Bobsav

I've gotten my first Lipo pack, and would like to ask a question.
After charging my balancer told me that the cell readings were 3.902 - 3.907 - 3.893, this is of course for a 3S pack.
Are these ratings OK ?

Thanks
Bob

Bobsav

22 people have read this post and no one can give me an answer ?
Thanks for all the help, you really know how to make a new forum member feel welcome.
And I'm sorry for the dumb question which must be beneath you,
I should have remembered that everybody here were born experts in the R/C field.
Have a good Holiday
Bob

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Gee Bob, I just saw the post and in spite of your temper tantrum I'll try and help you.
Are the readings you show good for a fully charged lipo...........No they are not. A fully charged lipo should top off at 4.20v per cell. A lipo at storage level for short/long term storage should be around 3.8 v per cell. A lipo that has been run down to voltage cut-off should be around 3.6 to 3.7 v per cell. Shouldn't run a pack below 3.6v per cell as that can damage the pack and shorten it's lifespan.
What brand/model charger are you using?
What mah rating is the 3-cell lipo and how old is it?
How are you setting up/what are you selecting in the charger to charge the pack? Provided it is a "smart" charger.
It appears you may not be setting the proper values in the charger to program the pack or possibly the pack or charger is damaged.
Try and provide some more info.

Bobsav

Well thank you Brian, for your time .
The pack is brand new 3300Mah 11.1V 35C
It was charged with a " iMAX B6-AC B6AC Lipo NiMH 3S RC Battery Balance Charger"
Bob

raptureboy

Dude, lighten up. This place is almost a ghost town since all the upgrades. What Brian said is correct, recheck your settings on the charger again. A 1C charge rate should be 3.3 amps and the cells should all read around 4.12-4.20 depending on age. The only way you will know if its the battery or charger is to try another know good battery on it. Response time is related to proper forum posting, try to be more specific with wich forum you post in, in this case Batteries and chargers would have brought you an almost instant response.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

The Imax is a standard "4-button" charger so I'll try and walk through the set-up. Hopefully it's similar to the chargers I use.
1) Plug the lipo packs balance plug into the proper port on the charger and plug the red&black leads of the pack into the charger using the appropriate cable,
2) Turn on the charger and press the left button until " LIPO" batt appears on the display.
3) Press the right button to select LIPO Batt.
4) Press the second or third button (left-right) to change the different charge programs . I usually select "LIPO BALANCE".
5) Press the right button and the amperage value will flash. Press the second or third button to increase or decrease the value. Set it to 3.3 amps,
6) Press the right button again and the cell count value will flash and use the second/third buttons to select 3 cell 11.1 v.
7) Press and hold the right button to start the charge and you may have to press it again if the display says "press to confirm".
You can press the third button and the display will show the individual cells values as they charge and balance. Charger will beep when complete.

Bobsav

We'll that's basically what I did.
I'll try to get another battery and see what happens.
Thanks for the help.
Bob

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

OK . I just thought you may have the charger set to LiFe not LiPo and that will lower the cell voltage. The displays will read LiFe and not LiPo in that case too.

Bobsav

Ok, well after resetting the charger, and going through another cycle I came up with

4.14 - 4.16 - 4.13

Guess that's what it should be

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

The cells should get a bit higher than that even if the battery is old. If the battery is really used then the resistance will be high and the cells may never reach 4.2v but they should be closer than what you posted.
Only you know the life history of the battery.
How long is the battery on the charger before it kicks off?
Does the display read "Full" ?
Is the charger set to balance mode, fast charge mode or charge mode?

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

So far you are getting good advice.

I believe you said the battery is new. Don't know about the age of the charger, but I agree with the others, a LiPo, fully charged should be 4.2V in each cell and it should be pretty close to perfectly matched if you are using a balancing charger. The 3 cell pack should be at 12.6V fully charged.

I would use the pack, then charge it again. If the voltage still does not reach 4.2, and you continue to have differences between the cells then I would question how well the charger is working.

Please restate the capacity of the cell and tell us what charge rate you are using. The standard charge rate for a Lipo pack is 1C.

Some chargers have higher C ratings for packs that are rated for 20C or higher but that should be an automatic setting.

Bobsav

We'll I got another battery same kind/type 3C 3300MAH 35C, and guess what the charger blew a gasket.
Started to smell that "electronics smell " and then poof I let the smoke out and that was it.
I'm assuming now that the charger was faulty from the get go.
It will all have to wait till after Christmas when I get down to Florida and pick up a new charger
Thanks for the help, and next time will post in the correct forum as I was told.
Bob
Have a good Holiday.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Could have been a poor Chinese copy of the Imax charger. A lot of folks are making copies and clones of the "Four Button" type of chargers now.....some good ....some not so good. I have a few of the clones and they have performed well for a few years now.
If you can afford it and if you are going to get heavier into electrics, look for a Dynamite Passport 4105 charger. Horizon was clearing them out for $99.00 and they are good. Hobby shops may have some in stock or on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dynamite-Pas...p2047675.l2557

Bobsav

Well if it was a "Chinese" copy. I got taken, I didn't pay "Chinese" copy price

dicharry

My Feedback: (16)

Even the Imax chargers will sometimes burn out on the balancer plug side. I suggest you try the 2 cell and then the 4 cell inlets on your charger. You might be surprised to find that they are fully capable while the 3 cell inlet is kaput.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Yes that is true. I had to repair a charger where it burned off the copper traces on the balance board for the 4 cell balance port. Three of the four remaining ports worked OK. It apparently smoked a lot according to the owner but the charger still powered on but wouldn't properly charge two out of five pack types.After the repair it worked fine.
One of the easiest ways to tell if you have an Imax copy is to turn the charger over and look for a holographic sticker that reads SkyRc and it will have a scratch-off area and underneath will be a serial number where you can go to the website and verify the number as being authentic. Other things are the colors are off, words misspelled, and shoddy construction inside..

Bobsav

We'll I opened up the charger and there are definitely some burnt up parts.
As for the sticker on the back , there is none. just a little "QC" sticker like you find on most imported crap.
I'm sorry to say that I purchased this from a store that is pretty well know to most people.
Going to contact them and see what they have to say.
It's bad enough when you get crap on E-bay but when you get the same thing at twice the price from a retail store, that kind of burns me up .
Bob

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

why are you mad at the store? They didn't do anything wrong. They don't pull every charger out of the box and test them? They sell what they believe to be a functional product. Apparently this one was defective. That is why it has a warranty, hopefully.

I think your anger is highly misplaced. If this is a reputable store I am sure they will help you, however, remember, the warranty is by the MFG, not the store. If the store takes it back or exchanges it, it is out of excellent customer service, not because they did anything wrong.

Bobsav

Reputable stores would not be selling "chinese copies" as the real thing. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not buy this from E-Bay I bought it at a nation wide hobby shop and got sold a fake.
That is why I'm miffed at the store, wouldn't you be ??

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

So, you did some sort of comparison with some other charger and decided that this one is a fake sold under the label of the other one? Sorry, I did not see that you had stated that.

Now, how would the store have known that this was a fake? Sounds like they are a victim, just as you are. that is, if you have validated that this is a fake product.

Even Mercedes and Rolls Royce have recalls for defects. Sounds like you just got a bad one.

Bobsav

FlyinWalenda told me that the "REAL" imax charger has a holographic sticker and a scratch off area to reveal the serial number.
As I stated , my charger has a little gold sticker that say's "QC"" no serial number no hologram.
Your trying to tell me that a nation wide hobby shop is selling "clone" equipment and they don't know about it ???? gimme a break..

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

OK, if you say so. Unless they knew this and unless they opened the boxes, how would they know?

Not making excuses for the store, I am just asking a question.

If I go into the store and see that box how will I know it is a fake? Help me avoid what you experienced.

If this happened to me I would contact the manufacturer and ask them for assistance rather than accusing the store of disreputable practices based on some post made on this forum. The poster may be right. Or the Mfg may have changed their process. Or this may be a fake.

Spektrum is having problems with fakes in the market. Reputable dealers are getting fake goods and they are so good there is almost no way to tell.

And saying they are Chinese does not mean they are fake anything. The real ones are probably made in China too.

flyinwalenda

My Feedback: (5)

Bob,
Yes you were sold a fake/copy . That is the main problem from what I have read is the low quality components and workmanship inside resulting in burned-out chargers. I would be upset with the LHS as well if they sold this as an actual Imax . Perhaps they were duped as well from their supplier but I would think they have had other complaints by now. See what they have to say about it and hopefully you can reach an agreement with them. Good Luck. Also I have a few of the clones that work fine and they are made in China. Difference is they are not trying to copy the IMax charger down to the colors,design, etc, and try to sell it as an Imax. Mine are black, labled B6,,,,no IMax label, function just like an IMax, and have good components and workmanship inside,
Lots of info out there about the fake/copies. Here is one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC2x7tz9lCA

Bobsav

We'll I've had enough of this for now, Am headed to /Florida for the Winter, and hope to resume my flying, got a lot of older R/C stuff to try and rejuvenate and hopefully get back in the air.
As I said at the beginning this is my first try at LIPO"s and I guess I've learned a lot. I never got a "fake" charger for my NiCad's, they worked all the time no muss no fuss.
The sticker on my charger looks suspiciously like the one in the YouTube video.
Thanks for all the help
Bob

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Fly,

I have never used the Imax so was not familiar with it.

Thanks for the video link. I also found this one which I presume is a real IMAX B6. this looks like a charger balancer as opposed to the a balancing charger that charges through the balance connector.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ijfcjU-rc

The red stripes on the box seem to be the same. The manual in the real one looks like excellent quality printing compared to the fake you showed.

Does a good overview of the charger.

Bobsav, don't know if this is of any value to you but wanted to share it.