And you happily run turbines

I'm at the other end. I've run heaps of li-po's for many years and don't really bat an eye lid at them. But, just started running turbines and am still a little cautious.

Li-po's are just like when you started learning about how to run/maintain etc a turbine, once you understand the process it's pretty easy.

The boy's here are steering you in the right direction. Hobby city is the way to go for good, cost effective chargers. You don't "HAVE TO" ballance charge the li-po every time. Is it better, yes, but you don't have to do it every time. you will find a lot of the electric boys will charge their li-po's normally at the field, and when they get home and have the time up their sleeve they will then balance charge them. For example, The li-po on the electronic ignition in my Fw-190 get balanced only when i take the cowl off for maintenance, so every half a dozen charges or so. Deans connectors (terminals are flat and are in a "T" configuration) were the most common type of connector on electric models but there are a whole heap of different types out there now, depending on what kinds of current you are pulling. for an ECU, dean are more than good enough.

Most manufactures recommend not discharging Li-pos more than 75-80% or their rated capacity, but exceeding that just causes a reduction in the life of the li-po. Li-po's are only really a problem when charging, and if they get damaged, or shorted. li-pos can handle a fair deformation of the cell and still work, but a good hit or a puncture of a cell/cells is really bad news. If you can smell a "sweet" smell, then it has ruptured and you must dispose of it straight away. The way to destroy a li-po for safe disposal is to pop it into a bucket of salty water! don't just throw them into the garbage as they could explode and cause a fire in the dump truck!

Never leave a li-po on charge un-attended. Go to the warbirds thread a search for a thread of a guy who lost his garage and nearly the house because of a li-po left on charge while they were out for dinner. Technically speacking they should always be removed from the airframe for charging, and ultimately placed into a charging pouch. these are fibreglass lined and are designed to minimise any damage a li-po might cause. But removeal is not always feasable so that is where i charge the model while i'm in the workshop working on something else

They are great technology that has revolutionised our hobby on all fronts, so don't be afraid of them!

Thanks

dave