Charles Pic Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Interesting topic this. I'm using 30C lipos in my transmitter and as the power drawn is small a single charge could last me 2-3 months depending how much flying I'm doing. Having read this thread I'm wondering whether I should henceforth charge my transmitter lipo only to 4.0V per cell (or other similar level) to gain a longer service life on the batteries and avoid the upper part of the voltage range at the expense of charging more frequently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wright Stuff Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 As far as I'm concerned, this whole argument just boils down to personal requirements, and value of time versus money. As Matty says, it is good to have factual information, from reliable sources. However, how that information is then used by individuals is largely down to whether the return (longer life) on investment (the time spent) is worth it to the individual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Posted by The Wright Stuff on 22/03/2017 12:53:34: As far as I'm concerned, this whole argument just boils down to personal requirements, and value of time versus money. As Matty says, it is good to have factual information, from reliable sources. However, how that information is then used by individuals is largely down to whether the return (longer life) on investment (the time spent) is worth it to the individual. Yep, completely agree - if all I had were low C rated 3S 2200s or under I would not worry so much, but once you move up to the big 6S packs at £60-100 each then caring for them suddenly becomes a lot more important! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Posted by Rich2 on 21/03/2017 19:35:49: PS - Despite using almost exclusively cheapo motors I have never had an electric motor do this either... haha! yes, but batteries require regular maintenance, and the issues you mentioned for IC are one off's. I have never maintained a lipo in my life! I just charge em, use em then discharge any spares I didn't fly back to storage. Does the last step count as "maintenance"? I don't think of it like that, but I suppose some people might. If you do though you should many more similar tasks associated with IC that don't apply to electrics (charging glow sticks and starters, wiping down the model, removing fuel from the tank, applying after-run etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Agreed. If you sat down and added up all the charge and discharge time and compare it to the pre and post flight routine in IC I concede there would be more time spent on "care" tasks with electric. Electric though is almost "maintenance" free in my experience - in 7 years of electric flying I've only ever had one component go bad (a £7 motor whose bearings failed; I replaced the whole thing, it was easier and cheaper!). By contrast there are far more "lifed" components in IC (fuel tubing, plugs, pump diaphragms etc) that will require ongoing maintenance / cleaning / replacement to keep an engine operating reliably. As you say (in non-catchy longhand), "you are responsible for your decisions and cannot blame someone else when your decision is not successful"...! Edited By MattyB on 23/03/2017 16:57:33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Whitehead 1 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Posted by David Mellor on 22/03/2017 11:15:05: <snip> Not so with batteries, as long as you have around 30 in use (30 being a rough minimum to spot "significance" rather than random events). <snip> The batteries that I have looked after (0.8C charge for first 5 cycles, 1.0C charge thereafter, stored at recommended voltages) have lasted perfectly (hundreds of cycles). Edited By David Mellor on 22/03/2017 11:17:20 30 in-use batteries is a lot of items to manage and keep up to scratch. With so many batteries, how do you keep track of the 100s of cycles each one has, David? My most recent experience with lipos for electric flight has been around 25 cycles from 5S 5000 Turnigy Nanotechs (40C or thereabouts maxing at 60A, ie 12C, in the model) which I disposed of recently because they were puffed like balloons at 3 years old, and I only keep 6 flight batteries at any one time and currently fly electric aerobats. Each battery carries a sticker on which I place a pencil mark every time it has been flown, and I try to equalise the number of flights for each battery. I must admit that up to this experience I have usually re-charged flight lipos on arriving home so they'd be ready for next time. Regarding their replacements, I decided to use the system now advised in this thread and always store at 50%. After all, recharging only takes less than an hour, and I do have enough chargers to recharge all the packs simultaneously as a residue from when I flew electrics exclusively a while back. By contrast, I use Zippy 2S 20C 1500 and 2200 lipos for the avionics, turbine ecu and petrol ignition system in my two wet fuel planes, and after 4 years of re-charging on arrival home, not one of these batteries has puffed. So I can't see any point in changing that charging regime. I don't like lots of lipos lying around unused as it's uneconomical, so have only ever had the minimum necessary to do what I want. At present that's six 5S 5000s for the leccy jobs, and one pair of 2S 1500s and one 2S 2200 for each of the wet fuel planes. Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Whitehead 1 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Eeeek!! Thanks very much for your detailed reply David. I apologise for my late reply. I kept trying to remember I had a thread to check back on and kept forgetting. Whew! You're definitely the Lipo King. My smaller lipos are used exclusively for powering the avionics in planes so never provide current over about 2C or 3C which probably contributes to why they last a fair length of time without special treatment. My larger battery choice is a follow on from when I flew 10 and 20-cell nicad/nimh years ago. On moving to lipo I went 3S and 6S, but eventually settled on just 5S-size electrics for simplicity. Thanks for explaining your system David. With all those lipos to look after for the least amount of waste, a tightly managed system, which you clearly have, is a necessity, especially with what sounds like a busy model design-build-fly production line! Kind regards Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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