Discharge station for lipos examples please.

[Andy C]

I am looking for ideas please on a good diy discharge station for getting lipos back to storage voltage without waiting for a normal charger to do it. 
thanks. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by Andy C

[Shaun Walsh]

I use one of these.

https://uk.banggood.com/ISDT-FD-100-80W-6A-Smart-Control-Discharger-for-2S-8S-Lipo-Battery-p-1988320.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=GB&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-gbg-en-pc&currency=GBP&cur_warehouse=CN&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_us&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-ukbg-allcat-uk-220412-meruem&utm_content=meruem&ad_id=&gclid=CjwKCAjw-b-kBhB-EiwA4fvKrE1jgklXtkZAnkPUv6qR2G-ZTNEHJlFZN3onEqUyHPWZYJhm2k_MNhoCSrMQAvD_BwE

[Learner]

5 minute flight seems to work for me☺

[MattyB]

5 minutes ago, Learner said:

5 minute flight seems to work for me☺

 

Very helpful. I take it you have ever had a days flying curtailed by the weather, or not been able to run out every pack you'd charged because of a need to get back home for another commitment? 

 

 

[MattyB]

1 hour ago, Andy C said:

I am looking for ideas please on a good diy discharge station for getting lipos back to storage voltage without waiting for a normal charger to do it. 
thanks. 

 

These old posts from another thread on the topic should help - this one has been discussed many times before. There are lots of affordable approaches; just make sure that whatever you use has a LV alarm and monitors individual cell voltages via the balance lead as it operates...

 

On 28/10/2021 at 00:14, MattyB said:

Lots of threads on this already - here’s a good one. Tbh there is no need to build your own, you can buy an excellent discharger that will balance and discharge med and small packs for storage for a very low price. You can even use them in parallel to create a really high power discharger for large packs of up to 6S. They even have audio alarms to let you know you once the packs reach the target voltage.

Discharger unit:

http://www.myrcmart.com/rcx-3in1-battery-balancer-discharger-voltage-indicator-150w-discharging-p-4767.html

 

RCGroups thread in how to parallel them up:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2406395-An-effective-variable-load-automatic-LiPo-discharger

 

 

On 28/10/2021 at 10:38, MattyB said:

In that case the the 3 in 1 discharger unit I linked is a nice fit for you - if you need more discharge power just buy 2 or 3 units and connect them up in parallel as per the RCGroups thread.

 

Those are probably fine (ISDT chargers certainly seem to have a good rep in general), but they are a lot more expensive, especially if you need more than 200W discharege power. Admittedly you don't need to make the lamp holder case and do any oldering though (though weirdly I rather enjoyed that part of the project...!)

 

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by MattyB

[Learner]

2 hours ago, MattyB said:

 

Very helpful. I take it you have ever had a days flying curtailed by the weather, or not been able to run out every pack you'd charged because of a need to get back home for another commitment? 

 

 

 

I would try my utmost to use every pack,then just use my charger to discharge the odd one.

 

[Philip Lewis 3]

As it happens I only use 5 cell packs and use a bank of 6 24 volt 100 watt headlight bulbs that will discharge 6 packs at a time in about an hour very cost effectively, make sure to set a timer though!

[EvilC57]

4 hours ago, Shaun Walsh said:

I use one of these.

https://uk.banggood.com/ISDT-FD-100-80W-6A-Smart-Control-Discharger-for-2S-8S-Lipo-Battery-p-1988320.html?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_organic&gmcCountry=GB&utm_content=minha&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-gbg-en-pc&currency=GBP&cur_warehouse=CN&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_us&utm_campaign=aceng-pmax-ukbg-allcat-uk-220412-meruem&utm_content=meruem&ad_id=&gclid=CjwKCAjw-b-kBhB-EiwA4fvKrE1jgklXtkZAnkPUv6qR2G-ZTNEHJlFZN3onEqUyHPWZYJhm2k_MNhoCSrMQAvD_BwE

Another vote here for the ISDT FD100. Or the FD200 if your discharge current requirements are greater, up to 25A compared with only 6A for the FD100.

Edited June 19, 2023 by EvilC57

[MattyB]

3 hours ago, Learner said:

I would try my utmost to use every pack,then just use my charger to discharge the odd one.

Using chargers for discharge is not that great, as a) it’s very slow (unless you can sink the excess charge into a leisure battery or similar), and b) the excess energy being dissipated heats up your charger, causing the fan to run for lengthy periods. Fan failure is a common failure point for chargers used regularly like this, especially on cheaper models, so using a bulb or heating element based solution is much better as they are much cheaper and very reliable.

[Learner]

13 minutes ago, MattyB said:

Using chargers for discharge is not that great, as a) it’s very slow (unless you can sink the excess charge into a leisure battery or similar), and b) the excess energy being dissipated heats up your charger, causing the fan to run for lengthy periods. Fan failure is a common failure point for chargers used regularly like this, especially on cheaper models, so using a bulb or heating element based solution is much better as they are much cheaper and very reliable.

As I said its not something I would do on a regular basis.

9 times out of 10 I end up recharging batteries at the field to get a few more flights. 

I cant see the sense in taking home a charged battery, I travel an hour to fly so try to get the most out of my time.