Lipo charging

[Fugi94]

hi ive finally come round to charging my lipo battery but i am unsure of what to do i have a imax b6ac and a 7.4v 2400mah lipo should a balance charge or not?

[RR01]

You only EVER charge Lipos via the small white balance charge lead, never via the Deans / Tamiya type lead that you use to connect the Lipo to the gun. Your charger should then cut out once the Lipo is fully charged. Also, NEVER let the Lipo drop below 6V (3V per cell) otherwise you are likely to damage it and it will not easily recover. Always disconnect a Lipo from the gun after each game, to make sure there is no small current drain within the gun's circuitry, as that can drain the battery as well.

[TheGrover]

All lipo chargers should balance the cells, check that your charger is a balancing charger and always connect via the balancer plug (with three wires going into it)

[Fugi94]

You only EVER charge Lipos via the small white balance charge lead, never via the Deans / Tamiya type lead that you use to connect the Lipo to the gun. Your charger should then cut out once the Lipo is fully charged. Also, NEVER let the Lipo drop below 6V (3V per cell) otherwise you are likely to damage it and it will not easily recover. Always disconnect a Lipo from the gun after each game, to make sure there is no small current drain within the gun's circuitry, as that can drain the battery as well.

so you are saying i should store this partially charged?

[TheGrover]

so you are saying i should store this partially charged?

You may as well charge them fully, then top them up just before a game, like a gas mag

[springs]

I've always been told and even seen loads of videos of people using both the balance connector and plugging in the main connector as well.

 

My quad copter came with it's own charger which was only via the balance board, took about 8 hours or so to charge for about 10 minutes flight. eventually got the adapters to plug the other connector into my smart charger and it now charges in no time at all.

[Fugi94]

i have a problem i dont know what do do from here as these connectors are different do i need to buy an adapter

[Fugi94]

or do i have to do something with the crocodile clips

[springs]

If your charger is new, it should come with an adapter from large tamiya to small tamiya

[TheGrover]

Where is your balance lead in the photo? Whether the juice goes through the tamiya or not, you need to balance the cells using this lead else one cell will grow unstable over time and goose the battery, or worse.

 

The charger should have a socket which accepts the balance plug, as its impossible to balance the battery using just two wires, the third wire on the balancer sits between the cells so the charger can measure the voltage of each cell

[Fugi94]

If your charger is new, it should come with an adapter from large tamiya to small tamiya

it didnt

[Fugi94]

what exactly do i need as in male and female connectors is it a tamiya (not sure what gender) to mini tamiya (not sure what gender)

[Fugi94]

will this work?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAVERICK-ION-XB-1-18-TRUGGY-MV28059-BATTERY-CONNECTOR-ADAPTER-TAMIYA-TO-MINI-TAM-/351201733410?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item51c5412b22

[Mr Monkey Nuts]

Have you actually read the instructions that come with the charger?

 

http://www.pololu.com/file/download/iMAXB6ACmanual.pdf?file_id=0J525

[Fugi94]

Have you actually read the instructions that come with the charger?

 

http://www.pololu.com/file/download/iMAXB6ACmanual.pdf?file_id=0J525

yes but i still think i require a tamiya to mini tamiya adapter?

[RR01]

yes but i still think i require a tamiya to mini tamiya adapter?

No, at least not for the Lipo. Just plug the small white lead with three wires going into it into the equivalent sized socket in the right side of the charger (see the instructions on the link supplied by Mr Monkey Nuts - it shows you where the sockets are). My Lipo charger, a dirt cheap one from Componentshop, charges my 2400mAh Lipos in about 25 mins from about 7V initial charge, so anything much longer should not be necessary, or your charger isn't working properly. You definitely don't need to plug in the main lead as well.

[Fugi94]

No, at least not for the Lipo. Just plug the small white lead with three wires going into it into the equivalent sized socket in the right side of the charger (see the instructions on the link supplied by Mr Monkey Nuts - it shows you where the sockets are). My Lipo charger, a dirt cheap one from Componentshop, charges my 2400mAh Lipos in about 25 mins from about 7V initial charge, so anything much longer should not be necessary, or your charger isn't working properly. You definitely don't need to plug in the main lead as well.

finding that very hard to comprehend in the instruction manual for balenced charge it says in need the out put plugged into the charger as well as the balance sockets

[Fugi94]

if i buy the adapter will the charger work?

[n1ckh]

That other charger lead you have is to charge your battery from a 12v car battery

 

If you dont have a lead with a Tamiya connector at on end and a mini Tamiya connector at the other end ? Then yes you need that adapter lead

To charge your battery

 

1 - program setting, you can set your MAH rating here and the charger will cut off at that point (mag is on the battery)

2 - battery type, choose lipo and choose 7.4v

3 - choose balance charge, always balance

4 - charging rate, I charge my lipos at half there MAH

rating so a 1600 MAH lipo will be charged at 0.8a

5 - push and hold the start button until you here a beep, this will say 'checking' or something like it so you press the start button again and it will start charging

[Fugi94]

That other charger lead you have is to charge your battery from a 12v car battery

 

If you dont have a lead with a Tamiya connector at on end and a mini Tamiya connector at the other end ? Then yes you need that adapter lead

To charge your battery

 

1 - program setting, you can set your MAH rating here and the charger will cut off at that point (mag is on the battery)

2 - battery type, choose lipo and choose 7.4v

3 - choose balance charge, always balance

4 - charging rate, I charge my lipos at half there MAH

rating so a 1600 MAH lipo will be charged at 0.8a

5 - push and hold the start button until you here a beep, this will say 'checking' or something like it so you press the start button again and it will start charging

thank you

[Shortenhauzen]

I have just bought the Accucell 6 charger and even with the instructions struggled a bit to work out what to do. Got there in the end but as with the OP my instructions said to use the main plug ( deans in my case ) aswell as the balance lead / plug. When i ordered mine though there was an option to add extra adaptors so i added the deans one.

 

Mine took about 50 minutes to charge ( 7.4v 2000 mah 20c )

[n1ckh]

@ fugi94 - no problem buddy, we all started there mate and i hope my little pointers help you into understanding and using your charger

 

Time to charge sounds about right, of you charge to fast, it can heat up the battery

 

That type of charger, you always use the JST plug (the white plug) as the charger uses it to monitor each cell as it charges and the battery connector (the power leads) as the current flows into the battery while charging

 

People always struggle at first but the more you use the charger and its features, the easier and simpler it becomes

[Samurai]

You may as well charge them fully, then top them up just before a game, like a gas mag

 

Don't do that. If you charge it fully and store it that way, eventually the lipo will get puffy.

Use it at the game, don't overuse it (don't use it until the gun gets slow) and store it until the next game - if it's within about 2 months. Charge it fully before the game.

If you use it too much so the gun gets slower, then charge it on the "store" setting. It charges the batery up to about 60% capacity if I remember correctly.

[TheGrover]

 

Don't do that. If you charge it fully and store it that way, eventually the lipo will get puffy.

Really? Shouldnt the natural decay of charge just gently bring the charge down anyway?

[Samurai]

Lipos hold the charge for quite long. Much longer than NiMh. Keeping them fully charged puts stress on them, hence the "store" setting on lipo chargers.