Proper LiPo Care?

[JRTIGHE]

Hi everyone,

 

I've just bought a new gun and it came with a 7.4v LiPo, along with what I think is a LiPo charger. I know the information I'm seeking will be all over the Internet, but I'm just looking for practical safety and longevity advice from people on this forum.

 

I've attached images of what I've got.

 

What fire/safety advice should I follow while charging? Is it necessary to discharge the battery? (If so how do I do this...?). If I'm understanding correctly, I plug the mini-tamiya into my gun, but when charging I charge via the other connector? Do I plug the mini-tamiya into anywhere while charging?

 

Finally, is the charger I have high quality enough to be able to be used?

 

Thanks.

 

PS sorry for upside down images.

 

[robbo0070]

make sure the charger is switched to lipo plug in the white connector should only fit one and plug it in.

do not discharge the battery

Do I plug the mini-tamiya into anywhere while charging? no

[Mack]

get a lipo bag to charge it in aswell, or a biscuit tin witha few holes drilled in it.

[Sam_G]

I really dont understand the fear with Lipos. I use them and charge them on kitchen side in no bag or box!

 

I would bin that charger and get a balance charger. Something like a Imax B6. That way it will give a safe balanced charge and wont kill the battery.

[Deva]

Can't tell if that charger has a balance plug on it already though.. doesn't exactly look like a quality bit of kit mind

[Airsoft-Ed]

I have that charger, works fine, been using it about a year, does LiPos and LiFes, nothing's ever gone wrong or exploded.

Just plug stuff in, wait for the green light to stop flashing and Bob's your Uncle.

 

I've never bothered with a bag, once the batteries are done it puts them on a very slow trickle charge. I've left mine on for upwards of 12 hours before when I've forgotten to unplug them and the batteries, charger and surrounding area are all completely fine.

[JRTIGHE]

Yeah - just realised it's this charger: http://www.component-shop.co.uk/html/le-3.html I generally trust anything from Component Shop.

 

Thanks for the help. May invest in a LiPo bag in the near future, and possibly a better charger if one comes up cheap.

[zetec]

My son drives RC cars. Do get a decent charger, Imax B6 is great, we have one and can be run off batteries at site if need be, it will prevent over charging and can also balance cells, we got one off Ebay for less than £25. We charge via the main battery output wires, the smaller plug is to balance the battery. There are a few basics to remember which will keep the cells alive and you safe.

 

Dont over charge, the max should be 4.2v per cell when fully charged.

Dont store cells fully charged if you can help it, they tend to start to swell, try and charge the day before you need them.

Dont run them flat. I have managed to revive some but you do so at your own risk! I did it by charging them as a Nimh untill their voltage reached 3v per cell, then switched back to Lipo charging.

If they start to swell they are passed there best and should not be used. We have one in our garden which is about 1/3 bigger than normal, just trying to look for the best way to dispose of it!

If you have a fire DO NOT THROW WATER ON IT! This will make thing very bad. Charge in a Lipo sack or fire proof container. We always have a bucket of sand at the RC club just in case. That said I've never seen a cell catch on fire.

 

The RC car shops are very good for different cell options, indoor cars normally run hard case batteries which will stand up to a lot of bashing about and might be a good choice if you run an external power supply. Most are also very high output, we run 65C normally, so are well up to airsoft use.

 

Just bought a couple of Turnigy 2 cell 1600mA 20C cells which fit a treat in our Sig 552 MRS and fore grip of MP5, where the 2200 cells were a real squeeze. Used them for 3hrs on Saturday and used about a quarter of their capacity.

[joshcowin]

i dont know why people are so anal about lipos 99% of you have a phone with a lipo in and you put that directly to your cheek,dont get me wrong the must be charged correctly and never be left alone etc but some people think its like a mini nuke.

[TPI]

But it is Except on a Much smaller Scale...

 

LiFe's are the New NiMH/LiPo safer than Both and Put out twice as easily

[Ian_Gere]

Just to be clear, Joe, plug the Balance lead in 1st (the 3 that end in a little white plug), then connect the Tamya connector = good to go.

 

That charger should be totally fine for that battery or 11.1V LiPos.

 

There is a recommended long term storage voltage for LiPos - check the manual or see if there's a downloadable manual if you don't have one. It may have some funky button press combination to switch charging modes.

 

You only need to run charge/discharge cycles if you haven't used it for a while.

 

If that charger doesn't do 'storage mode', just leave your battery uncharged after a skirmish until next time.

 

As zetec says though, you're not supposed to run them flat. Unless you want to invest in a LiPo Alarm to plug in between the battery and your gun, you'll need to pack it in if you notice the ROF slow down. With that in mind, you might want to pick up another battery also, because I know that a single 1450mAh pack would not last me all day. I dunno, maybe you have a NiMh that will fit already for the last couple of games. If not I've got a 1100mAh 7 cell stick which you can have to butcher into any shape you need.