How to keep a LiPo from going bad

[stickboy]

I believe I may have just become one of those newbs who wasted a bunch of money learning on LiPos. First, before my questions though, here';s what I';ve been doing: I';ve got three 3s batteries. I run them down to about 10.7V each flight. When I cut off the motors the voltage usually pops up a couple tenths of a volt. The farthest I';ve ever run them is about 10.5V since everything I';m reading online seems to say 3.5-3.7V is safe (actually I went 10.3V once and I';m hoping that';s the only one I screwed up).

So major questions to save us newbs some dough:

1) How far should I REALLY be draining these things? 3.7V or 3.5V per cell? Or can I really go 80% like some claim (because that would be 10.1V for my batteries that charge to 12.6V)?

2) What is the safest storing voltage per cell? I';ve been going with what';s on the label storing as close to 11.1V as I can get them to. My charger seems preprogrammed to discharge to 10.5V so it';s got me wondering.

3) Do I really need to charge only immediately before flying? I prefer to charge before bed, throw them in my LiPo designated fire proof safe, then go fly in the morning/afternoon.

I think that';s it for now. Much expert input would be greatly appreciated!

[Friskle]

To be honest, imho only, running your batts to 10.5 or 10.7, is to low, your damaging them, running until 10.1, your ruining them, that saying your testing after landing, if so, prior to landing, they would be near under 3v per cell, to close for comfort imho.

Every batt I have lands with around 11.4v.

[tectic]

3.5V per cell is what I use on all my batteries for landing so I usually try to land just before 10.5V. For the charge I charge them and they stay like that till I use them up-to a month
I work away so before I go I use the chargers storage mode and put them in storage. all my lipos are still in a good condition so Far.
I think the better quality the lipo is then they will probably be more forgiving. Also I use relatively High C rated lipos and they recover a lot more on landing than a low C lipo
so that is something to bear in mind.

[Gens-Tattu]

Hello，

For your questions, hope below reply will help.
1> 3.7V per cell is the line for drone to return. If goes lower, not good for battery.
2> storage voltage should be within 3.6V-3.9 V per cell.
3> charge can be done hours before flying, so voltage become stable.
     Not good to use immediately after charge.

I believe I may have just become one of those newbs who wasted a bunch of money learning on LiPos. First, before my questions though, here';s what I';ve been doing: I';ve got three 3s batteries. I run them down to about 10.7V each flight. When I cut off the motors the voltage usually pops up a couple tenths of a volt. The farthest I';ve ever run them is about 10.5V since everything I';m reading online seems to say 3.5-3.7V is safe (actually I went 10.3V once and I';m hoping that';s the only one I screwed up).

So major questions to save us newbs some dough:

1) How far should I REALLY be draining these things? 3.7V or 3.5V per cell? Or can I really go 80% like some claim (because that would be 10.1V for my batteries that charge to 12.6V)?

2) What is the safest storing voltage per cell? I';ve been going with what';s on the label storing as close to 11.1V as I can get them to. My charger seems preprogrammed to discharge to 10.5V so it';s got me wondering.

3) Do I really need to charge only immediately before flying? I prefer to charge before bed, throw them in my LiPo designated fire proof safe, then go fly in the morning/afternoon.

I think that';s it for now. Much expert input would be greatly appreciated!

[flybywire]

I';m sure the above is pretty good advice (Gens-Tattu), but I take mine down to 3.5v with no adverse results (so far)   

I think it';s really a case of checking what you have to put back in, if it';s 100% each time, they probably won';t last too long!  Not an issue on a 1500 mAh 3 cell I guess.

[guest325]

One of the biggest things most people miss out on is the C rating of the battery must be adequate to give full power to the motors - if not you will be trying to discharge the batteries too quickly which can result in fire!
If your motors draw say 20A peak, you have 4 then peak draw is 80A - so with a battery size 2000mah (2Ah) it needs to be rated at 40C (80A/2Ah)

[Panther]

I have only about 10 batteries. I have noticed that after a year or so some swell quite badly although internal resistance is OK and they charge up fully. Some are really bad as the Hydrogen gas can put enormous pressure on the casings. I was lead to believe this could be due to moisture intrusion when the battery was produced.
The interesting thing is that the batteries that mostly swell are 1P batteries. Now these are normally cheaper and more compact and that is why I bought them but I will not buy any more 1P batteries.
Now the SHOCKER!  Hobby King Zippy Compacts are 1P batteries, but are NOT advertised as this. I peeled a sticker off one and underneath it has the battery capacity printed. How clever to advertise a compact battery but NOT advertise it is a 1P battery.
I have other brands of batteries that have not swollen at all. One  that I bought in 2006 recently became unusable in a glider and I use it on my bench for small jobs and it shows no signs of swelling at all.
Interestingly, the standard Zippy batteries I have are older and show no signs of swelling and are performing well. They are NOT 1P batteries.

If Mr Gens-Tattu would like to comment on 1P batteries I would be interested.

My perception is that they are cheaply manufactured and are not worth buying.

[flybywire]

I don';t know what a ';1p'; battery is, but i can';t fault zippy compact';s for alround performance/cost.

[Wyntrblue]

I don';t know what a ';1p'; battery is, but i can';t fault zippy compact';s for alround performance/cost.

The 1p is all to do with the cell count within the battery itself.

3s1p means there are three cells that make up the battery

3s2p means there are 6 cells that make up the battery. 2 cells in parallel x3 making your 3s battery

Hope that helps

[Fletch]

am i being stupid ....

3s1p ... So there isn';t any other way they can be? 
3 cells @ 4.2v in series?  giving ~12.6v
surely all normal 3S batteries are 1P??

3s2p
would be a way of boosting the Capacity? but keeping 12.6v?

[Wyntrblue]

3s2p
would be a way of boosting the Capacity? but keeping 12.6v?

Correct.

S for series p for parallel

Most of my packs for my cars and now quads are 2p

In fact my mini revo runs 2x 2s2p batteries in parallel making a 2s4p

[Fletch]

So what panther is saying isn';t wrong ... But us nothing to be shocked about!

All ';off the shelf'; 3s batteries are 1p

[powerlord]

well,  no... all up to about 3-4000 should probably be.

But higher than that you';ll probably have 2p.

[xeostar]

Now the SHOCKER!  Hobby King Zippy Compacts are 1P batteries, but are NOT advertised as this. I peeled a sticker off one and underneath it has the battery capacity printed. How clever to advertise a compact battery but NOT advertise it is a 1P battery.
I have other brands of batteries that have not swollen at all. One  that I bought in 2006 recently became unusable in a glider and I use it on my bench for small jobs and it shows no signs of swelling at all.
Interestingly, the standard Zippy batteries I have are older and show no signs of swelling and are performing well. They are NOT 1P batteries.

I';m not understanding this thread, when you say "1P" are you referring to the number of cells in parallel making up the pack or is "1P" some brand/manufacturer of cells I';ve not heard of?

If 1P is one cell in parallel then his has nothing to do with the cell quality, good or bad cells can be configured as 1P or any other number in parallel for that matter.

Unless you are needing high mAh from your pack then you';ll be using a 1P configuration

[Panther]

Just found some more info

3s=3 sells in series 1p= one cell in parallel. So a 3s1p has a total of 3 cells in it.

3s2p would be 3 cells in series but each of those cells in series is made up of 2 cells connected in parallel. So a 3s2p pack would actually have 6 cells in it if your tore it apart. They are just wired in such a manner to give you 3s voltage.
Wiring in series increases voltage (3.7+3.7+3.7=11.1v) but wiring the same cells in parallel would still just give 3.7v but with, in theory at least, 3 times the amp output capability and of course 3x the capacity of a single cell.

So why are some advertised as 1P yet other 1P batteries are not.
Seems to me the manufacturers need to establish a code for advertising.

[xeostar]

To be fully specific batteries should state number of cells in parallel and how many in series but often if its not stated then its 1P.

Higher parallel cells are not really needed unless you need high mAh.

Sorry if this sounds rude, but how have you been using lipos since 2006 with out understanding how batteries are specified. Its one of the first things you need to know when you are buying packs?

[quadfather]

So why are some advertised as 1P yet other 1P batteries are not.
Seems to me the manufacturers need to establish a code for advertising.

Because they are one and the same?  You can';t have a single cell (or series of) in parallel to nothing.  That';s why some manufacturers and dealers omit the 1P - it';s redundant.

[Panther]

OK so I am a dumb ass. I usually buy by the C rating not by what I can';t see. I don';t pretend to be an expert on batteries at all. I just know the ones that puff up and the ones that don';t. I won';t buy a puffer brand again.
Nice to know there is someone to point out my failures in life.

[flybywire]

Oh yeah, the ';P'; thing, yes it';s one of those things you read about as a newbie, then forget about it 10 minutes later, as the charger takes care of those things for you!