skirack

I have a questions about the expected life of a lipo.

When the Foam Habu's came out a couple of years ago I went on a 4S buying binge and bought a variety of brands and makes of 4S 30C batteries and found good performance and I learned how to fly a faster plane.

After taking a 6 month break from regular flying I am trying to determine how to best evaluate my stock of batteries.

I have found varying flight times and my post flight readings are all over the map.

Today I bought four Sky Lipo 4000mAh 14.8V 40C for $41.31 to freshen up my stock and I am thinking of pitching my original stock but I wanted to check in with the smart folks on this forum before doing so.

Questions:
1. How long should a lipo battery last??
2. Have the batteries been compromised by sitting idle for six months??
3. What is the best method to test to a battery prior to disposal??

Thanks in advance to all for their responses.

Extreme_RC

Lithium Polymer cells have a lifespan regardless whether they are used or not.
If you stored them fully charged likely they are not doing too well, cheaper the cells the quicker they degrade when left charged over months.
Capacity test often wont show a bad pack, loading it up is the best way to check its condition. A watt meter is a must for this.
High end cells can get 3 years + in life, and hundreds of cycles, the cheap grade 2 cells (ie most of HK or Ebay stuff) can run for a year or two if used in light load situations, but when used in heavy load models like jets they have a much shorter cycle/lifespan compared to the premium cells.

Roberto Denadai

I have some batterries running for 3 years without problems

6 months is not a problem I think

Best Regards

evan-RCU

I agree with most said. If you store at a storage voltage of 3.77-3.8V per cell they seem to last years. I have some that are over 5 years old. I do not agree with the good VS cheap theory that the HK ones go bad faster as my Polyquest which are considered very good seem to have worse lifespans than my Zippys.

kdhpga

My Feedback: (2)

Been flying my Phase 3 F-16 (4 cell HK Zippy 2450 30C) with Don's Extreme motor/fan combo on same batteries for about 14 months and have noticed it's a little slower. I've order new batteries and I want to compare speeds.

Is there any chance motor/fan would put out less power after a year's use?

Kirk

Freddy!

I have been using Hyperion 4s/14.8v,25c/2500mah for two years in my mig 15.The lipos have been swelled up for about a year.Just like new in power or watts. Freddy

Extreme_RC

I would not consider Polyquest to be very good since late 2007, in fact the PQ cells that HK sells are rubbish, I have a couple of 45c packs bought to test and they cannot hold up against the quality chinese 35c cells.

I would consider Hyperion to be very high quality, and long lasting especially if looked after, matched performance when tested against my own cells. HK packs will run fine in park flyers, put them under some serious loads and hot setups and they dont compare to the premium cells.

Jetdktr

My Feedback: (21)

Store them at 50% and they will last a very long time. I am still using some original Thunder Power 3cell batteries that did not even come with balance taps. I have used TP, Zippy, Turnigy, Flight Power, Align, EFlight, and have had no issues with any of them.
Take care of them, they will takecare of you
Jim

Hokie Flyer

I had a set of LiPo's go bad on me.  took my truck down to the local convenience store.  They jumped over the counter, beat the clerk up and broke into the cash register.  They got caught and I had to post bail.  I brought them home and right now, they're being charged, with felony battery!


Rob

b.bixel

My Feedback: (123)

NICE!