ORIGINAL: finnman
I also upgraded to the 11.1v Lipo battery. I continue to use the balancing charger that came with the Big lama. I rarely use the helicopter so the battery stays plugged in all the time. Is this the wisest thing to do even with the balancing charger? Once the battery is fully charged should I disconnect it from the charger or will it go flat over a period of several weeks? I know that if it drains all the way down it is toast and has to be pitched.
Thanks
Hi finnman and congrats on your upgraded BOL.
To your question.
The battery should never be left connected to the charger after the charging process has been completed.
Once it gets fully charged you must disconnect the battery and then disconnect the charger`s power plug from the main.
Why?
Because li-po batteries cannot tolerate excessive charging at more voltage and/or more than allowed charging current. Or else they will explode in fire.
Anyway the charger once the battery gets fully charged then it stops charging it and does not enter to a trickle charge mode as it happens with most NiCd or NiMH battery chargers.
So even if you leave it connected then it won`t help to maintain the battery at a fully charged state.
But the li-po batteries have a very low self discharge, so even after many weeks it will be as much charged as it was when you charged it.
So the charger has a terminating mode. Which stops charging the battery when it gets fully charged.
But why there is a risk when you leave it connected?
Cause the charger enters this mode in a charging cycle.
The charging cycle starts as follows: Plug the power cord of the charger to the main, the charger initializes, connect the battery, charger checks about the battery and if it is damaged or not and if it`s charged or not, then starts charging it.
If you leave it connected then if there is a main power failure (a blown fuse, or a power outage) then the charging cycle does not start normally and the charger may or may not operate well. If it fails to operate as normal then a li-po overcharged battery will explode in fire.
Another possibility is that the charger may get damaged and it may not stop charging the battery automatically. If it is left connected for more than an hour than the usual charging time then it is not so risky (still is though), but if it is left connected for more than two hours then the risk starts.
So basically:
1. There is a risk to leave the battery connected to the charger.
2. You don`t do any good to the battery leaving it there connected. It will not help at all to maintain it fully charged.
I would suggest to find a good place to charge the li-po batteries. As a place of concrete or other non flammable material, with no flammable materials nearby. And better have the li-po battery at your attention, at least when it is charging.
Lastly there are special bags that prevent the fire to be spread.
Also have in mind that it is better to store li-po batteries at about 3.83V for a long period. They should not be stored fully charged, neither fully discharged (this is worse than fully charged).
So to have a good health battery.
As for the stock blade grips and the lower rotor head I have no problem using them, neither remove them and install them again.
Good flights,
Spiros