MaJ. Woody

My Feedback: (28)

So I have this delema on what is worse for my 2S 5000 Mah Lipo Receiver pack. At the end of the flying day should I bring the battery down to storage charge or leave it at its current state of charge which is usually around 80%? To this point I have been putting the pack on the charger and bringing it to a storage charge. This got me thinking what is worse. I am putting unnecessary cycles on this pack by charging and then discharging. Is leaving the pack charged really that bad? I have read all the stuff about fully charged packs building IR but I also know that a pack is only good for so many cycles. One solution could be to use a lesser capacity pack so that at the end of my flying day the pack would be close to storage charge. For my electric helis, I set my timer so that when I land I have run them down to storage charge. With the Nitro and its 5000mah RX Pack I would have to put like 25 plus flights in to get it that low. So what do you think is worse?
Thanks!
Dom

init4fun

Hi Dom ,

I believe it's far worse to leave the pack fully charged . I think you'll find that the number of charge/discharge cycles to be less of a concern here for one simple reason ; folks using Lipos for motor power as well as receiver power push the lipos far harder than you ever will using it a as receiver pack only . They usually also do "fast charging" (charge rates over 1C) so not only is the pack pushed hard in discharge but in charge also . You , using it as a receiver pack only , are pulling only a fraction of the current and if you charge at 1C your cycles are much easier on the pack than seen by the average Lipo . So , given the choice of a bunch of easy cycles VS leaving it fully charged , I really do think your pack will last longer resting at the proper storage charge .

trax de max

You don't need to bring the battery down to storage level unless it is fully charged. The storage state is a broad range. As long as it's not full or empty.
I would just charge, then carry on using until it needs charged again.

pilotpete2

Leaving a lipo at, or near a full charge is only a problem with the higher C rated cells used for powering electric models. You can easily get lipos that are sold specifically for receiver duty up to at least 3400mAh that would be capable of delivering up to 17A if your servos demanded it, and would not be a problem leaving them fully charged.
The other alternative is to switch to LiFe or A123 packs.
Pete