Mark Ellis Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Right, i know that i am wasting everyones time but i seem to be having difficulties charging my eflite battery as it came with no instructions and nor did the charger (or at least none of any use). I have a Parkzone lipo charger and an 11.1v 3S eflite battery. The battery has two connectors away from it - one that is the main power connector and another 4 wire small connector. I started by plugging in the small one which "balanced" the cells (I know that it is the balancing lead) and then charged it on the main power lead. I then did all the testing during building and full power engine tests to make sure all was fine. I was going for a maiden tomorrow so went to charge the battery. I have read in here that you don't need to balance every time so i plugged it in to charge and the error lights on the charger have come on. What have i done wrong? It should be noted that after the first time that i "balanced" the battery the error lights were on but i thought that was my cue to start charging. HELP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Cheers Eric, i don't think that the battery is dead. I have used the balancing lead to charge the battery which seems to have worked. I have run up the motor and it runs well but i just don't have a great deal of confidence that i am doing it right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytilbroke Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Unless something is very different with your equipment, on the battery the small plug with multiple wiring is a Balancing/charging lead.. The main red/black wires are both the power out and fast charge input leads. The fast charge does not "ballance" the cells. Do not connect both sets of leads at the same time Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Hi Mark Don't worry about wasting time just remember the old drawing office moto "If in doubt - ask!" For maximum life LiPo cells should be charged at no more than the 1C rate, this is the current that would be required to fully charge (or discharge) the cell over a period of 1 hour. You do not say what is the capacity of your cells but for say a 1000 mAh cell 1C is 1amp, for a 1500mAh cell 1C is 1.5 Amps and so on. Your Parkzone charger (what model is it? some have adjustable charge rates) should do this through the balance plug and this will ensure each cell is charged to the correct level (balanced). It will also stop the charging process at exactly the right point with an LED indication. This is important as LiPo cells, although light & powerful, do not like being over charged. The stuff inside a LiPo cell is chemically very active and can catch fire if the cell is damaged in any way. There are "sticky" threads at the top of this particular forum by Timbo that explain all about LiPos in much more detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Hi all, it is a 2100mah so i am charging at 2.0. i think that it is now charged, we shall see tomorrow if it falls out of the sky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The other guys beat me to it - good luck with tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ellis Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Well, my first takeoff with an undercarriage as opposed to a hand laumch, and it went ok. A couple of taxis getting faster and faster then building to a takeoff. Heart in mouth, Sea Fury climbing nicely, the thing almost diappears from sight, it is that quick. Leave the undercart down, more because i am not used to raising it! Spend the next 8 minues trying to line up my first landing on a narrow tarmac track running between two fields. Then realise that i ams tanding on the runway...... bugger. Step back into field and try to bring it towards me. Wind is strong enough to shorten my landing and reduce speed over the ground to make it a gentle one. Veer slightl on landing, into the verge and a gentle nose over on the grass. And breath again. Lessons learned: Get the thing off the ground quickly rather than have a long easy run nd gentle takeoff. Gentle inputs, be smooth, increase resistance on controls in a minute. Don't need full throttle, only half needed in most situations. Wear glasses next time, the Sea Fury is a bit fast! Land aircraft from left to right to better judge altitude and speed, rather than towards you. Don't panic and give big stick inputs during finals. Finally, still got a battery question: When yo push to full throttle and the motor sounds like it is surging (as you would get from quickly applying then removing throttle pressure) does that mean that the battery is running out of juice? I got about 10 mins from the battery, is that about right fo a Park 480 and a 2100mah battery running 6 servos? Phew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 In anaswer to the last para, yes I would say so to both points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Well done! Looks like you are learning well, particularly the bit about landing directly towards you. The human brain is pretty good at judging relative position and velocity but you have got to give it something to relate to, so better to land across your field of vision rather than directly inline with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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