Silver Bullet

I don't seem to be getting very much duration on the standard LIFE battery in my 18sz. It seems to need charging every flying session because voltage drops to 6.6.
Can I substitute a two cell lipo battery in place of the standard LIFE battery? This way I could use my lipo charging equipment and larger capacity (than 2100) battery. Would I need to make any changes to the transmitter? Thanks.

FUTABA-RC

You do not have to stop flying at 6.6 volts. I don't. They will sit at 6.6 volts for a long time. I suggest you do a test where you fly like normal with a fully charged pack and stop when you normally do. Then recharge using a balance charger to see how many mAh of capacity you put back in. LiFe will sit on that 6.6 volt plateau for a long time. I get around 8 hours of flying time out of mine.

Futaba has not approved the use of a Lipo in the 18SZ/16SZ so I would proceed with caution there. Another thing you can do is pick up a second pack. I have a 2S LiFe from Turnigy that works great and is very cost effective. But check your actual battery usage before just assuming that once it hits 6.6 volts you need to stop flying.

Silver Bullet

Another reason I was considering changing to a lipo battery is the charger that Futaba supplys with the 18sz. There is no way it can balance the Life battery and seems very primitive and cheap. Someone suggested that I charge my transmitter battery via my Revolutrix Multi 4 charger (or 10XP) using a rate identified for a A123 battery. If this is valid, it would seem the best approach.
I wouldn't think it would be necessary to disconnect the battery from the transmitter.
Do you agree with above comments?
Thanks again.

FUTABA-RC

I rarely balance charge my LiFe pack. Maybe once every 10 or so charges. I've found it stays in balance pretty well. This is because the transmitter load is relatively low. It is under higher loads that cells are more likely to become unbalanced.

But if you want to balance charge, there is no reason you cannot remove the pack and balance charge it every time, you would have to do that with a lipo in any case.

And yes, if your charger does not have a "LiFe" setting simply use the 2S A123 setting.

Auburn02

My Feedback: (1)

I agree with everything Bill said. I do almost exclusively balance charge my TX pack, but it is never really out of balance to begin with. I just charge it outside so I can charge at a higher rate for quick charging. That said, I might charge that battery once a month and that's with flying every weekend. I would never even consider replacing that battery with a LiPo.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

I have a lipo in my Futaba 8. It lasts forever. I just have to remove it from the radio to charge it. Good Luck Dave