Handiman

My Feedback: (2)

I have a question about using an older Lipo charger to charge newer Lipo batteries at a higher C rating then the charger was meant to be set.
Does anyone know of any reasons this is bad or not safe?
When the charger was made the makerjust never thought batteries would be capable of these higher charge rates.
So a direct example, ICE charger and 2200mah Lipo battery that is capable of 3C charge rate 6.6 amp charge.
The ICE charger is automaticly set at 2.2 amp charge amperage. So I decided to setup it up as if it were a 5000mah battery so it would charge at 5.0 amps.
It charged at the 5 amp rate and it cutoff at the proper voltage and it showed that the battery took 2250mah charge capacity. So that all looks good.
I always charge only when I am at the bench to keep an eye on the batteries while they are chargeing.
So if I don't get any bad feedback I will continue chargeing this way.
Thanks for the input.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

You're doing fine. The only way to do it on the older chargers in fact. The ice no longer has "capacity" protection since you have lied to it. It does however have a % capacity that can now be set to about 50% of the capacity that you told it.

The tritons are even worse in this area because they don't have a seperate % of capacity max to set. I just have to lie to to it about capacity and live without that extra insurance.

TheWoodCrafter

My Feedback: (1)

How did you put 2250mAh back into a 2200mAH battery.
 

Goldenduff

Balance charging discharges and charges therefore "more" put in

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I don't think we are talking about "balancing". That is something different , but is a good idea to at least check.

porterdog

Agree with the others.  Probably it's obvious, but monitor both charger and battery for temperature change.

Handiman

My Feedback: (2)

I always watch them. On the ICE one time when I pushed the dial I turned it and selected Nimh and the Lipo Puffed up like a marshmellow.
So ever since I have kept an eye for any issues.
On the 2200mah battery taking in 2250mah I guess the battery has more than the 2200 or the charger scale is off a little.
The battery was low but my speed control is set at 3.0v per cell cut off. And the battery is good and has been working fine.
Also one thing I have to watch out for is when I tell the charger it is a 5000mah it will try and put in that much if the battery doesn't feed the info and the charger isn't sensing correctly.
If all is working the charger will think that the 5000mah battery was 1/2 charged and it will shut off correctly.

tomfiorentino

That challenges a lot of what I understand about the way my charger works. Are you referencing perhaps a proprietary charge algorithm that would be unique to some chargers or are you making a universal statement?

I'm thinking specifically about the way I use the fuel gauge on the Multi FMA charger to keep track of charge state on A123's.

If in fact a partially charged 2200 mah battery can end up taking 2250 mah then I wouldn't know how to interpret charge state.

What did I miss?

Tom

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Many chargers (even though marketed as a balance charger) are nothing more than a charger and a balancer in the same case. While the balancer discharges high cells , the charger counts the capacity added and doesn't figure in the capacity removed by the balancer.

This isn't what's going on here with the OP's Ice charger though.

Mikecam

Some chargers balance by discharging the higher cell, could account for slightly higher capacity numbers. Our FMA chargers Tom add to the lower cell to bring it up to the rest which should show an accurate capacity number.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

Does that reflect the average of high cell AND low cell? []

TheWoodCrafter

My Feedback: (1)

I don't think I would trust an old LiPo charger that you have to lie to to get it to charge faster.

You may want to start thinking about upgrading to a modern balancing charger.

Handiman

My Feedback: (2)

Yes, but this is why I was asking the question.
I would prefer to wait as long as I am not "killing" my batteries.
As some newer greater is around the corner.
I would prefer to get a multi output charger.

Handiman

My Feedback: (2)

Well this weekend I was able to fly enought to use my batteries and use up 75% or more of their capacity.
So that means I was able to test the changer and how it does with the settings. I did lower the charge capacity to 60%.
So with the setting at 4400mah for these 2200mah batteries it should cut off at 2650mah capacity.
They all charged well and shut off correctly. Voltage and current readings were great.
So this looks like ai will work without any problems.