dan c 1 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Do you have to use fire bags for liFe batteries? I Have a 1500mah TX batt. Do the same rules as lipos apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Perceived wisdom is that they are pretty safe and no special precautions are required. Having said that, any stored energy source must present a hazard in the wrong circumstances but used sensibly they should be at least as safe as any common consumer item with rechargeable batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan c 1 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Brilliant. Thanks martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 You don't HAVE to use "fire-bags" for charging anything, but of course, you can if you wish. I've been using LiPo and LiFe packs for many years and although some folk use the sacks, I have never bothered - I prefer to keep the packs in view whilst they charge, and just use sensible precautions and have never experienced any issues at all. Some Life cells are the hard can-type cell - like a sub-C nickel or "torch" cell, and these are far more rugged than the soft pouch type which are now appearing more frequently. Same rules? Well the charge algorithm is slightly different, but the charger when set to LiFe will sort that out, and the rest is pretty much the same, charge at 1C normally although many are OK at higher rates - check what the info says on the pack regarding maximum charge and discharge rates. Although they don't tend to go out of balance as much as LiPo do - especially at low current discharge rates such as just radio power - but its still best to balance charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Martin obviously types faster than me ;-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 what rates can you discharge them at ? - does it say on battery ? , having secured one in place thats hard to get too , wanted to balance it in place, can it be done or am i going to have to take it out, its a 6.6v having just looked at picture at HK it says 20c also says 3.4 so what does 20c tell me for discharge and what does 3.4 mean, Edited By iqon on 22/03/2014 13:05:08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 ...or shorter, Tim. Edited By Martin Harris on 22/03/2014 12:59:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 You'll need to check the specification Iqon - if you can't find anything from the supplier/manufacturer you'll need to dig it out to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Martin you are quicker than i can edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispin church Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 some will say no to charging in place i have been doing so for over a year with no problems just remember to have the balance plug so you can get at it a servo lead with the outer sleeve taken off fits both battery and charge i charge 3amp i even use 2cell in my dx6i tx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Put me down as a charger in place, Lipos out but LiFe in. The Turnigy 1700mAHr 2S LiFe rx pack I have in my hand as I type says 20C discharge. Probably optimistic as I doubt the wiring fitted would cope with 34A. 10A maybe, but that would be pushing it (servo connector and JST mini are fitted) erm, if you charge the LiFe softpacks as LiPo they get very warm, warm enough to melt the shrink wrap, and make very strong hot electric smells but the one I cooked didn't explode or burst into flames but was swollen enough to make it very hard to extract from the airframe it was in. It still failed to react when I dropped a brick on it (in the garden of course) Edited By Bob Cotsford on 22/03/2014 14:15:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 don't guess at it Iqon if you are unsure take battery out and check then write bumf inside model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Posted by iqon on 22/03/2014 12:59:17: what rates can you discharge them at ? - does it say on battery ? , having secured one in place thats hard to get too , wanted to balance it in place, can it be done or am i going to have to take it out, its a 6.6v having just looked at picture at HK it says 20c also says 3.4 so what does 20c tell me for discharge and what does 3.4 mean, Edited By iqon on 22/03/2014 13:05:08 I can't see anything with that spec on the HK site but I would assume this is a 3.4 Ah (or 3400 mAh) battery - what you need is the max C charge rate from the data on the site. Then, for example, if it says 5C you can multiply the capacity by 5 (e.g. 3.4 x 5 = 17A) to give the maximum permissible charge rate. Better if you can post a link to your particular battery so that we can confirm what it will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 these are the ones i bought, my mistake , thought it said 3.4, so the 3.0 is for 3000 mah, but if i want to balance, i assume will have to set charger to discharge ? , if so at what rate.......any advice appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 max C charge rate is 5 according to HK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian lawrence 1 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Hi iqon, you will not have to discharge to balance, if the balance plug from the battery is plugged into your charger it will automatically balance whilst charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I somehow doubt those connectors would be happy at 60A discharge! I usually just charge my LiFe at 1C, I find that even after 4 or 5 flights it rarely takes more than 1/2hour to charge them up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispin church Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 not all chargers automatically balance charge i charge then check to see if it needs a balance charge quicker that way if you just balance charge seems to take twice as long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Posted by adrian lawrence 1 on 23/03/2014 06:27:26: Hi iqon, you will not have to discharge to balance, if the balance plug from the battery is plugged into your charger it will automatically balance whilst charging. i like most balance charge every time, doesn't mean they are actually balanced when you check them ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispin church Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 balance charging normally have its own setting some think just because the balance leads plug in and charging thats the battery being balance charged then wonder way theres a difference in cells Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Correct me if I am wrong, I thought the modern checkers had a balance function on them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispin church Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 they do most off them i was trying to get a cross that unless you choose balance charge it dont balance just because balance lead plugged in when in charge mode dont mean cells will be balanced if you see what i mean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Posted by crispin church on 23/03/2014 17:08:19: they do most off them i was trying to get a cross that unless you choose balance charge it dont balance just because balance lead plugged in when in charge mode dont mean cells will be balanced if you see what i mean I was reassuring myself Christian, new to lifes and lipo's seeing if I understood correctly my post came over wrong sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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