LiFe Battery (RX Packs)
05-22-2024, 05:52 AM
#1
Thread Starter
LiFe Battery (RX Packs)
Hi there,
I have a few questions on a LiFe RX battery pack which I have recently purchased to go into an IC Warbird Plane (it has x8 Futaba SU-300 Servos, x1 Futaba FAASTest 18 RX and a Futaba-553 Gyro).
Up to now, I've been using NiMH 2600Mah 6v RX Battery Packs on all my models but these only have 4-5 Servos at most and they work just fine for all day flying.
However, all my Futaba SU-300 Digital or S3003 Analogue Servo's are rated at 4.8-6.0v. Most of my RX's can cope with up to 8.4v so I'm not worried about them.
1) Can I use the Life Battery (6.6v 1600mA Pack) as a straight swap from the 6.0v NiMH Pack without damaging my Servo's?
2) Do I need to put the Life Batt into a storage state if not using it for a couple of weeks or more?
3) What is the minimum voltage or percentage that I can discharge the LiFe before recharging?
4) Am I right in saying that, When Charging this pack: Set the charger to 1.6Amp, 3.3v, 2C, Balanced Option to be used ?
Sorry If this topic has been answered before on previous threads but I've seen or read different info which contradict each other, so I'm here to ask the RC community directly.
I'm of the old school days of flying and still using NiMH but slowly upgrading to Newer Stuff !!
Any help will be most appreciated,
Thanks
I have a few questions on a LiFe RX battery pack which I have recently purchased to go into an IC Warbird Plane (it has x8 Futaba SU-300 Servos, x1 Futaba FAASTest 18 RX and a Futaba-553 Gyro).
Up to now, I've been using NiMH 2600Mah 6v RX Battery Packs on all my models but these only have 4-5 Servos at most and they work just fine for all day flying.
However, all my Futaba SU-300 Digital or S3003 Analogue Servo's are rated at 4.8-6.0v. Most of my RX's can cope with up to 8.4v so I'm not worried about them.
1) Can I use the Life Battery (6.6v 1600mA Pack) as a straight swap from the 6.0v NiMH Pack without damaging my Servo's?
2) Do I need to put the Life Batt into a storage state if not using it for a couple of weeks or more?
3) What is the minimum voltage or percentage that I can discharge the LiFe before recharging?
4) Am I right in saying that, When Charging this pack: Set the charger to 1.6Amp, 3.3v, 2C, Balanced Option to be used ?
Sorry If this topic has been answered before on previous threads but I've seen or read different info which contradict each other, so I'm here to ask the RC community directly.
I'm of the old school days of flying and still using NiMH but slowly upgrading to Newer Stuff !!
Any help will be most appreciated,
Thanks
05-22-2024, 06:20 AM
#2
1. Yes
2. Not needed, charge it, store it dead, those batteries don't care. I store mine fully charged.
3. You can't. Fly twice or so and charge, note the Mah returned by your charger to get an average Mah per flight. Figure out total safe flights and subtract a couple for luck. Fly those flights and recharge.
4. Life has its own charge program, 1C is fine, 2C is fine in almost all cases so if it were me I'd charge at 2.5 to 3 amps.
Don't be afraid to ask if you don't know. You may get conflicting info here, all I can say is I've been in RC for years and a retired avionics tech and I've been using A123 and Life batteries for years.
2. Not needed, charge it, store it dead, those batteries don't care. I store mine fully charged.
3. You can't. Fly twice or so and charge, note the Mah returned by your charger to get an average Mah per flight. Figure out total safe flights and subtract a couple for luck. Fly those flights and recharge.
4. Life has its own charge program, 1C is fine, 2C is fine in almost all cases so if it were me I'd charge at 2.5 to 3 amps.
Don't be afraid to ask if you don't know. You may get conflicting info here, all I can say is I've been in RC for years and a retired avionics tech and I've been using A123 and Life batteries for years.
