Q#1

I got he Hobbico Quick field charger ( some one told me it is the newer model)

I got a Li-po Battery that I'm charging on it I have it set up for LI-Ion( green) at 1000mA and I'm checking progress with meter.

the Battery is a 11.1V 1200mAh 3cell from E-tech. When I put the meter leads on it (at charger) in the begining it was at 11.32V
now its at 12.31V - IS THAT NORMAL????. I don't want to blow anything up . I am using a 115AC to 15DC 1.75A Power supply.
IS IT SUPPOSED TO BEEP WHEN LI-POLY IS DONE? Mine started to blink green 4 times

Q#2
Battery cost - $32.95 at local swop meet. Is this a good deal??


Hobbico Charger $49.99
PS - $5

supi7-

I'm new to this LiPo stuff too, but I will tell you what I know.

-Don't charge your battery over 1C. Meaning don't go beyond 1.2 Amps when charging that specific pack. I hear you can safely go to
-Don't charge a LiPo 3 cell pack if the voltage is 9.9v or less (3.3v per cell).
-Don't charge your 3 cell over 12.6v
-Don't discharge a battery to a level below 3v per cell under load. You can ruin your battery, and if you charge a battery that has been deeply discharged, that pack can possibly catch fire, or explode.
-And whatever you do, DO NOT short the leads of your battery. If you do place the batt in a safe place for about 15 min for observation... A nice fireworks show will most likely occur.

Best way to discard a LiPo is to discharge the battery to 3v per cell, puncture or rupture the cell, and immediately submerge in salt water. (I'm not positive on this procedure, cause I have never had to do it, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.) After that it can be thrown in the trash. I know soaking in salt water is the right thing to do, i'm not so sure about puncturing the cells before so... and of course have the 3v per cell is the correct thing to do, as long as you don't intend to charge it again after doing so.

Hope this helps...

As for the prices you paid, I donno. Can't help you there.

Just remember don't charge your pack beyond 12.6. Your charger should "know" this.

it's holding a steady charge of 12.32 -.33 so far

I did get a nice spark off of it when I was fitting it with new connector (came with no connector)[:@]

I was told that Hobbico Quick field charger MKII will hold the Li-poly charge @ 1000mA no matter how high you set it to.

Why do people still recomend using Hobbico for Li-Poly, I read the little manual for the charger and they advise against charging Li-Poly. They say that the battery types are not the same yet I heard so many people say its OK to charge Li-poly

just a warning, but even a very momentary short can cause a lipo to balloon up... keep on eye on the pack for the next couple cycles.

If Hobbico does not recommend using this charger for Li-po batteries, don't. Li-po batteries are not as stable as Nicads or even NMh batteries and if charged or discharged improperly they can cause a fire or even explode.

Your questions concern me....remind me of my friend, who half-reads everything.....who decided to jump into using lipos and almost burned down his house...well, at least one of his rooms (he was overcharging a lipo pack unattended...it made a pretty balloon though).

Please read this before you do anything else.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Usin...1238924/tm.htm

Then dowlnoad the pdf file and read that.

Then search for more info in the Batteries&Chargers forum. And if that is not enough, check out the batteries forum at rcgroups.com

Lipos are a different breed of animal, not to be taken lightly.

Sir, I don't half read anythig. I just want to know all about Li-Poly charging. I did not leave it un-attended and I understand the hazards of chargin it improperly. I was told by a bunch of people that charging with Hobbico Quick field charger is OK. I just want to know if I should expect a beep at the end of charge or should I meter it and turn it off at peek charge of 12.32V

I would expect a boom before it's done. If Hobbico says don't use it for Li-POs, don't. The manufacturer knows more about their charger than "a bunch of people".

Sorry Supi7, did not mean to upset you

But when I saw your statementit tells me that you do not know what the maximum volts/cell is for a lipo pack.

And when you said thisthat tells me that you do not know what type of charging is done for lipos (cc/cv).

I am only saying that you may want to read up on charging/using lipos....nothing more...

Have a nice day.

I am not getting upset . I read that Hobbico will charge the Li-Ion at 1A (1000mA) max therfore it will charge the Li-Poly at same rate.
As for the Pack volage its labeled as 11.1V so I would assume thet this is its peak, but when I put my leads on battery it read 11.32V
My 12V PS says its 12V but it outputs 15.somthing. When I stopped charging last night the battery was holding steady at 12.30's. There is a lot of people charging Li-Poly batteries with Hobbico charger I just want to know: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN ITS DONE CHARGING LI-POLY? OR DO I HAVE TO BABY-SIT IT?

I don' see myself spending a lot of money for an overpriced Triton charger just to feel safe. (I got Insurance policies that do that). Just because some hot shot celebrity flier says it works.

I rather take an opinion of bunch 50-60 year olds that been there done that, than spending money on latest and gratest toy to feel safe.

Now I'm upset[:@] JK

O.k, lets try this again...
This question would be best answered in the Batteries & Chargers forum, but here goes.

11.1v is not the peak reading for a 3s pack, its the nominal voltage reading for a 3s pack. A fully charged lipo is 4.2v/cell (3s=12.6v).

Most lipo chargers use the cc/cv(constant current/constant voltage) method for charging (same as lead acid batteries). Constant current (variable voltage)will be delivered during the initial charge. When the voltage reaches a set point (arount 4.0-4.2 volts/cell, depends on which charger) the charger will change to provide a constant voltage (variable current) to the battery. This is because lipos resist charge current as they reach full charge.

As for the Hobbico Quick field charger, check this out...
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.a...10&key=hobbico

Why would you assume the label voltage rating is the peak voltage on a LiPo when its not for NiCd or NiMh or Alkaline or ANY other battery?

The label voltage is the average voltage at rated load while you are using the battery for some types... for others it seems to be a randomly chosen value somewhere in the range seen durring a charge-discharge cycle.

The "nominal" 4.8 volt 4 cell NiCd pack will peak at 5.6 volts. (you can get a brief reading of 6.2 volt reading off of one fresh from the wall-wart overnight charge...)

The NiMh cells have a similar rated peak to the NiCd cells... but you won't get the brief "over-peak" unless you are destroying the battery.

Your average car battery is rated at 12 volts. Put a meter on it and if its less than 13 volts you'll have trouble starting your car.

thats where it stopped , so i think that is its peak.