wagen017

I was wondering what experience you guys have with batteries which you have run for a while. I have two sets of Rhino 4900's which still perform very well. The Ir of a 10S pack is 3-5mOhm and they keep their voltage well (36.5V after P11 flight). I first thought to retire them and so bought 3 new sets of 5S packs. Reason is that in the winter I did experience a reduced capacity. However now in summer temperatures the capacity is still approximately 4600mAh (less then the original 4900 but OK).

What I really want to know is if the packs probably will hang in there or if some catastrophic failure could occur (which can result in aborted flight or big problem with the battery during flight like loosing one cell)? In that case I would still retire the packs.

Both packs have now above 200 cycles.

Volkert

viva_peru

I have had a similar experience with some 5S Rhino 3700 mah pack that I have owned for the past three years. Both packs probably have about 130 cycles on them (I do not get to fly as much as I would like) and they still work well. In the mean time, I have had several Hyperion G3 and TP packs come and go while the Rhino's still hang in there.

Regarding their longevity, I do not know whether they should be retired or not simply to be safe. In my experience, I have not had a pack fail suddenly, but rather, it would start to give me hints that something was amiss: either large imbalances after a flight, noticeable temperature changes within the pack or a puffy cell.

Teo

wagen017

hi Teo, you're right about that. I charge my batteries always on the balancer and measure Ir regularly. If I would see anything irregular I would scrap them immediately.

Volkert

2Sunny

I have 4 sets of 10s Rhino 4900s that are in their second season and performing as well as the day I got them (at least based on the Castle graphs from this year and last). I had planned on retiring them after this season, but I'm happy to hear about your success and maybe I should plan on keeping these packs for another season at least?!? That would be a definite bonus for a $49 battery!


Joe

wagen017

so I guess it would be ok to continue flying these packs? Just make sure to monitor them for anything odd like changing Ir or imbalances? All feedback appreciated!

Volkert

Anthony-RCU

My Feedback: (2)

Get all you can out of them. I have some old True R/C packs that have Ir's in the double digits but they are still good trim/cool weather test packs. Have to manage them carefully but I still fly them!

I got the one bad batch of Rhinos. Built two sets and broke them in and both dropped a cell in under ten flights. Ordered another 5s and repaired them and they fly great but one cell is starting to puff and another has an ir >4 will the rest are around 2. Hopefully, they last because they do make lots of power.