C (I have 1 which says 6C!), what impact does charging at over 1c have, is it dangerous? Shortens life a little/lot? Any other effect!?

Also, should it be at a specific rate or doesn't it matter, eg if I have a 5000mah pack which says max charge is 2C does it matter whether I charge at 6/8/10A etc?

I have also asked the same question dave and so far the only answers I have got back contradict each other, I guess the only drawback may well be reduced cycle life if charging at high amp rates I would also guess a pack would go nuclear faster at 6C than 1C although I cannot prove either, My current packs are still rated at max 2C charge but i still use 1C not a big deal but 1C is 5 amps 2C is 10 amps quite a difference.

No performance benefit, just shorter charge times.

In the instructions for my LRP VETC 4800 saddles they recommend that they are charged at 10 amps!

I see most chargers only goto 5A anyway. My overloader goes to 8A, but since I charge up the day before there's no rush.

This is taken from trakpowers site.

Normal charge rates for a LiPo pack are 1C (1 x Capacity in Amps) this will take around 1 hour, TrakPower packs are capable of being fast charged at up to 2C with a TrakPower V-Balancer or other certified balance charger.

2c is not something I would do, as on other sites it claims charging a lipo at more than 1c decreases the life of the battery.
As said in other posts not many chargers go above 5amps anyway, so just charge them a few days before the event if time is an issue but for safety always use a lipo bag.

Can anybody explain why charging at more than 1C reduces lipo life?
Will charging at 1/2 C make my cells last even longer?

trakpower is no more

the companies cells are now traktech
http://www.energonsolutions.co.uk/Pr...riesID=1898056

as soon as the new cells are here I will be sending them to the EB for homlogation

Yes
 

Most modern Lipo packs can be safely charged at 2c. i also fly planes and heli's and some packs can be charged at 5c with little degradation in cycle life. I even have one that can be charged at 10c which is a 2200mah 3s pack which would require 250w charging power to do so :P

hope this helps

Brett

The best advice i can give is charge "at least at 1c" but if you need your pack quicker then charge higher only if you have too. It wont affect performance in the model but it will affect its lifecycles.