First person with the talent to explain concepts in order, using analogies and going from basic to related to applicable. I watched several videos about the topic before this one were they try to make it sound very complicated. Thanks for your simplicity. very useful and please keep them coming. Suggested topics: Use and good battery meter, what makes a better changer, motor / battery combinations, etc.
Thank you kindly people like yourself are broadening my horizons, when I ask so called know it alls I have so often been led up the gardenpath cause they don't actually know wtf they're talking about . BIG CHEERS FROM ROLY IN AUS!!!!
I very much appreciate this run down on lipo batteries. You hit every point that I had a question on especially charging. that's how I realized why two of my batteries were bad. Thanks again!
I've already been using lipos with tb6b charger for about a year now. But I would've rather have seen this video then the many I watched before. Clean, concise, no bs. 👍
It's a personal choice to go electric or gas. Electric is quieter and cleaner so for me it allowed me to fly without complaints about noise and exhaust smells whilst I was learning, I wouldn't change to IC now. Happy flying!
Well Done, Great Teacher. I learned a lot and have confidence and a good understanding now. Great job with explaining the facts and the use of simple to understand visual aids. Thanks for taking the time. I really appreciate you sharing knowledge.
Something useful on UA-cam what a good idea. Thanks very much for the great guide. i liked the diagrams and examples you gave made things a lot easier to get my head around what it all means. Think i will going Lipo very soon. Thanks again
Douglas, thanks for the feedback. It's good to know that the video was useful. I had to figure a lot of this out via questions in forums in my early electric days and some was a little trial and error. Let me know if you need anything else explained. If you are new to electric then my 'Power Systems 101' video may be useful as a very high level intro to the subject. Thanks again.
your videos are great newbie electronics videos (which I am).I have lots of model making and flying experience but, little electronic knowledge. you videos are very helpful and not intimidating...... thank you........JRW
@thewillage, The 80% rule is about how much you discharge the battery. If you had a 1000mAh pack then you would not want to take out more then 800mAh before recharging, taking more can decrease the life of the battery. If your charger shows the number of mAh going back into the pack as it charges, make sure that it's not needing to put more than 80% back in. If it is, fly/drive the model for a shorter time. Hope this helps.
Good one dude. You gave out a lot of good info now just starting out on these LIPOs. I've heard about the 80% rule and am trying to locate that information. Great job though, and I've watched just about all of these tutorials. That's a good rule of thumb on that charge rate though. Good work, I'm impressed.
Absolutely awesome video. Really taught me a lot and took some of the stress off of me owning a new blade 360QX! thanks so much for the awesome tutorial, keep up the great work!
@Gubernator45, the 20Wh is actually redundant here. All you need to know about the pack is already there in the other numbers - Watthours = voltage x ampshours (1800mah x 1.1volts = 20Watthours (Wh)). Basically it's the same as the 1800mah rating and shows how much 'power' is in the pack and how long that power would last. Hope this makes sense..
@TheBigspecky, I started using the charger that you get with the modelsyou buy but always seemed to be waiting for the charge to finish. I then moved up to an IMAX B6, a copy of a Bantam model charger and found this a great improvement but had problems with the quality of the unit (balance charges didn't work well). I replaced that eventually with a 'real' Bantam BC6-10 charger and have been using that for everything for over 2 years. As with a lot of things - buy cheap, buy twice!
Joel, you can. Any charger worth it's salt will stop when it's fully charged so you'll just be topping up any charge that may have been lost. Try not to leave packs fully charged for weeks at a time though. If you are not going to use them, take them down to a storage charge (3.7v per cell), they will last longer that way. Hope this helps.
A storage charge is used when you will put the battery away for a number of weeks or months without using it. The storage charge makes sure that the battery never falls below the minimum level (3.5v) while stored away and doesn't involve any unnecessary electrical stress on the cells by storing them fully charged ( I have packs puff up after leaving them over winter fully charged) . I hope this makes sense.
That sounds like a great way to treat your pack. You can keep the pack at charge for a week or more but the care you are taking with the LIPOs should result in a much longer life. I've looked at the specs for the Sv2 ESC and the car specs don't list the amperage. Your pack can deliver a huge amount of current so as long as the ESC and motor don't pull more you'll be fine. The rule of thumb I use is have 10% capacity extra from LIPO to ESC, ESC to Motor and you'll be fine. Hope this helps.
Yes you can but a fully charged pack will keep its charge for weeks and weeks. If you don't use a charged pack, discharge it to 3.7v for storage. I have had packs puff up when I've left them fully charged for months without using them. Hope this help, happy flying!
I'm not familiar with that pack so I had to look it up. If it's the same pack that I found then it's a 9000 MAh pack with a 100C rating and a 7.4v output. Hope this helps.
The amps used to charge the pack to a storage voltage should always be less one 'C'. i.e. in your case use 2.2amps to charge the pack and stop charging when the pack is at 3.8v. That's a nice voltage to store them at. Once you are ready to fly with them again, charge the pack using 2.2amps or less until each cell of the pack is at the 4.2v maximum. The entire pack will then read 12.6v - full charge for a 3s LIPO. Then you are ready to fly.
Very nice informative video! These batteries are Scary Powerful for their small size. Just started using them in projects like super bright LED flashlights.
cyjo2009 They sure are, they have one of the highest energy densities. Tons of high current in a very tiny package! You just need to make sure you have a low voltage alarm in the flashlight as they hate to be discharged below 3.5v per cell. Happy flying!
The latest generation of batteries are now allowing for faster recharging. Until now charging at 1c (i.e 2.1amps for a 2100mAh pack) was normal. With these new packs you can charge at 5 times the rated capacity i.e. 10.5 amps for a 2100mAh pack! Great is your charger can deliver that much power as the recharge time will be a fraction of what it would be at 1c as the energy gets into the pack that much faster. Hope this makes sense.
@Painless360 Yes thanks mate .I was losing 2/3 of the power but it was -10c and the batteries in this heil are very small and thin. so i would think they would freeze very fast.
Great video. Thanks. I'm curious about the discharge rate of the batteries. I've heard it's good to break in a new battery with several charge/discharge cycles. Should I discharge it @ 1C as well?
how does Cold effect battery just bought blade 120sr heli and when i took it out in the cold i only got 2 minutes flight time .Would you know anything about this? thanks
so i have a 3000kv motor, 30A esc, 2200mah 3s 30C battery. i notice even without a prop(6x4 is i will use), it still get hot on the shaft. i dont know why, the battery C rating is too high, or the esc should be 20-25 amp. thanks
On my GT power x drive 6 charger I had no idea what the number was now I know it's how much charge I'm putting in so now I know once my 4200 mah bat gets to 3360 it's good to go also I haven't been charging my batteries long enough I used to let it read about 3.85 on each cell not knowing 4.20 was the full capacity thanks dude great vid now hopefully I will get longer than 10 mins out of my traxxas bandit VXL :)
battery came out of the tray and scraped the ground the metal plates protected the cells is this battery still safe to use? (I put back into the tray with electrical tape and tape over the tray and it seem to work fine no smoke came out so the cell wasn't punctured and I would like to know if this is still safe or if I need a new one?)
Thanks a lot for the tutorial but still got a question: I just bought a pair of 2s 9000xl lipos from maxamps for my rc truck, but the question is that i am not sure what 9000 XL is compared to Mah, is it the same or some different rating but is equivalent. Thanks again
+bas van der knaap almost. A fully charged pack will be 4.2v per cell. If you pull 80% of the mAh capacity from the pack then you'll have approx 3.5v per cell and a pack that's effectively 'empty '. Best of luck!
Can you please explain the 80% rule there. Do you mean that when you charge a battery you need to set you charger up so that it will only charge at a rate of 80% its capacity? I'm confused.
@SuperMiller1972, thank you. I couldn't find a video that covered what I was being asked by new guys into the electric RC hobby. It's tricky to know what to put in a 101 video, this could have easily been three times longer :D
@martyisnuts, you will see poorer performance from your batteries in the cold. Like all batteries the LIPO relies on a chemical reaction to get the power back out of the pack and the low temperature makes this reaction 'sluggish'. You should keep the battery at room temp unitil you need it and expect to lose about a quarter of the flying time. Hope this helps,.
An old video, but a very good one. Many thanks for this, it really helps me out as I am brand new to RC world (don't actually get any RC until my birthday at the end of October) and need all the help and information I can get. Do you think this video could be remade and updated to take account of anything new in batteries and charging??? Have a great day, Joe
IF I am using a 50C 5000 MAH on a Castle Sv2 ESC (Ground esc) its a 1/10 sacvle ESC for cars and trucks will if puff if I am charging at 1c and balance it one every week and if I know that I am not gonna use the pack for atleast 2 days I take it down or up to storage voltage? IMO thats pretty good care for a LiPo but you know more than me
I mean it works but its a little puffy it has three cells would it be safe to balance charge it. and its for my airsoft gun so will it be safe if I properly charge it?
hi there, first of all thank you very very much for doing this nice explanation. i still have some questions, though: I'm flying a micro CP helicopter and it uses 1S lipos. with it came a wall charger with an LED. the things that bother me are: 1: if the battery gets low the heli's performance also lowers, so that's the sign for me to charge it. Is that practice okay, or is there a good chance of damaging the battery if i keep flying until it actually stops working (the heli)?
Hi, very informative video. Cheers. Quick question, any advice on choice of type of battery such as manufacturers? Also, you mention chargers, any advice on choice of charger regarding manufacturers, model etc? Which one should I be investing in?
Great video!! Very informative, but of course I have a question. My Lipo reads Flyzone- 1800mAh - 11.1V. - 20C - 20Wh What does the 20Wh stand for? Thnx
Thanks so much for your videos specially for me I'm a complete newbie. Question I put a 9.9 volt 1500 milliamp hour replacement life battery in my tarranis what should I set my battery warning at to recharge
Farley Gordon This seems to answer you question - www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1914834&page=14 I am not a use of LiFe here so can't help much.. I have a Taranis series if you are interested - ua-cam.com/play/PLYsWjANuAm4rtLZuLU2eSTc3svqWx-pa1.html
I understand the mah decimal trick but then how do you apply that to smaller LiPo’s with a mah less than 1000? For example, I have a 1/18 and 1/24 WLtoys cars which both use tiny LiPo’s in the 300-500 mah range. My charger runs 1-3 amps. So do I just go with the 1 amp setting? Thanks.
@@Painless360 Thanks. Note, I use a basic Ultra Power UP4AC charger. It only has 3 amp settings - 1, 2 or 3 amps. Should I invest in a more advanced charger or can I get away with the lowest 1 amp setting on my current device? Thanks again. I appreciate.
Question, I have a one cell batt, do not know the size, when I charge it starting voltage is 3.3 volts and the charger tells that it took 1,250 mAh to reach 4.18 V, from this info can you figure out the size of the cell(battery)?
hello, i get a drone with a battery 7.4v 500mah charger is 5v 0.8a output how long it should charge. i charged my battery while it was connected to the drone. it just doesnt want to work anymore. :( no heating up, charge a little but not enough even to take off once
Hi Red, with the latest generation of batteries this 'breaking in' isn't needed. Be gentle with them, charge them at 1c or less and never store them discharged or fully charged and they will last you many flights. Happy flying!
Hi painless 360. It is possible to power (fly) the F450 quadcopter , APM2.6 with a 2 cell 2650mAh, voltage 7.4v? I receive my battery today and found out that i purchased a 2 cell instead a 3 cell.
Fernando Calatayud Zepeda If the setup is designed for 3s then the 2s battery will not run the props at a sufficient speed to produce the lift you need. I would order the right size battery...
+Souvik Sarkar A new pack will only need balancing once every 4-6 charges, as packs get older and some of the cells show their age then you need to balance them more often. Balancing them every time is a good practice - just takes a lot longer to charge normally..
My problem now is that I have a 7.4v 850mah battery and the charger is 10v 800mah(stock version) it takes more than 5 hours to fully charge. Why does it take so long?
+Badr Fazli Could be one or both of the following reason - 1)the charger is using a low current and this increases the charge time and 2) If the charger is balancing the pack then that can take as long as the main charge if the battery is not in good condition. I suspect that it's not using 800ma on the charge though as this would take a lot less time to charge if it was..Most people end up investing in a decent charger that they can set up the charge on.
hi there, your video is very informative but im still confuse, i have a motor with a maximum current of 38A and 40amp esc 16.6 volt max., may i ask what the best battery for a longer flight in this set up?. thank you
What is the difference between LIPO and Li-on in terms of charging? My charger doesn't have a setting for Li-on and I ask and somebody told me to use the LIPO setting because the chemistry of the battery is the same.
Hi, I got a question: If I can't find a 3S 4400mAh 45C to buy, can I strap together 2x 3S 2200mAh 45C batteries and hook them up in parallel (via a simple 2-into-1 XT60 connector & equivalent balancing lead)? Will that 2x 3S parallel set up still count as a 3S... or does that make it a 6S..?
+K Khalifah we have another video that covers this (Search for something like ' painless360 lipo series' to find it ). Parrallel will give you a 3s pack with 4000mah. Best of luck!
Hi James, as explained here in the video (from 8:40) you should have about 3.7v per cell at the end of the flight so 3.7 x 3 cells = 11.1v and not go below 3.5v per cell (10.5v on a 3s pack). Be careful about setting alarms on models as the actual voltage at the output when you are drawing power will be a little less than this so you need to set the alarm to trigger slightly lower so you get the most time out of the pack but don't over-discharge. Safest way is to fly the model and test the disconnected pack after you land until you get to the 3.7v per cell limit - then set this time on the transmitter so you know when you need to land. Hope this makes sense. Happy flying.
Hey, I want to know if you could switch out Lion battery of 7.4v 1100mah for a Lipo 11.1v 1000mah? higher volt and lower mah is from helicopter. Thanks.
Hi Viet, I would replace the Lion battery with a pack with a similar voltage. i.e. a 2s LIPO pack that will give out 8.4v fully charged and be at 7v when depleted. Similar to the LIon pack you alreadey use. You don't mention what you are putting the pack into but usually going from 7.4v to 11.1v on kit that can't handle it will cause a problem. If you are looking for longer run-times on the model then look at a 1800-2000mah 2S lipo pack and search to find the smallest one that will deliver the power you need. Hope this helps.
quick question, I am running a 250 quadcopter and a 300 quadcopter on 3s 1400 mah lipo's, they have cameras, vtx etc, when thrashed the flight time drops a lot and the lipos get hot, so i think they are over working the lipos, what would be the maximum power you would recommend for these sized quads?
I would suggest that you look at 1800-2200mAh packs as a start. I use 2200mAh/20c packs here on the 250 quad and 3000mAh 25c packs on the 330 class quads. Do you know the amp draw of the motors you are using?
im not quite sure, im using emax 1806-2280kv motors with 12a esc's on the 250 and im using emax 2204-2300kv with 12a esc's on the 300, I was thinking about using 1800-2000 mah packs but Im just a bit wary of blowing the electronics up lol I was also wondering if you have done a video for PID settings on the multiwii v2.5, I have mine set on stock settings at the moment but it has a slight wobble and is loosing a bit of thrust because of it, I can post a video if itll help so you can tell me what you think
OK, don't worry about the mAh rating. If the cell count (and voltage) of the pack is the same then you can't 'hurt' the model putting a larger battery on it. It's when you start plugging in 4s packs into ones designed and setup for 3s that things can start to get interesting.. I have a video on PID tuning that may help - ua-cam.com/video/fNYu5coR6Sg/v-deo.html
I have a question: My main quad battery called for 3s, 3830 mAH, 11.4 voltage. The LipPo battery I bought has 11.1 voltage, 3000mAH, 3s. Will it increase the flight time?
Nope, the capacity gives the flight time. You have 830mAh less than the recommended. That should work but watch the flight time and COG.. Best of luck!
What happens for example if one cell has 4.6 and other has 4.5? Is it bad? should I get rid of the battery? or just discharge and charge it again? Please reply thank you
If the battery is at this level then the charger isn't cutting off, this is usually because the other cells voltage is very low and not taking a charge and the charger isn't smart enough to spot it. This is not great for the battery and I'd discharge and balance it then use a good charger to balance charge it again. Watch it like a hawk and disconnect and dispose of at the frist signs that the pack is bad.
Hi Patricio, the main problem with this is the extra weight of the larger pack and the larger physical size. If it will fit and the model can lift it then it should work. Happy flying.
Storing your battery for along time with a full charge isn't good. Also, storing a battery with the minumum 3.5v can cause problems as the pack will slowly discharge when it's stored and take it below the minumum voltage. The answer is a storage charge, This is usually about 3.8v per cell and lets you put a pack into storage and avoid the pack discharging below 3.5v per cell and without the stress on the pack from having to hold a full charge for a period of time. Hope this helps,
thank you for this info . i would like to get your advice. i am building a drone of 4 brush less motor : tarot t5008 KV340m with ESC 40A hobby-wing fun-fly.. and a telemetry.and some led light. for 12V but nothing added else. what it will be your advise to buy as battery. a good one
elie eid Hi Elie, tricky to answer without more detail but you need to be able to supply a little more than 160amps (4x40A). Weight is a factor as a lot of the model weight ends up in the LIPO pack. I would look at 4000mah packs with a 35c/40c burst spec. Larger packs will weigh more but give slightly longer flight times..
thank you sir for replying me.the total weight of my drone is about 7pound or 3.17515kg including all. you think 22.2V or less. and i am looking for flight an average of 15 or 20mm..
I would look for a 4-6s LIPO pack if you will be that heavy. You will need a LOT of mAh to fly for that length of time and a very low KV/large prop setup to be as efficient as possible. Long flight times with larger models is an art form.. Best of luck with the build.
Hi, both packs can deliver 60A each so together they should be able to deliver 120Amps. This is the same as having a 3000 40C pack. When you mean the motor needs 30C do you mean 30Amps? Make sure the packs are the same age to give similar internal resistances as you don't want one of the packs delivering more than its 20C rating in use. Hope this make sense.
Painless360 this is motor: Specs: RPM/v: 2200kv Poles: 4 Max voltage: 18.5V (5S) Max Current: 100A Max Watts: 1200w Resistance: 0.0094ohm No Load Current: 2.9A Can Diameter: 39mm (actual motor diameter) Can Diameter inc. Water Jacket: 49mm Can Length: 69mm Shaft Size: 5mm Weight: 415g
Ah a boat! I see why you need the power now. The two packs should be able to deliver the 100A you need with a 20A buffer. Be careful when you first try it and check the packs after a few mins of pottering on the water to check that everything I happy. Happy boating!
Painless360 tnx. :) i was driving on 1 battery than i think with my head... i have 2 same batteries why not try that, than i vas watching your video :) You should make wideo about C discharge and problems like i have :)
Great video! Thanks for the detailed explanation! I will be building a ground station for fpv on an airplane and I will be having a computer in the ground station connected to the DAS on the airplane to send me bunch of different data! My question is if I want to power the small computer (not a laptop) and an lcd monitor off of bunch of lipo batteries, is it possible? And how many do I need in parallel or series? Max power input of the pc is 60w and input voltage is 12v! Thanks
+Mher Asadourian The amperage needs to be calculated then the right battery selected. You could always use something like this - www.banggood.com/Vensmile-IPC002-Plus-Windows-10-Intel-Z8300-2GB32GB-Wi-Fi-2_4GHz-5GHz-BT4_0-TV-Box-Windows-Mini-PC-p-1022297.html?Painless360&SKU339760MINIPC&Best of luck!
Thanks for the recommendation! For the computer mobo with its hardware the output requirement is: 19.5V 3.33A 65W and for the LCD output the requirement is 19V 2.1A! And I would be more than happy to get 30 min out of both with separate battery! Weight is not a factor nor number of batteries in parallel or series!
i am planning to buy lipo 4s 10,000mah with 10c. after watching video i am concern about C rating of this batery. is 10000mah 10C buttery will be the same as 30,000mhn 30C? is it safe to buy this battery and use with 4000 size 500kv motors?
This has to be one of the best explanations i have watched yet!! awesome job!!
First person with the talent to explain concepts in order, using analogies and going from basic to related to applicable.
I watched several videos about the topic before this one were they try to make it sound very complicated.
Thanks for your simplicity. very useful and please keep them coming.
Suggested topics: Use and good battery meter, what makes a better changer, motor / battery combinations, etc.
Thank you kindly people like yourself are broadening my horizons, when I ask so called know it alls I have so often been led up the gardenpath cause they don't actually know wtf they're talking about .
BIG CHEERS FROM ROLY IN AUS!!!!
I very much appreciate this run down on lipo batteries. You hit every point that I had a question on especially charging. that's how I realized why two of my batteries were bad. Thanks again!
You're welcome - glad it helped! :D
I've already been using lipos with tb6b charger for about a year now. But I would've rather have seen this video then the many I watched before. Clean, concise, no bs. 👍
Awsome video, thanks! Trying to learn everything I can about these b4 even trying to charge mine.
Thanks for the comment. It's always nice to get positive feedback.
It's a personal choice to go electric or gas. Electric is quieter and cleaner so for me it allowed me to fly without complaints about noise and exhaust smells whilst I was learning, I wouldn't change to IC now. Happy flying!
I've added a short video on the main elements of an RC power system to the channel. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
This is exactly what I was looking for.
+1 for that Water Tank example, makes the concept pretty clear.
Well Done, Great Teacher. I learned a lot and have confidence and a good understanding now. Great job with explaining the facts and the use of simple to understand visual aids. Thanks for taking the time. I really appreciate you sharing knowledge.
Something useful on UA-cam what a good idea. Thanks very much for the great guide. i liked the diagrams and examples you gave made things a lot easier to get my head around what it all means. Think i will going Lipo very soon.
Thanks again
Douglas, thanks for the feedback. It's good to know that the video was useful. I had to figure a lot of this out via questions in forums in my early electric days and some was a little trial and error.
Let me know if you need anything else explained. If you are new to electric then my 'Power Systems 101' video may be useful as a very high level intro to the subject.
Thanks again.
your videos are great newbie electronics videos (which I am).I have lots of model making and flying experience but, little electronic knowledge. you videos are very helpful and not intimidating......
thank you........JRW
@thewillage, The 80% rule is about how much you discharge the battery. If you had a 1000mAh pack then you would not want to take out more then 800mAh before recharging, taking more can decrease the life of the battery.
If your charger shows the number of mAh going back into the pack as it charges, make sure that it's not needing to put more than 80% back in. If it is, fly/drive the model for a shorter time. Hope this helps.
Excellent job lad explaining lipos isn't always easy
Your video very helpfull when I place an order for my first Li-Po battery. I liked it when you broke down the numbers. That was important to me.
U r c rating explanation is good as compared with other videos good explanation
Good one dude. You gave out a lot of good info now just starting out on these LIPOs. I've heard about the 80% rule and am trying to locate that information. Great job though, and I've watched just about all of these tutorials. That's a good rule of thumb on that charge rate though. Good work, I'm impressed.
Absolutely awesome video. Really taught me a lot and took some of the stress off of me owning a new blade 360QX! thanks so much for the awesome tutorial, keep up the great work!
+Jkkicks Tech & Gaming thank you!
@Gubernator45, the 20Wh is actually redundant here. All you need to know about the pack is already there in the other numbers - Watthours = voltage x ampshours (1800mah x 1.1volts = 20Watthours (Wh)).
Basically it's the same as the 1800mah rating and shows how much 'power' is in the pack and how long that power would last. Hope this makes sense..
@TheBigspecky, I started using the charger that you get with the modelsyou buy but always seemed to be waiting for the charge to finish. I then moved up to an IMAX B6, a copy of a Bantam model charger and found this a great improvement but had problems with the quality of the unit (balance charges didn't work well). I replaced that eventually with a 'real' Bantam BC6-10 charger and have been using that for everything for over 2 years. As with a lot of things - buy cheap, buy twice!
Joel, you can. Any charger worth it's salt will stop when it's fully charged so you'll just be topping up any charge that may have been lost. Try not to leave packs fully charged for weeks at a time though. If you are not going to use them, take them down to a storage charge (3.7v per cell), they will last longer that way. Hope this helps.
Thanks that taught me a couple of things i never knew. Good Video.
A storage charge is used when you will put the battery away for a number of weeks or months without using it.
The storage charge makes sure that the battery never falls below the minimum level (3.5v) while stored away and doesn't involve any unnecessary electrical stress on the cells by storing them fully charged ( I have packs puff up after leaving them over winter fully charged) .
I hope this makes sense.
Ur videos are the best sir..when ever i have a doubt on any rc terms i look if u had done any video on it.
Well explained. So far, this is the best video I have watched!!
👍
This great video was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to explain this.
EXCELLENT CLASS ! THANK-YOU & MERRY CHRISTMAS & hope you have an ENJOYABLE NEW YEAR !!!
Your video was very helpful and most certainly deserved more likes! Thank you!
That sounds like a great way to treat your pack. You can keep the pack at charge for a week or more but the care you are taking with the LIPOs should result in a much longer life.
I've looked at the specs for the Sv2 ESC and the car specs don't list the amperage. Your pack can deliver a huge amount of current so as long as the ESC and motor don't pull more you'll be fine. The rule of thumb I use is have 10% capacity extra from LIPO to ESC, ESC to Motor and you'll be fine.
Hope this helps.
Excellent video and much needed for newbies like myself.
Yes you can but a fully charged pack will keep its charge for weeks and weeks.
If you don't use a charged pack, discharge it to 3.7v for storage. I have had packs puff up when I've left them fully charged for months without using them.
Hope this help, happy flying!
Thank you for an understandable explaining, so easy to understand indeed.
I'm not familiar with that pack so I had to look it up. If it's the same pack that I found then it's a 9000 MAh pack with a 100C rating and a 7.4v output. Hope this helps.
The amps used to charge the pack to a storage voltage should always be less one 'C'. i.e. in your case use 2.2amps to charge the pack and stop charging when the pack is at 3.8v. That's a nice voltage to store them at.
Once you are ready to fly with them again, charge the pack using 2.2amps or less until each cell of the pack is at the 4.2v maximum. The entire pack will then read 12.6v - full charge for a 3s LIPO. Then you are ready to fly.
Thanks I will be watching it again to get it all into my head. Lol cheers
Very nice informative video! These batteries are Scary Powerful for their small size. Just started using them in projects like super bright LED flashlights.
cyjo2009 They sure are, they have one of the highest energy densities. Tons of high current in a very tiny package! You just need to make sure you have a low voltage alarm in the flashlight as they hate to be discharged below 3.5v per cell. Happy flying!
The latest generation of batteries are now allowing for faster recharging. Until now charging at 1c (i.e 2.1amps for a 2100mAh pack) was normal. With these new packs you can charge at 5 times the rated capacity i.e. 10.5 amps for a 2100mAh pack!
Great is your charger can deliver that much power as the recharge time will be a fraction of what it would be at 1c as the energy gets into the pack that much faster.
Hope this makes sense.
@Painless360 Yes thanks mate .I was losing 2/3 of the power but it was -10c and the batteries in this heil are very small and thin. so i would think they would freeze very fast.
Watched for remedial education..... Thanks. Best explanation...
Thank you sir, cant wait to run my new mini revo 1/16 on a lipo! :p
Great video. Thanks.
I'm curious about the discharge rate of the batteries. I've heard it's good to break in a new battery with several charge/discharge cycles. Should I discharge it @ 1C as well?
how does Cold effect battery just bought blade 120sr heli and when i took it out in the cold i only got 2 minutes flight time .Would you know anything about this? thanks
so i have a 3000kv motor, 30A esc, 2200mah 3s 30C battery. i notice even without a prop(6x4 is i will use), it still get hot on the shaft. i dont know why, the battery C rating is too high, or the esc should be 20-25 amp. thanks
On my GT power x drive 6 charger I had no idea what the number was now I know it's how much charge I'm putting in so now I know once my 4200 mah bat gets to 3360 it's good to go also I haven't been charging my batteries long enough I used to let it read about 3.85 on each cell not knowing 4.20 was the full capacity thanks dude great vid now hopefully I will get longer than 10 mins out of my traxxas bandit VXL :)
battery came out of the tray and scraped the ground the metal plates protected the cells is this battery still safe to use? (I put back into the tray with electrical tape and tape over the tray and it seem to work fine no smoke came out so the cell wasn't punctured and I would like to know if this is still safe or if I need a new one?)
what is the difference between storage charge and fully charged?
Thanks a lot for the tutorial but still got a question: I just bought a pair of 2s 9000xl lipos from maxamps for my rc truck, but the question is that i am not sure what 9000 XL is compared to Mah, is it the same or some different rating but is equivalent. Thanks again
Good details. I like your status tagging system!
From the image at 8:15 i understand that the voltage should drop no more than 20/30%. Does that also mean you can only use 20/30% from you mAh.
+bas van der knaap almost. A fully charged pack will be 4.2v per cell. If you pull 80% of the mAh capacity from the pack then you'll have approx 3.5v per cell and a pack that's effectively 'empty '. Best of luck!
The Video may be a few years old now but it's still really helpful for noobs :)
+Ifodder glad it helped'
Very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Can you please explain the 80% rule there. Do you mean that when you charge a battery you need to set you charger up so that it will only charge at a rate of 80% its capacity? I'm confused.
@SuperMiller1972, thank you. I couldn't find a video that covered what I was being asked by new guys into the electric RC hobby. It's tricky to know what to put in a 101 video, this could have easily been three times longer :D
It depends on how smart the charger is. a little while should be ok but you shouldnt leave a charging LIPO unatended.
Hope this helps
@martyisnuts, you will see poorer performance from your batteries in the cold. Like all batteries the LIPO relies on a chemical reaction to get the power back out of the pack and the low temperature makes this reaction 'sluggish'. You should keep the battery at room temp unitil you need it and expect to lose about a quarter of the flying time. Hope this helps,.
An old video, but a very good one. Many thanks for this, it really helps me out as I am brand new to RC world (don't actually get any RC until my birthday at the end of October) and need all the help and information I can get.
Do you think this video could be remade and updated to take account of anything new in batteries and charging???
Have a great day,
Joe
Everything in this video is still relevant. See my introduction to remote control playlist and more basics.. best of luck!
IF I am using a 50C 5000 MAH on a Castle Sv2 ESC (Ground esc) its a 1/10 sacvle ESC for cars and trucks will if puff if I am charging at 1c and balance it one every week and if I know that I am not gonna use the pack for atleast 2 days I take it down or up to storage voltage? IMO thats pretty good care for a LiPo but you know more than me
I mean it works but its a little puffy it has three cells would it be safe to balance charge it. and its for my airsoft gun so will it be safe if I properly charge it?
What do you mean by a storage charge?
hi there, first of all thank you very very much for doing this nice explanation.
i still have some questions, though:
I'm flying a micro CP helicopter and it uses 1S lipos.
with it came a wall charger with an LED.
the things that bother me are:
1: if the battery gets low the heli's performance also lowers, so that's the sign for me to charge it. Is that practice okay, or is there a good chance of damaging the battery if i keep flying until it actually stops working (the heli)?
Can I charge a lipo more than once b4 using it? If no why? Thanks
Thanks Lee. Just started with HT206 Charger/discharger. Have set charge current as you advise. BobUk
and its a three cell 11.1v 1280 and I have a imax b6 charger what setting do I have to put in in to property charge it?
+joshua davila jr Please reply to the other comments otherwise it's hard to keep track..
+Painless360 What is your best guess after watching the video?
Hi, very informative video. Cheers. Quick question, any advice on choice of type of battery such as manufacturers? Also, you mention chargers, any advice on choice of charger regarding manufacturers, model etc? Which one should I be investing in?
Great video!! Very informative, but of course I have a question.
My Lipo reads
Flyzone- 1800mAh - 11.1V. - 20C - 20Wh
What does the 20Wh stand for? Thnx
Thanks so much for your videos specially for me I'm a complete newbie. Question I put a 9.9 volt 1500 milliamp hour replacement life battery in my tarranis what should I set my battery warning at to recharge
Farley Gordon This seems to answer you question - www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1914834&page=14
I am not a use of LiFe here so can't help much..
I have a Taranis series if you are interested - ua-cam.com/play/PLYsWjANuAm4rtLZuLU2eSTc3svqWx-pa1.html
Thanks 360 I have watched your Taranis series over and over again and it has gotten me in the sky yesterday thanks again
Glad it helped! This is a super radio!
Very Happy Flying!
I understand the mah decimal trick but then how do you apply that to smaller LiPo’s with a mah less than 1000? For example, I have a 1/18 and 1/24 WLtoys cars which both use tiny LiPo’s in the 300-500 mah range. My charger runs 1-3 amps. So do I just go with the 1 amp setting? Thanks.
Same way. Charge a 500mah Lipo at 0.5 amps etc.
Best of luck
@@Painless360 Thanks. Note, I use a basic Ultra Power UP4AC charger. It only has 3 amp settings - 1, 2 or 3 amps. Should I invest in a more advanced charger or can I get away with the lowest 1 amp setting on my current device? Thanks again. I appreciate.
Definatley if you want to charge batteries that small. Best of luck
I have a 4000 mah battery pack. As you said battery can be charged only at 1c , can i charge my battery pack at 4amps?
Yep, perfect!
Question, I have a one cell batt, do not know the size, when I charge it starting voltage is 3.3 volts and the charger tells that it took 1,250 mAh to reach 4.18 V, from this info can you figure out the size of the cell(battery)?
Not really, sounds like a 1000-1100mAh pack to me as at 3.5v per cell it's about 80% discharged.. ish..
thank you P-360 !
hello,
i get a drone with a battery 7.4v 500mah charger is 5v 0.8a output how long it should charge.
i charged my battery while it was connected to the drone. it just doesnt want to work anymore. :( no heating up, charge a little but not enough even to take off once
I'd check the battery too. Best of luck!
very god.. showing the ways by the letter...keep it up.. tumbs up!!
perfectly explained. thank you for taking the time.
Hi Red, with the latest generation of batteries this 'breaking in' isn't needed. Be gentle with them, charge them at 1c or less and never store them discharged or fully charged and they will last you many flights.
Happy flying!
Excellent description!!
Hi painless 360.
It is possible to power (fly) the F450 quadcopter , APM2.6 with a 2 cell 2650mAh, voltage 7.4v? I receive my battery today and found out that i purchased a 2 cell instead a 3 cell.
Fernando Calatayud Zepeda If the setup is designed for 3s then the 2s battery will not run the props at a sufficient speed to produce the lift you need.
I would order the right size battery...
hi. what if, I always balance charge my pack? does it hurt the battery life or something?
+Souvik Sarkar A new pack will only need balancing once every 4-6 charges, as packs get older and some of the cells show their age then you need to balance them more often. Balancing them every time is a good practice - just takes a lot longer to charge normally..
Thank you sir.
My problem now is that I have a 7.4v 850mah battery and the charger is 10v 800mah(stock version) it takes more than 5 hours to fully charge. Why does it take so long?
+Badr Fazli Could be one or both of the following reason - 1)the charger is using a low current and this increases the charge time and 2) If the charger is balancing the pack then that can take as long as the main charge if the battery is not in good condition. I suspect that it's not using 800ma on the charge though as this would take a lot less time to charge if it was..Most people end up investing in a decent charger that they can set up the charge on.
hi there, your video is very informative but im still confuse, i have a motor with a maximum current of 38A and 40amp esc 16.6 volt max., may i ask what the best battery for a longer flight in this set up?. thank you
So you need a 3s LIPO (12.4V) or a 4S LIPO (16.8V). The more mAh the longer the flight..
if im going to use 5000 mah 4s lipo 25c, is it safe? will it not burn my 40amp esc?
It doesn't work that way. See our power videos in the 'Introduction to RC' playlist. Best of luck!
What is the difference between LIPO and Li-on in terms of charging? My charger doesn't have a setting for Li-on and I ask and somebody told me to use the LIPO setting because the chemistry of the battery is the same.
Please see my videos on Li-ion. I cover all of that in those videos. Best of luck!
if the lipo battery is puffy will it still function normal if still work or will it loose power fast?
+joshua davila jr If it's puffy then it's on it's way out and time to replace it.. Happy flying!
Thank you for posting this super informative and really helpfull
Hi, I got a question:
If I can't find a 3S 4400mAh 45C to buy, can I strap together 2x 3S 2200mAh 45C batteries and hook them up in parallel (via a simple 2-into-1 XT60 connector & equivalent balancing lead)?
Will that 2x 3S parallel set up still count as a 3S... or does that make it a 6S..?
+K Khalifah we have another video that covers this (Search for something like ' painless360 lipo series' to find it ). Parrallel will give you a 3s pack with 4000mah. Best of luck!
if I am using a 3s lipo at what voltage should I stop using it to prevent damage
Hi James, as explained here in the video (from 8:40) you should have about 3.7v per cell at the end of the flight so 3.7 x 3 cells = 11.1v and not go below 3.5v per cell (10.5v on a 3s pack).
Be careful about setting alarms on models as the actual voltage at the output when you are drawing power will be a little less than this so you need to set the alarm to trigger slightly lower so you get the most time out of the pack but don't over-discharge.
Safest way is to fly the model and test the disconnected pack after you land until you get to the 3.7v per cell limit - then set this time on the transmitter so you know when you need to land.
Hope this makes sense. Happy flying.
thanks
Does this also work with 10s 10 000mah battery? 10a for charging then?
+César Grimmelprez unless otherwise stated on the pack, yes. Be aware that many chargers will struggle to deliver that full amperage.
loved the analogy with water tank
+Paulo Figueiredo thank you, it's the only way I can think to describe it. :-)
Hey, I want to know if you could switch out Lion battery of 7.4v 1100mah for a Lipo 11.1v 1000mah? higher volt and lower mah is from helicopter.
Thanks.
Hi Viet, I would replace the Lion battery with a pack with a similar voltage. i.e. a 2s LIPO pack that will give out 8.4v fully charged and be at 7v when depleted. Similar to the LIon pack you alreadey use.
You don't mention what you are putting the pack into but usually going from 7.4v to 11.1v on kit that can't handle it will cause a problem. If you are looking for longer run-times on the model then look at a 1800-2000mah 2S lipo pack and search to find the smallest one that will deliver the power you need.
Hope this helps.
Thank You! and I subscribed.
quick question, I am running a 250 quadcopter and a 300 quadcopter on 3s 1400 mah lipo's, they have cameras, vtx etc, when thrashed the flight time drops a lot and the lipos get hot, so i think they are over working the lipos, what would be the maximum power you would recommend for these sized quads?
keyproductions100 Sounds like you are asking for many more amps than the battery will provide. What 'C' rating is the pack?
that's what I was thinking, my 1350 lipos are 45c and my 1400's are 40-80c
I would suggest that you look at 1800-2200mAh packs as a start. I use 2200mAh/20c packs here on the 250 quad and 3000mAh 25c packs on the 330 class quads.
Do you know the amp draw of the motors you are using?
im not quite sure, im using emax 1806-2280kv motors with 12a esc's on the 250 and im using emax 2204-2300kv with 12a esc's on the 300, I was thinking about using 1800-2000 mah packs but Im just a bit wary of blowing the electronics up lol I was also wondering if you have done a video for PID settings on the multiwii v2.5, I have mine set on stock settings at the moment but it has a slight wobble and is loosing a bit of thrust because of it, I can post a video if itll help so you can tell me what you think
OK, don't worry about the mAh rating. If the cell count (and voltage) of the pack is the same then you can't 'hurt' the model putting a larger battery on it. It's when you start plugging in 4s packs into ones designed and setup for 3s that things can start to get interesting..
I have a video on PID tuning that may help - ua-cam.com/video/fNYu5coR6Sg/v-deo.html
Is there anything wrong with always balance charging?
Not at all. It is needed on older batteries as the cells become more and more unmatched... Happy flying
Since voltage x amps = watts (power), am I right to believe that a 3s 4000mah lipo would generate more power than a 3s 2200mah?
Probably but it also depends on the C rating that dictates the maximum current you can pull from the battery... Happy flying
@@Painless360 thanks
I have a question: My main quad battery called for 3s, 3830 mAH, 11.4 voltage. The LipPo battery I bought has 11.1 voltage, 3000mAH, 3s. Will it increase the flight time?
Nope, the capacity gives the flight time. You have 830mAh less than the recommended. That should work but watch the flight time and COG.. Best of luck!
Painless360 : should I buy a 5000mAh, 11.2 volt, 3s for increase in quad flight time?
+Rian it will, if the model can handle the weight of the bigger battery. Best of luck
how did you calculate I have 830mAh based on my information?
you have 3000. (830 is the amount less than your recommended 3830) .... 3830-3k=830
What happens for example if one cell has 4.6 and other has 4.5? Is it bad? should I get rid of the battery? or just discharge and charge it again? Please reply thank you
If the battery is at this level then the charger isn't cutting off, this is usually because the other cells voltage is very low and not taking a charge and the charger isn't smart enough to spot it.
This is not great for the battery and I'd discharge and balance it then use a good charger to balance charge it again. Watch it like a hawk and disconnect and dispose of at the frist signs that the pack is bad.
Painless360 thank you
HELLO.. I've bought an walkera x350 quadcopter. it uses basic 1.1V 2200mah C30 lipo battery.. is any problem if a use a 11.1V 5200mah 45C ?
Hi Patricio, the main problem with this is the extra weight of the larger pack and the larger physical size. If it will fit and the model can lift it then it should work.
Happy flying.
Painless360 Thanks for the info. Best regards
Storing your battery for along time with a full charge isn't good. Also, storing a battery with the minumum 3.5v can cause problems as the pack will slowly discharge when it's stored and take it below the minumum voltage.
The answer is a storage charge, This is usually about 3.8v per cell and lets you put a pack into storage and avoid the pack discharging below 3.5v per cell and without the stress on the pack from having to hold a full charge for a period of time.
Hope this helps,
thank you for this info . i would like to get your advice. i am building a drone of 4 brush less motor : tarot t5008 KV340m with ESC 40A hobby-wing fun-fly.. and a telemetry.and some led light. for 12V but nothing added else. what it will be your advise to buy as battery. a good one
elie eid Hi Elie, tricky to answer without more detail but you need to be able to supply a little more than 160amps (4x40A). Weight is a factor as a lot of the model weight ends up in the LIPO pack. I would look at 4000mah packs with a 35c/40c burst spec.
Larger packs will weigh more but give slightly longer flight times..
thank you sir for replying me.the total weight of my drone is about 7pound or 3.17515kg including all. you think 22.2V or less. and i am looking for flight an average of 15 or 20mm..
I would look for a 4-6s LIPO pack if you will be that heavy. You will need a LOT of mAh to fly for that length of time and a very low KV/large prop setup to be as efficient as possible.
Long flight times with larger models is an art form..
Best of luck with the build.
Thank you i apreciate ur help
if you have 2x 5S 3000 mah 20C in paralel conection and motor needs minimum 30C , will it2 batteries work batter than one battery?
Hi, both packs can deliver 60A each so together they should be able to deliver 120Amps. This is the same as having a 3000 40C pack. When you mean the motor needs 30C do you mean 30Amps?
Make sure the packs are the same age to give similar internal resistances as you don't want one of the packs delivering more than its 20C rating in use.
Hope this make sense.
Painless360 this is motor: Specs:
RPM/v: 2200kv
Poles: 4
Max voltage: 18.5V (5S)
Max Current: 100A
Max Watts: 1200w
Resistance: 0.0094ohm
No Load Current: 2.9A
Can Diameter: 39mm (actual motor diameter)
Can Diameter inc. Water Jacket: 49mm
Can Length: 69mm
Shaft Size: 5mm
Weight: 415g
Ah a boat! I see why you need the power now.
The two packs should be able to deliver the 100A you need with a 20A buffer. Be careful when you first try it and check the packs after a few mins of pottering on the water to check that everything I happy. Happy boating!
Painless360 tnx. :) i was driving on 1 battery than i think with my head... i have 2 same batteries why not try that, than i vas watching your video :) You should make wideo about C discharge and problems like i have :)
Connecting batteries in series or parallel (LIPO) ;)
Which lipo battery is perfect for 2200kv motor and 1000kv motor and sir can I use 610 mah 11.1v lipo battery is it fine for 2200kv motor
+Harsahej Singh I think I just answered this on the other video. No need to post your question multiple times. Happy flying!
Great video!
Thanks for the detailed explanation!
I will be building a ground station for fpv on an airplane and I will be having a computer in the ground station connected to the DAS on the airplane to send me bunch of different data! My question is if I want to power the small computer (not a laptop) and an lcd monitor off of bunch of lipo batteries, is it possible? And how many do I need in parallel or series? Max power input of the pc is 60w and input voltage is 12v! Thanks
+Mher Asadourian The amperage needs to be calculated then the right battery selected. You could always use something like this - www.banggood.com/Vensmile-IPC002-Plus-Windows-10-Intel-Z8300-2GB32GB-Wi-Fi-2_4GHz-5GHz-BT4_0-TV-Box-Windows-Mini-PC-p-1022297.html?Painless360&SKU339760MINIPC&Best of luck!
Thanks for the recommendation!
For the computer mobo with its hardware the output requirement is: 19.5V 3.33A 65W
and for the LCD output the requirement is 19V 2.1A! And I would be more than happy to get 30 min out of both with separate battery! Weight is not a factor nor number of batteries in parallel or series!
i am planning to buy lipo 4s 10,000mah with 10c. after watching video i am concern about C rating of this batery.
is 10000mah 10C buttery will be the same as 30,000mhn 30C? is it safe to buy this battery and use with 4000 size 500kv motors?
+Michael Akopov a 10,000 10C battery will provide a maximum current of 100Amps, a 30,000 30C battery will provide a maximum of 900Amps..