Correct lipo care

[gnr racer]

looking to buy a Hyperion 5 or 4 cell lipo, i want to look after it properly, obviously at the price 1/8th hardcase lipos are.
following a club night i always balance charge my zippy flightmax lipo to full capacity, if i am storing a lipo for a month or more will a balance charge to full capacity be ok or is it better to charge each cell to a certain capacity?

[Jedi Master]

If you're storing them for a while you want to leave them inbetween 50% and 75% full. If you leave them fully charged for a long time they will degrade quicker.

[paulc]

the bantam bc6 charger has a storage setting on it witch chargers the lipos to about 70%

paul

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by paulc

the bantam bc6 charger has a storage setting on it witch chargers the lipos to about 70%

paul

Woo.

It'll also charge higher capacity 5 cell LiPo at nearly 0.5C. Great.

If you aren't going to use it for over a month, discharge it to about 50%-70% capacity, and balance the cells.

If less than a month, I wouldn't worry about leaving it charged.

[gnr racer]

i have the 1st version of the core rc charger, it doesnt have a discharge function.
so basically if using every week-2 weeks just balance charge to full capacity.
if storing for a month or more, charge to 50-70%. i would need something like a battery doctor cell checker & discharger for that?
EDIT- Just ordered this little device, should be handy as my balance port on my 2 cell trakpower has packed up.-
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=10328

[Beanie]

My personal stance on lipo care (And just my opinion of course) is that I balance charge them after each use at 1C completely (I use them at least every 2 weeks). I store them at room temp and use them/charge them at this temp.

Having them room temp apparently reduces internal resistance a touch and so means less chance of puffing during a charge. Batteries kept in a cold shed and then charged are more likely to puff.

If at the track then as my packs can handle up to 5C charge rates then I'll recharge, again on balance mode at about 1.5-2C charge rate.

I set my LVC to 3.4v per cell when bashing to again treat them gentle, but to get more runtime when racing to last a 20 minute final, then I drop this down to 3.0v per cell. After each use then I charge them at home and keep an eye on them, gently balancing at 1C and put the battery in a metal biscuit tin with the lid off, just to be on the safe side.

Likely all this is overkill to some, but for me then hopefully it will safeguard my lipo investment.

[Marvin]

^^Yes, that's a good stance to take on LiPo care.

Some in the US actually pre-warm the batteries before a race, as the internal resistance drops - giving extra power.

[j.m.]

Agreed, quite a few do it. Mainly boat guys who are pulling rediculous currents. I think most go to somewhere between 70*F and 80*F. (room temp)

Jon