LiPO Storage Level

[jonesy17]

Hi all,

I've just bit the bullet and dipped into the world of LiPOs, and picked up an ASG Balance Charger https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/asg-lipolife-auto-stop-battery-charger-uk-version

It seemed to have very good reviews and so I grabbed one on a recent trip to FireSupport. 

One thing it doesn't seem to have though is the ability to charge up/discharge down to ideal storage voltage. 

Keen to hear from anyone using LiPOs about how the achieve that using chargers without this feature. 

Maybe you use a lipo alarm to manually check voltage of each cell and charge up/down accordingly (another question of which LiPO alarm everyone recommends?). 

Just charge up a bit and store the LiPOs as is. 

Or maybe everyone just uses a LiPO charger that has the functionality that my charger doesn't?

Just keep reading horror stories that is making me become more and more cautious about storage, charging, etc. 

I currently have the LiPO stored in its plastic container, inside a LiPO bag, inside a metal tin. Stored above my kitchen cabinets so it's out of the reach of the kids, and in a place that is always roughly at room temperature. 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dan Robinson]

My Skymax B6 charger has a storage feature which takes the battery up or down to where it needs to be.   Trying to remember how I did it before getting that charger - probably not very well.

Can you not send it back and get one with the storage feature?

Voltage to store at obviously depends on the rating of the battery.

 

[Rogerborg]

It's not something that I'm particularly diligent about, given that a lipo costs about the same as a bottle of BBs.

Just charge up a bit and store the LiPOs as is.

That, really.  Store them partially charged, not fully charged or discharged.  i generally swap batteries at lunchtime which leave me with two partially discharged batteries, then I'll just leave them until charging the night before the next game.  The only time I'll do a storage charge is if I forget to swap and end up with a significantly discharged battery (or I forget to take the 2nd one out and leave it overnight with a MOSFET leeching away at it).

 

[jonesy17]

Thanks very much both. 

I bought it in person at fire support, and it's a bit of a trek from me just to return it. 'only' paid £25 so I guess I could keep it as a spare and look out for a good deal on a skymax, skyRC or similar. 

And do as you do Roger for now, give it a bit of a charge up before storage but not to full charge. 

I'm thinking of getting a LiPO alarm too, and those read out the voltage for each cell I believe. So I guess I could also use that as a rough indicator before storage for whether I need to charge a bit more or drain a bit. 

Thanks again both. Bricking it with LiPOs!

 

[EDcase]

Storage charge is only really needed if they will be unused for months. 

To calculate rough charge time of a battery from flat you take the mAh of the battery and divide by the charging rate (mA) of the charger to get the time in hours.

Looking at the manual for your charger, its rated at 3A max (which is bull) so we'll go with 1.5A which is 1500mA

So take the mAh of your battery and divide by 1500 to get a rough idea of a full charge in hours.

Just divide that time in half to get a storage charge (if the battery is nearly flat)

Storing isn't really dangerous.  Keeping them in a tin is good.

Charging is the potentially dangerous time so make sure to keep it on a baking tray or tin (without closing the lid) while charging and never leave it overnight.

A simple meter is good to get an idea of the charge levels.  

 

[jonesy17]

Thank you!! This is reassuring. I really appreciate it. 

I was going to say that my batteries will probably sit for months between games, with trying to find a free weekend to play and leaving my wife to fend for herself with the kids for a day, but I've just found a relatively local site that does an evening game a few times a week, at the Department CQB. Might have to give that a go and give the RIF a run out with a LiPO for the first time!

Thanks again!

 

[EDcase]

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