Question about Charging
 

Just recently purchased a ECO6 LiPo batter charger from HobbyKing and I am a little confused after reading the manual.

I have been told to never charge at a current more than the mAh rating of the battery, in other words a 2200 mAh battery should be charged at a current rate of 2.2 amps. However the manual for the EC06 states the maximum charge rate for a 3S 2200 mAh battery is 10 amps. Which is better? Or should I be charging at say 5amps?

Thanks in advance.

I am not familiar with this charger, but I think I know what they are saying.

You are correct about the 2.2 amps for a 2,200 mah battery...1C. There are some newer battery packs that manufactures claim can be charged at up to 5C.

What the charger manufacture is saying (I believe) is that the charger will ONLY charge UP TO 10 amps on your 3S 2,200 mAh lipo. You can charge at a lower rate.

Charging at 5C would require 5 x 2.2 or 11amps...and they are saying the charger limit is 10 amps.

Cliff

The information you have is the maximum your charger is capable of using. Be guided by the individual pack for which charge rate to use. Most of the newer lipo packs will indicate their maximum charge rate. If there is no indication on the pack itself I would stick to 1C.

Thanks for the replies guys, I have no problem sticking with charging at 1C, seems to only take about 45 minutes to charge one up at that rate and typically take at least 4 or 5 batteries to the field. I know it would likely be quicker to charge at say 3 or 4 amps but is that bad for LiPos, or is the main reason safety with the inherent volatility of these batteries?

The way I understand it, fast charging isn't the best thing or any type of battery/pack/cell. At the very least you will shorten the overall life of the battery. The reason nickel batteries can be charged at such high rates is because their chemistry is more forgiving than lithium. It doesn't necessarily mean they like it.

One exception is the A123 series of batteries. Seems these batteries can be charged at just about any rate your charger can put out. Some www.wattflyer.com modelers are charging them with nothing more than a 12 or 24 volt lead acid battery and a piece of lamp cord, or zip cord.

As for my stuff, I'm charging them at about 2.5C, and my three 6S2P A123 packs have the same exact performance as when brand new, three years, and about 200 flights on each of them.

I'm straying a bit off topic here, but with the A123 packs, what do you do to compensate for the difference in voltage? In other words, what A123 setup would you use to replace a 3S 1000 or 2,000mAh pack?

Cliff

From what I've been hearing about LiFe (A123) batteries I'm surprised I haven't seen them marketed as an actual flight pack. Are y'all still buying your packs at Home Depot/Lowes? Or have the RC companies finally caught on to the commercial value they've been missing?

You can buy complete battery packs from at least one source, per below:
http://www.radicalrc.com/category/A123-Cells-Packs-199
http://www.hobbypartz.com/life.html (Search for A123's)

They're a little expensive though, I bought my 32 2300 Mah A123 cells direct from China at $7.50 each, post paid to my home.

TheChina packaging is the poorest I've ever seen though, they simply put the cells loose in a rip proof bubble bag, and ship it from China. I got them in 13 days.

That the 32 cells survived that with no damage is very surprising.

If you want raw performance, the better of the Lipos will beat the A123 cells hands down for weight and voltage. But, my three year old battery packs have the same exact performance as when brand new, and each of them has some 200 flights on them.

Take a look:
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47965

Please Ans.a Question
 

My Poly Charger only goes to 1000 Mah.Charge rate, is it sufficent to charge 1300 Mah.Batteries? George!!:tc:

Question:
Is that 1000 Mah (Milliampere Hour)? or 1000 Ma, Milliamperes?

And, are you charging Nicads, Nickel Hydrides, Lipo's, A123 cells? Charging a Lipo battery with a charger designed for, or set up for a Nickel Hydride battery is risking a fire with the Lipo.

As far as the 1000 vs 1300 Milliampere, if you are talking about milliamperes, the 1000 milliampere charge rate will just take longer.

But, repeat, you must specify exactly which type of battery chemistry you are charging. :eek: The Lipo charge rate can not be mixed with A123 cells. And neither of these batteries can be charged with the Nickel Hydride battery charging chargers. :censor:

(Milliamperes is the charging rate of your charger. 1000 milliamperes or one ampere is about the amount of current pulled by a 100 watt light bulb in your home. Milliampere Hours is simply the charging rate, multiplied by the number of hours you leave it on that charger. So if your charging rate is 1300 milliamperes, and you leave it on your charger for 1 1/3 hours, that is 1300 times 1.33 or 1729 milliampere hours, 1.729 Ampere Hours.)

My Electrifly Poly Charger has 3 Charging rates:250mA-500mA-1000mA is that sufficent to charge a 1300ma Battery?George!!

Please be advised the Battery is a LiPro.

Should be good to go. Does your charger have balance capabilities?

Other wattflyer readers, suggestions???:confused:

Yes. It will be fine. I charge 1100, 1200, 1300's etc at 1AMP all the time. Just takes a little bit longer than the theoretical minimum time to "fill them up."