temecularc

I just purchased my first lipo (2C 6000mah from maxamps.com). In the charging instructions, it talks about using a balancer. Can I still run this lipo without a balancer, or should I wait and buy a balancer first? Is it required or recommended?

Thanks in advance!
Gary

Viper87

You can use the LiPo with out the balancer for a little while. I have been using mine for a few months now but very casually. It is very recommended for battery life and performance that you get a balancer. One that I hear about frequently is the [link=http://www.astroflight.com/store/store-type-tem.html?item=products:af-106&sid=0001TuHQF6Ps598bCU661C6]Astro Blinky[/link]. It is relatively inexpensive and will lengthen you batteries life.

So the short answer is no they are not required but rather strongly recommended

guver

My Feedback: (325)

A balancer may be recommended, but is only required if it is required, right? that sounds dumb [:@]

Ok if the pack is out of balance then a balancer may be required. If it is not out of balance then it is not required. The pack should be checked before the first use to see.

TampaRCGuy

My Feedback: (282)

If you have never used a balancer or new to Lipo's, I would not recommend the Blinky. While it works fine, all it is a tiny pcb board with pins on it for the battery. You will have to make up your own wiring. I would recommend the Hyperion LBA10 or e-Station PB-5.

They Hyperion and e-Station both have the Polyquest wiring harnesses included which is what the MaxAmps packs use. Just plug and play. On larger packs, the e-Station has an advanatge that is discharges at 500 mah vs 300 mah for the Hyperion. Being that your pack is a 6000 mah pack, you would need the higher discharge rate of the balancer to help get through the balancing.

The e-Station also has wiring available for Thunderpower, Kokam, Align, Polyquest as well as an open ended harness to make your own. The Hyperion only supports the Polyquest right now but will be releasing other harnesses soon. Price wise, they are about the same.

temecularc

Thanks for the response everyone. I ended up ordering a watts meter along with a hyperion lba10. I'd rather spend the money now, then in the future on more batteries because I didn't do it right. Gives me a little more comfort

Thanks again!

saitofreak

It's strongly recommended to use a balancer - Lipo voltage charge/discharge tolerances are quite strict. A little known fact is that a balancer allows you to effectively and safely use a lower quality lipo pack or a pack thats getting long in the tooth - assuming it has a balancer plug. All other electronic consumer products that run re-chargeable lithium cells include individual cell protection and many also have cell balancing thrown in. Our lipo balancers do exactly the same. The best practise is to use a suitable balancer in series with the charger every time you charge your packs - it acts as a secondary fail-safe in case of a charger fault and provides the required voltage balance. It's cheap insurance and can greatly increase the safety and life of our lipo's.