LiPos and safety with batteries

[team flex]

As many of you are aware, I am new to airsoft. I love the sport already, and have bagged myself: combat kit from CCF including, army boots, army combats (top bottom and smock) and a tactical vest kind of thing. I also have: glasses and for when i skirmish, a full face mask. Finally, I have a two tone G&G cm16 carbine, and a 7.4v crane stock LiPo with what I believe to be a smart charger.

 

I want to A) have immense fun, obviously, but want to play safe with batteries etc. I have come into contact with LiPos before, however I have no knowledge to be honest of them.

I know you aren't meant to drain the battery out too much, and if you hit them with a stick they will blow up. However, will the charger stop charging when it is full? And how long will that roughly take. Also, what happens if you drop a lipo. To me, that looks like a similar effect to smacking it, but is it true.

Finally, what happens if the LiPo comes into contact with water? Obviously I won't be running it under a tap, but the cranestock on my gun has holes in the top. Should I do anything about this?

BTW: will the charger in the link charge my battery straight out of the box, and is mini tamiya what I was meant to choose for the battery?

 

Thanks everybody for your contribution, and this doesn't just have to be for me. I'm sure many people don't actually know some of these questions, so feel free to ask them yourself! happy airsofting!

 

Charger: http://www.componentshop.co.uk/accucel-6-digital-charger.html

 

 

Battery: http://www.componentshop.co.uk/7-4v-2600mah-cranestock-battery.html

 

 

 

 

 

[Lord_Metile]

LiPo stands for lithium polymer and it will blow up if you touch it. Just joking, but on a serious note. If you drop a LiPo, it'll be fine unless you smash it on the ground. If there are any dents then you're buggered. Water will mess up any battery. Don't run it under a tap but it should be fine in the rain. I mean, that's what they're designed for.

[team flex]

ok thanks for the info

[Sitting Duck]

you got a 12v psu for the charger ???

 

coz I can see you have spent £50+ for battery & charger but still need a seperate 12v power supply

or you won't be charging battery up just yet without 12v for lipo charger

description says it needs a 12v supply - thought they would of chucked one in

 

you gun most likely will be mini tamiya - the usual type for most starter guns

hi end or custom builds may use deans - but mini tamiya is most common battery type

unless you have a really big chunky mother battery - which will probably be large tamiya

 

If you don't have the 12v psu for charger have a look around your house first....

 

you may have an old 12v psu plug type for say an old pc router/modem, answer machine,

or something like that BUT - big BUT - no not my Ar$e, but check the polarity and amps of psu

if it is up to the job in MA or Milliamps & the +/- connector

"usually" - the positive is the centre pin and negative is outer ring but you need to check this

or get somebody to double check it with you just in case you blow it up reversing the polarity

 

double check psu symbol against the requirements of charger - and double/triple check before switching on

[team flex]

wait, i thought 12v power supply = 3pin into the double pronged thingy (dat description) which you can plug into your playstation etc? if so, I have 100s of them

[Sitting Duck]

Going by description it says

 

Requires external 12V dc input - which to me says 12v power supply required

 

the 2 holes seen in 2nd pic is an OUTPUT +/-

Can't see jack $hit of any other sides of charger in pictures

 

your ps3 power cable is a figure 8 power lead - 2 pins from mains and prior to ps3 slim was used for old retro radio/cassette players

the other phat ps3 is refered to as kettle lead or pc lead 3 pins from mains

 

I can only go by description but if there is a connector that looks like ps3 slim fig 8 power input and also instructions saying mains input

then you are fine - though desription is not quite up to date then coz says you req 12v input

 

I have 3 lipo chargers - 2 take 12v input and anothe takes mains input

 

Update:

 

Just had a look around and an old NetGear Router psu works fine it seems

is the right connector, and is 12v correct polarity and 1.5amp

 

so something like that could get you out of the $hit if needed

[Lozart]

Just buy the one in this link instead: http://www.componentshop.co.uk/accucel-6-digital-charger-3282.html

 

It's the same charger but including the mains power brick.

[Sitting Duck]

sorry but now you are getting onto £70 inc post for battery n charger just to power your gun

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vapex-Airsoft-25C-LiPo-Cranestock-Battery-LiPo-Charger-LP305-7-4V-2600mAh-/400701716295?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Paintballing&hash=item5d4baef747

 

is one option but reckon I could get that a lot cheaper if using a single block battery & a cheaper charger

[CaptainSwoop]

Power input will be a round single pin plug. check the device it will give the voltage and ampage

You need a power supply with the same voltage and the same or higher ampage

[Sitting Duck]

well you can use a lower amp psu - I mean I ain't got a 3800 mah 12v psu

just will take longer for bigger batteries like the monster life one I got

 

also in "theory" - and on some chargers you can use 10~15v psu as the voltage regulator

in the charger will take it down to the req voltage - but that will or should say on charger itself

 

The problem is when you are for example using say a regulator circuit of 5v

input of 5.5v is not good idea as the 5v output will be around 4.5v or less

but a bit more over the output eg: 7.5v upwards is better

think the voltage reulator chip itself could take in up to near 18v but of course that all depends

on the manufactures specification in the pdf etc....

 

soz - getting a bit ott on tech side and as we are talking about various chargers and makes who

knows what the exact safe input range would be - so most makers say just 12v

(I am not saying all will operate in the 10v to 15v range but in THEORY they should have a little bit either way)

 

Soz for electronic lessons - but c'mon you getting near £70 for battery - jeez

shame Pro Airsoft Supplies ran out or stopped doing the starter kit of gun & battery/charger mask & bb's for £120

ok not lipo but would of got you started and gentle on your wallet

 

http://www.proairsoftsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/cm16_transparent_starter_pack.html#SID=239

 

if this is not the gun you bought then ignore what I say - everybody else in my house ignores me too

[Lozart]

Or...y'know you could just not keep half arsing everything and do the job properly.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-IMAX-B6AC-Balancing-Charger300mAh/dp/B00GGBC8WA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1402654894&sr=8-7&keywords=B6+charger

 

That's the charger I have. Does LiPo/LiFE/NiMh/NiCd, balance charging and takes mains power. £30 job done.

[Sitting Duck]

I've seen them but didn't realise they did all batteries and took mains and dc input

not a bad price too looking at all leads you get and the cloverleaf mains lead too

(is that 11v to 15v dc input or 11 to 18v dc input it says on input side - like I said there is a bit of give n take on dc input)

 

might have got one if I had known before hand

now ended up with 2 x smart NiMH chargers

and 2 x 7.4v/11.1v lipo's

plus 1 x 7.4v lipo

 

To the OP - if you are going to TWA Saturday - I will loan ya battery for the day and loan you my 7.4v lipo charger until

next time or just a 12v psu that should fit your one, the NetGear 12v 1500mah you can borrow it should fit

 

I mean stone me you have gone a bit nutz & if you still need to get a psu - jeez

 

Serious genuine offer - I will be there in morning dropping off my son and probably playing in afternoon

[Lozart]

I've seen them but didn't realise they did all batteries and took mains and dc input

not a bad price too looking at all leads you get and the cloverleaf mains lead too

(is that 11v to 15v dc input or 11 to 18v dc input it says on input side - like I said there is a bit of give n take on dc input)

 

might have got one if I had known before hand

now ended up with 2 x smart NiMH chargers

and 2 x 7.4v/11.1v lipo's

plus 1 x 7.4v lipo

 

To the OP - if you are going to TWA Saturday - I will loan ya battery for the day and loan you my 7.4v lipo charger until

next time or just a 12v psu that should fit your one, the NetGear 12v 1500mah you can borrow it should fit

 

I mean stone me you have gone a bit nutz & if you still need to get a psu - jeez

 

Serious genuine offer - I will be there in morning dropping off my son and probably playing in afternoon

 

 

There's two versions of that charger, the B6 is DC in only, the B6AC is dual power. Just need to be careful which one you get!

[TacMaster]

wait, i thought 12v power supply = 3pin into the double pronged thingy (dat description) which you can plug into your playstation etc? if so, I have 100s of the

 

If you bought the charger I linked a while ago, it's £12 for the charger as well as the PSU- and it's great as a basic charger. I've had mine since April and I've had literally no issues with it or with LiPo batteries.

 

And reading the first post, i literally face palmed- you seem to be basing your knowledge of LiPo safety off videos and data from the internet where testers go out and purposefully try to break/destroy the batteries to see how durable they are. If you treat the battery right and don't overcharge it you should be fine. The battery you linked should charge safely in about 1.6-2 hours

[team flex]

ok, this is kind of awkard. I have already bought hose items in the link. I'm sure the block power has the same connector as another thing, so I will dig around.

[team flex]

http://trust.com/en/all-products/17566-90w-laptop-charger--black

 

 

this is my laptop cahrger. I think the first (lowest) connector could work with the charger for my lipo?

[Sitting Duck]

like I said charger will PROBABLY work within range of 10 to 15v

the positive is most likely the center pin polarity - very important to check

the size of connector may or not be the same size

 

but it is a common fitting so you may find something lying around

 

laptop chargers though can be anywhere from 15v to 20v usually

my acer is a 19v & fujitsu is a 20v - which might be pushing it a bit

maybe an old pc or tv lcd may have a 12v seperate psu

(some older tv/monitors had a psu rather than mains cable)

 

if you get stuck & may go to LWA then lmk or pm me & will try to help ya out like I said

[team flex]

yeah don't worry talked to lozart. I can change the volts on my charger, so will use around 15v i think

[CaptainSwoop]

well you can use a lower amp psu - I mean I ain't got a 3800 mah 12v psu

just will take longer for bigger batteries like the monster life one I got

No, if the PSU is lower ampage than the device you are trying to power it will overheat.

[CaptainSwoop]

like I said charger will PROBABLY work within range of 10 to 15v

the positive is most likely the center pin polarity - very important to check

the size of connector may or not be the same size

 

but it is a common fitting so you may find something lying around

 

laptop chargers though can be anywhere from 15v to 20v usually

my acer is a 19v & fujitsu is a 20v - which might be pushing it a bit

maybe an old pc or tv lcd may have a 12v seperate psu

(some older tv/monitors had a psu rather than mains cable)

 

if you get stuck & may go to LWA then lmk or pm me & will try to help ya out like I said

 

Stop saying things like this you don't know that the device he is trying to power will work anywhere between 10 to 15v.

 

If the device wants 12v then get a proper 12v charger of the correct rating.

[Lozart]

 

Stop saying things like this you don't know that the device he is trying to power will work anywhere between 10 to 15v.

 

If the device wants 12v then get a proper 12v charger of the correct rating.

 

Classic case of RTFM. The listing on Component shop clearly states that the charger requires input power of 11-18V DC at 5A or more.

[CaptainSwoop]

 

Classic case of RTFM. The listing on Component shop clearly states that the charger requires input power of 11-18V DC at 5A or more.

 

But Sitting Duck posted

 

like I said charger will PROBABLY work within range of 10 to 15v

 

This implies he doesn't know and is guessing.

[Sitting Duck]

post delelted as I got it off my chest and all that

not gonna get into a row as I am still new but was only trying to help

 

unless anyone has the exact same model and wants to run tolerance tests

No I do not know but I am not gonna say YES IT WILL WORK WITH ANY VOLTAGE

 

THAT WOULD BE THE WRONG ANSWER

 

I said it might and check

 

hell I don't give a crap if he pays another £25 or so for a shut the f*ck up psu

he should still check polarity or his now £100 voltage kit could be a bit of a mess

 

Most chargers or psu have the center as the Positive pin/socket

 

Nope I best shut up coz I don't know what I am on about

You win - I don't wanna get banned just yet if I really speak my mind

[Lozart]

post delelted as I got it off my chest and all that

 

not gonna get into a row as I am still new but was only trying to help

 

No need for a row. All it took was a quick look at the link provided. No drama.

[Sitting Duck]

 

No need for a row. All it took was a quick look at the link provided. No drama.

I know that the actual Voltage regulator components - the ST make can take a hell lot more volts than you would expect

Some can take up to 30v dc and output to 9v - that is quite a bit of tolerance - but each regulator will have its own pdf

These are static regulators - there are variable regulators but only needed this type of volt reg & a few capacitors to stabilise it

 

I have researched this stuff when putting together some electronic circuits so I do know a tiny little bit

 

And is true when input voltage gets close to output voltage

eg: 5.5v input for a 5v output is bad coz output drops to 4.5v - the regulator circuit don't work too good

 

Boring bit and completely off-topic but

one project was taking a 18v psu & outputting to 12v & 5v supplys

 

12v was counter with npn photcell that would trigger a custom batch

the pulse from say 100 batch would then trigger a 5v MOSFET - think that was Negative MOSFET - they come in both types

The 5v MOSFET would activate a solenoid air valve at 18v to spray a silicone lubricant onto the machine to keep it running smooth

 

The time or number of objects passing counter could be adjusted and the dwell or delay in the pulse signal for long or shorter spray

(as well as an air regulator for the badger spray gun filled with silicon & repostition or add another spray gun)

 

They above saved machine operator ( ME ) running up & down with expensive cans of silicon

instead cheaper bulk 5 litre can would last a lifetime

 

Health & Safety - proper ventilation was required as silicon breathing is not good but allowed us to precisely control silicon to minimun - operator free

(plastic sheets were used to keep mist away from us but in the end it was so little being used to get job done)

 

Sorry - I know nothing I will just shut up to avoid giving wrong advice

 

No I an not an electrical enginneer but always tinkered with electrics/soldering/programming before i bought my ZX81