advice on lipo's please
Discussion
Hi guys, I'm gonna go back to racing next year, after a 2 year break, series starts in april, 4wd off road, or maybe a new 2wd.
Question is, I've noticed that lipos are big at the mo, they were just being talked about when i finished and a couple of guys had them, they were saying one charge lasted the whole meeting?
Can someone tell me about them? I have a pro peak constellation charger and run a novak 5.5 brushless system, will these items be ok? I've heard that charging these batterys can be a nighmare, will they fit in the car? CAT 3000
Thanks, Allen
Question is, I've noticed that lipos are big at the mo, they were just being talked about when i finished and a couple of guys had them, they were saying one charge lasted the whole meeting?
Can someone tell me about them? I have a pro peak constellation charger and run a novak 5.5 brushless system, will these items be ok? I've heard that charging these batterys can be a nighmare, will they fit in the car? CAT 3000
Thanks, Allen
I've just got back into racing after a slightly bigger break and can tell you that Lipos are superb, you can use one pack and simply top it up after each race with no ill effects, no need for it to cool down (they don't get hot)and no memory effects or performance drop off.
You wouldn't do a whole meeting on one charge, but can run 15 mins+ quite easily.
They do need looking after different though, and you will need a specific lipo charger, and you should never completely discharge them so you need to make sure your speedo able to be set to cut out at a certain voltage (6.4v on a 7.4v pack i believe)
You wouldn't do a whole meeting on one charge, but can run 15 mins+ quite easily.
They do need looking after different though, and you will need a specific lipo charger, and you should never completely discharge them so you need to make sure your speedo able to be set to cut out at a certain voltage (6.4v on a 7.4v pack i believe)
Edited by Top pup on Thursday 23 December 00:04
The Pro Peak Constellation is ideal for Lipo's. It will charge 2s and all you need to set is the capacity of the cells.
IIRC the Cat 3000 uses a saddle pack configuration. Demon, muchmore and others do cells. The only thing I would advise is that you always charge the cells as a pair. Don't be tempted to charge them individually as they will quickly go out of balance.
It is worth balance charging them if you can borrow a charger once in a while. It will improve the pack performance.
Lastly. 2s lipos should not be used for longer than a single race. they can be topped up (dont need to be discharged) but must not be discharged below 3v per cell as permanent damage will occur. No need for a specific lipo cut off ESC if you are only using for a heat / race at a time.
Simond S said:
The Pro Peak Constellation is ideal for Lipo's. It will charge 2s and all you need to set is the capacity of the cells.
IIRC the Cat 3000 uses a saddle pack configuration. Demon, muchmore and others do cells. The only thing I would advise is that you always charge the cells as a pair. Don't be tempted to charge them individually as they will quickly go out of balance.
It is worth balance charging them if you can borrow a charger once in a while. It will improve the pack performance.
Lastly. 2s lipos should not be used for longer than a single race. they can be topped up (dont need to be discharged) but must not be discharged below 3v per cell as permanent damage will occur. No need for a specific lipo cut off ESC if you are only using for a heat / race at a time.
yes the CAT 3000 is saddle pack, but may get a new car anyway as at our club 4wd has dwindled away, so now its 2wd, short course and touring, forgive me but what do you mean when you say "2s lipos", how long does top up take, will i need two sets?IIRC the Cat 3000 uses a saddle pack configuration. Demon, muchmore and others do cells. The only thing I would advise is that you always charge the cells as a pair. Don't be tempted to charge them individually as they will quickly go out of balance.
It is worth balance charging them if you can borrow a charger once in a while. It will improve the pack performance.
Lastly. 2s lipos should not be used for longer than a single race. they can be topped up (dont need to be discharged) but must not be discharged below 3v per cell as permanent damage will occur. No need for a specific lipo cut off ESC if you are only using for a heat / race at a time.
thehos said:
Simond S said:
The Pro Peak Constellation is ideal for Lipo's. It will charge 2s and all you need to set is the capacity of the cells.
IIRC the Cat 3000 uses a saddle pack configuration. Demon, muchmore and others do cells. The only thing I would advise is that you always charge the cells as a pair. Don't be tempted to charge them individually as they will quickly go out of balance.
It is worth balance charging them if you can borrow a charger once in a while. It will improve the pack performance.
Lastly. 2s lipos should not be used for longer than a single race. they can be topped up (dont need to be discharged) but must not be discharged below 3v per cell as permanent damage will occur. No need for a specific lipo cut off ESC if you are only using for a heat / race at a time.
yes the CAT 3000 is saddle pack, but may get a new car anyway as at our club 4wd has dwindled away, so now its 2wd, short course and touring, forgive me but what do you mean when you say "2s lipos", how long does top up take, will i need two sets?IIRC the Cat 3000 uses a saddle pack configuration. Demon, muchmore and others do cells. The only thing I would advise is that you always charge the cells as a pair. Don't be tempted to charge them individually as they will quickly go out of balance.
It is worth balance charging them if you can borrow a charger once in a while. It will improve the pack performance.
Lastly. 2s lipos should not be used for longer than a single race. they can be topped up (dont need to be discharged) but must not be discharged below 3v per cell as permanent damage will occur. No need for a specific lipo cut off ESC if you are only using for a heat / race at a time.
In addition, there is no harm in running lipos for about 10 minutes. The only thing you need to be aware of is you should never run them completely flat as this ruins them. If you ever do accidentally do that stick them on charge immmediately to put some power back in, but do not make a habit of it.
Also, if you ever race at a BRCA meeting, you need to charge them in a lipo sack, just in case they go boom when on charge (its probably worth getting one even if you do not race in a brca meeting).
Lipo's are made from 3.7v cells. therefore a single (1s) will be used in 12th or WGT. 7.4 is normal for Touring cars and 1/10th off road, hence 2s. 1/8 truggies, buggies and some monster trucks will use 3s (11.1v).
as all lipo's are the same nominal voltage the charger just needs to know how many "s"'s it is. Your specific charger actually goes up in 3.7v increments which makes it easier. It will also charge to 8.4v automatically.
The only thing you need to program is what capacity the celll is. Before you go overboard and order 50c 5400 celles make sure that the depth of cell will fit. The larger the capacity the taller the battery (generally).
as all lipo's are the same nominal voltage the charger just needs to know how many "s"'s it is. Your specific charger actually goes up in 3.7v increments which makes it easier. It will also charge to 8.4v automatically.
The only thing you need to program is what capacity the celll is. Before you go overboard and order 50c 5400 celles make sure that the depth of cell will fit. The larger the capacity the taller the battery (generally).
I missed part of your question.
Your charger will take approx 30 minutes to top up a cell after a heat / race. The way it works is that it reduces the charge going into the cell the closer it gets to 8.4volts. It will show the mah going in though on the top right corner of the screen so you can see if it is almost finished.
I manage with two lipo's for a whole meeting but I am not front of field! If you are going to take it seriously i'd advise buying a balance charger.
- *Blatant plug***
Simond S said:
I missed part of your question.
Your charger will take approx 30 minutes to top up a cell after a heat / race. The way it works is that it reduces the charge going into the cell the closer it gets to 8.4volts. It will show the mah going in though on the top right corner of the screen so you can see if it is almost finished.
I manage with two lipo's for a whole meeting but I am not front of field! If you are going to take it seriously i'd advise buying a balance charger.
that is so tempting, i was looking at cougars, i have always had schumachers, and still got them, right from the cat swb! PM me if you want, wont be buying for a month or so, also my mate wants to get into it as well he has nothing, so will want a complete set up, and i need a good stick radio, AllenYour charger will take approx 30 minutes to top up a cell after a heat / race. The way it works is that it reduces the charge going into the cell the closer it gets to 8.4volts. It will show the mah going in though on the top right corner of the screen so you can see if it is almost finished.
I manage with two lipo's for a whole meeting but I am not front of field! If you are going to take it seriously i'd advise buying a balance charger.
- *Blatant plug***
p.s the core 2.4 set for 40 quid looks ok?
Edited by thehos on Friday 24th December 19:40
Remember whatever you do:
1) Always buy a LIPO charger to charge them with. Overcharging results in them catching fire like roman candles and burning your house down.
2) Always _attend_ a charge, all LIPO fires happen it seems when charging. Keep an eye on them but always charge them in a position that will give to time if they do go, because they go from nothing to a blowtorch quicker than you can fetch an extinguisher in.
Otherwise - as noted never run to less than 3V per cell (6V for a 2S pack) and they are great batteries.
1) Always buy a LIPO charger to charge them with. Overcharging results in them catching fire like roman candles and burning your house down.
2) Always _attend_ a charge, all LIPO fires happen it seems when charging. Keep an eye on them but always charge them in a position that will give to time if they do go, because they go from nothing to a blowtorch quicker than you can fetch an extinguisher in.
Otherwise - as noted never run to less than 3V per cell (6V for a 2S pack) and they are great batteries.
I have run LiPo for several years now in various configurations (1s, 2s, 3s, 3s2p, 4s...). I can highly recommend the Yeah Racing LiPos from RC Mart (www.rcmart.com). They are essentially the previous generation Team Orion packs but at a fraction of the cost. The following Turnigy packs are well rated too.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewIt...
Definitely get a balance charger. Being able to monitor cells individually is very useful for checkign the health of your packs. I can recommend the Turnigy unit below:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewIt...
Unless you are at the top of your game or are one of these guys that must have the latest and greatest kit, then IMHO it's simply not worth spending big bucks on this stuff. For example, I race at club level with our races being well supported (we get sponsorship from Team Orion, Hot Bodies etc). I successfully used The Yeah Racing packs in my Tamiya TT-01 (yes, a TT-01...!) to paste much better hardware like X-Rays and Cyclones in the amateur class. It's the old adage - It's not what you have got it's how you use it. I for one took great delight in turning up with my heavily beaten up TT-01 (I usually race a TA05-R) complete with bog-standard Nissan 350Z shell and blowing the doors of cars worth ten time as much.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewIt...
Definitely get a balance charger. Being able to monitor cells individually is very useful for checkign the health of your packs. I can recommend the Turnigy unit below:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewIt...
Unless you are at the top of your game or are one of these guys that must have the latest and greatest kit, then IMHO it's simply not worth spending big bucks on this stuff. For example, I race at club level with our races being well supported (we get sponsorship from Team Orion, Hot Bodies etc). I successfully used The Yeah Racing packs in my Tamiya TT-01 (yes, a TT-01...!) to paste much better hardware like X-Rays and Cyclones in the amateur class. It's the old adage - It's not what you have got it's how you use it. I for one took great delight in turning up with my heavily beaten up TT-01 (I usually race a TA05-R) complete with bog-standard Nissan 350Z shell and blowing the doors of cars worth ten time as much.
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