Charging Lipo's for Dummies

[cAptainslow]

Seeing as though said title doesnt seem to be in the top 10 at smiths, here is a daft question regarding charging Lipos for a novice...

I have never charged lipos before and i am slightly concerned about the possibility of losing my eyebrows in a flash of chemical horribleness

I have a Core RC UDC20 charger and some Core rc 3250 packs, normally i would just follow the instructions but to be honest they are about as much use as T*ts on a fish!

1: The pack says 1c 2 cells(?), i have set the charge current to 3.3A...is that ok?

2: I presume the voltage should be set to 4.2v per cell so 8.4V... .ok??

3: Do i use the same figures when ballancing?

4: How the hell do I know when they are done...I pressume it will knock off when complete but it reaches 8.4v and doesnt, then i start to sweat a little and hide behind my welding screen for a bit then knock it off manualy!?!

I know its lame but I aint got a clue to be honest.

Help appreciated!!

cAp'nslo

[mark christopher]

3.3 amps is fine
2s so should be 7.4 per pack, peak cut off 8.4, the charge will not terminate at 8.4 volts initially, the voltage will remain at 8.4 and the amps will drop slowly to zero, lipo charges ant CV (constant volts) not as nimh where it keeps putting max amps in until the cells are charged

[cAptainslow]

Cheers Mark, so should i drop the voltage setting down to 7.4 and expect it to switch off eventualy when the amps drop low enough?

[JJ The Boat Wizzard]

If You Put Your Charger In LiPo Model Select 3.3A And Select Go It Should Cut Off Automaticly You Shouldnt Need To Set The Cut Off Voltage Apart From When Discharging and theres no need for that with lipos unless your cycling them

Hope This Helps
John

[N7ELA]

Originally Posted by cAptainslow

Cheers Mark, so should i drop the voltage setting down to 7.4 and expect it to switch off eventualy when the amps drop low enough?

Nah you can put 10 volts in your lipos and not cause any bother. But just leave it on 8.4, C is the unit of charge in coulombs.

One coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported in one second by a steady current of one ampere.

[cAptainslow]

Excellent, thanks very much. I can now remove my gauntlets and welding screen!!

[bodgit]

also to be on the safe side get yourself a lipo bag for about £10 if they ever do go off it will contain them, You,ll need one anyway if you are going to charge them at a meeting.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by N7ELA

Nah you can put 10 volts in your lipos and not cause any bother. But just leave it on 8.4, C is the unit of charge in coulombs.

One coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported in one second by a steady current of one ampere.

think if you try that you may well loose your place at a meeting and loose your brca licence, its NOT safe to put 10 volts into a 2s lipo pack they will go up in flames..................... highly danjerous to do that

the "c" rating refers to capacity, so a 5000mah pack with a charge rate of 1c would be 5 amps.


not sure where your getting your info, but its bolloxs, please dont post stuff on here that will endanjer others.

[DCM]

Originally Posted by N7ELA

Nah you can put 10 volts in your lipos and not cause any bother. But just leave it on 8.4, C is the unit of charge in coulombs.

One coulomb is the amount of electric charge transported in one second by a steady current of one ampere.

never post whilst being

a) intoxicated, or
b) under the influence of an illegal substance!!!

As for LiPo bags, I am still very unconvinced in LiPo bags, I understand their use and what they do, but personally, as long as the charger is correct, then that bit is safe, it is in the use in a car I would bet more worried about!

[ads0021]

Has anyone had a lipo go on them? I've seen them on youtube but always on purpose. Has anyone had one go through normal use? I've seen or had friends see about 6-8 intelect cells explode. And I mean EXPLODE! But I've yet to hear of a lipo going. Judging by the hype that's been going around we're all lucky to be alive being in the same room as a lipo!!!!