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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> Batteries & Chargers >> Common Sense RC Support >> charging batteries in cool temps
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charging batteries in cool temps - 2/1/2008 6:02:05 PM   
tazzzz


 

Posts: 273
Joined: 3/12/2007
From: wilmington, NC, USA
Status: offline 		I leave my batteries in my garage (no heat) temps do get a bit low (around 40 or so) Is it OK to charge batteries when they are cold,,,,and on the otherside how about when it gets real hot outside?

Thanks TAZZZZ
       Post #: 1

RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 2/2/2008 5:09:40 AM   
Tram



Posts: 536
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Florence, AL, USA
Status: offline 		It's better to charge them when they are cold than when they are hot fresh off a charge...

Charging them while they are cool won't hurt them.. Many guys store them in a fridge..


Jeff
www.CommonSenseRC.com

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Jeff Williams
www.CommonSenseRC.com

(in reply to tazzzz)
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RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 2/2/2008 3:53:01 PM   
Red Scholefield



Posts: 4731
Joined: 12/8/2001
From: Newberry, FL, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzzz

I leave my batteries in my garage (no heat) temps do get a bit low (around 40 or so) Is it OK to charge batteries when they are cold,,,,and on the otherside how about when it gets real hot outside?

Thanks TAZZZZ


It depends on the charge rate you are planning to use. The colder the pack the lower the charge rate it will accept before gassing (possible venting).

_____________________________

Red S. AMA 951
R/C Battery Clinic
www.rcbatteryclinic.com

(in reply to tazzzz)
       Post #: 3

RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 3/28/2008 1:57:51 AM   
BigTb17


 

Posts: 308
Joined: 2/12/2008
From: Perrysburg, OH, USA
Status: offline 		I was at the LHS today and I overheard one of the employees telling someone that if a LiPo gets below 40 degrees F it can cause it to swell and possibly explode. I told him several of mine had gotten cold and were fine and he acted like I was lucky they didn't swell.

I have a few Common Sense RC LiPo batteries and a couple of other brands. This winter I left a couple of them in the trunk of my car for a couple weeks during which time there were several nights with below freezing temps. A couple nights were actually around zero F. I eventually brought them inside and the voltage on them was fine. I waited until they were room temp to charge them and have been using them ever since with no problems.

I had never heard one way or another that LiPo batteries could/couldn't get cold. But based on my experience I think the guy at the hobby shop is wrong/mis-informed. You say that some people store their batteries in the fridge. I assume then that it isn't bad for them to get cold.

Is there any basis to what I heard the hobby shop guy say? Did I just get lucky?

(in reply to Red Scholefield)
       Post #: 4

RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 3/28/2008 5:47:13 PM   
Red Scholefield



Posts: 4731
Joined: 12/8/2001
From: Newberry, FL, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: BigTb17

I was at the LHS today and I overheard one of the employees telling someone that if a LiPo gets below 40 degrees F it can cause it to swell and possibly explode. I told him several of mine had gotten cold and were fine and he acted like I was lucky they didn't swell.



Like most hobby shop advice - worthless. Just check the manufactures specs. Sanyo, for instance, states charging from 0C to 40C. 0C is 32F for those of you in Rio Linda.

I store my batteries including LiPos in the refrigerator where it is about 38F.


_____________________________

Red S. AMA 951
R/C Battery Clinic
www.rcbatteryclinic.com

(in reply to BigTb17)
       Post #: 5

RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 3/28/2008 7:49:39 PM   
BigTb17


 

Posts: 308
Joined: 2/12/2008
From: Perrysburg, OH, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the reply. I had never heard that it was bad for them to get cold, and just from my experience I have never had a problem with LiPos getting cold (I have flown my planes in the winter multiple times, as have many others). I just wanted conformation before I got into an argument with the guy in front of another customer.

(in reply to Red Scholefield)
       Post #: 6

RE: charging batteries in cool temps - 3/29/2008 12:16:40 AM   
Tram



Posts: 536
Joined: 9/5/2004
From: Florence, AL, USA
Status: offline 		Getting them cold isn't going to make them explode....

_____________________________

Jeff Williams
www.CommonSenseRC.com

(in reply to BigTb17)
       Post #: 7

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