just purchased first li-poly battery would like to know porper chargine procedure for new battery. only have 12v field charger from greatplains now do i need another

You likely need a new charger... Which Great Planes charger do you have? A Triton perhaps? A Triton will charge LiPo packs...

All LiPoly batteries come with explicit instructions on what kind of charger to use, how to charge, and how NOT to charge the battery. Read them CAREFULLY, and make sure you understand them before you use the battery. If anything in the instructions does not make sense, ask.

Unless your charger says, "Lithium Ion," "Lithium Polymer," "LiIon," "LiPoly," "LiPo," or some combination thereof, you need a different charger. Of course, this is detailed in the instructions that came with the battery.

There are some LiPo chargers on eBay for less than $20.00. They charge in the 450 mah range and will take a real long time to fully charge your pack. But that can be a good thing. Fast charging (anything more than .1 X mah capasity of pack) will be dangerous to the battery and your home!

I feel so CONFIDENT with the ASTROFLIGHT LIPO charger 109
that I want to STRONGLY recommend it.....
I use THUNDERPOWER batterys and the 109 charger exclusively
Had an "issue" with the MRC 969 which swelled my original 2100 mAh T/Power LIPO. (It's right to state here that the 959 charger is the best, in my opinion.)
Having returned the 969 with great difficulty (MRC refused to return but TOWER compromised) and exchanged conversations with both THUNDERPOWER and ASTROFLIGHT people, I am now
definitely sold on these two products because in both companys I was treated with courtesy and respect and super helpfulness. The swelled batt. was actually exchanged for a very heavy discount, even though the destructive swelling had nothing at all to do with them.
They are safe ( I follow all the simple instructions) very reliable and increase my new enjoyment of Electrics
RICK

thanks for replys. have read all about dangers of li-polly batteries the charger i have is the new li-poly 1-3 cell field charger. want to know if this will work for first charge on 2 cell 1200 am or will i need to have better charger like on the ni and other large batteries

Notice that the warnings and instructions do not say anything special about the first charge. LiPoly cells do not need a breakin charge. Just charge them, following the rules, and you will be fine.

In fact I bought some FlightPower LiPo`s some months ago (3S3200) which were recommended to give a special first discharge cyklus: Run 5 minutes, rest 15, run 5 and so on. The first time I have found this recommendation!

I've been using Li-Poly batteries for nearly a year now, and have only had 2 bad things happen. I use the Astro 109 Li-Poly charger.

In my shop while charging a 720 pack I heard a pop and quickly pulled the pack off charge. Upon checking I found that I had previously been charging a 1500MAH pack and forgot to adjust to the .7 MAH setting on the charger. (DUM)

At the flying Field, I put a 1320 MAH pack on the charger, loaded the 3000 MAH pack I had just charged in my plane and went out and got in the air. Do you see a picture here?? Next thing I heard was yelling, and I turned around to see flames and smoke on the bench where the charging took place. A fire Extinguisher quickly got the fire out, I landed and proceeded to analyze the situation. By the way it burned halfway thru a 2 X 12 board that it was resting on. (Dum again)

Since then I make sure and rotate the knob all the way off on my Astro Charger after removing a pack from charge. And lo and behold - I havent had an incident since.

I have been making it a practice to have a pack that is 50% over the requirement for the motor. For Example if the motor draws 30 Amps - my Pack would be 3S-3P 1500 MAH batteries for 4500MAH total capacity. And I've not had a plane burst into flames. I never leave a pack in a plane after flight, and never plug a pack into the ESC till I'm ready to proceed to the flight line.

Another safety factor that I use is if a pack is 3000 MAH, my charger can be set for 3A. I make it a point to set it for 2.90 Amps and the extra 5 minutes or so it takes to charge - I call insurance.

So in my opinion if you are careful with Li-Poly batteries and use extreme caution in charging them and choose a pack that has plenty of MAH to power the plane, you wont have any problems. Probably information that most already know, but if this prevents someone from burining up their house or car, I'm happy.

I do find it amazing that some clubs throughout the US have banned Li-Poly batteries from being used at their flying fields. Gasoline is just as dangerous if not handled correctly, (a gas can after an hour in the sun is a bomb waiting to go off) yet they allow it to be used.

thanks for all replys have sucessfully charged this pack with new electriflighte charger usining my glowfuel battery in my glow fuel box. am stillnot sure how long this battery will last but it seems to work am thinking of putting banna plugs on charger and using the 12volt starter plugs on control panel to recharge my li-pol batteries. what is the main difference between 3 cell and 2 cell 12amph batteries. is it the power or the length of time to run thanks

2 cells in series are 7.4 volts - 3 cells in series are 11.1 volts

Then you gang them together in parallell to increase your Milliamps to give the safety and extended time for your motor.

For example:

3S-2P 1500MAH packs are 11.1 Volts and 3000MAH for longer flight times and to handle the motor draw.

The individual cells are rated for draw at a given "C" level. 1C being the pack's MAH rating. Some of the newer packs have as high as 12C. For Example the new Kokam 2000 MAH packs have a rating of 12 C. They are capable of handeling 30 Amps of continuous current draw. The Kokam 2100 Packs can pull as much as 42 Amps Continuous. Most on the market should be held at about 5 C to be on the safe side, unless they have a given maximum current.

My Multiplex 3S-1P 1500 packs have a warning on them to not exceed 12 Amps, at 5 C however they should not be ued at over 7-8 amps. (C rating Times MAH of cells divided by 1000) Check the "C" value of any packs you buy and be sure to put them in parallel if you have any doubt as to whether you will exceed their rating. You can parallel only batteries of the same MAH and for safety from the same manufacturer, and if you are lucky same lot number.

My Electrifly 720 3S-1P have no rating, but fly my Jr. Falcon drawing 8 Amps and do not even get warm after 12 minutes and more flight time.

And be sure that you always charge at the 1C rate for the pack.

Examples:

3S-1P 1500 MAH Pack is charged at no more than 1.5 Amps
3S-2P 1500 MAH Pack (3000 MAH Total) charge at no more than 3.0 Amps
3S-1P 720 MAH Pack is charged at no more than .72 amps
3S-1P 720 MAH Pack is charged at no more than 1.4 amps

All the above packs charge in about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes at these rates.

For charging I have purchased a Xantrex Power Pack 150. It has a built in Gel Cell and is designed as a replacement for jumper cables for your car. It allows you to plug your charger into a standard Cirar Lighter fixture. In addition it has an inverter allowing other functions. And in an emergency you can actually use it to jump start your car. Coleman also makes a similar device. It has been really useful. I use it in my shop for charging, as well as at the field. I always charge all my Li-Poly batteries before going to the field, and this device has enable me to fly a whole day without running down.

so it's safe to run the charger (just purchased the celectra) of the 12v battery in my glow field box?

i have a couple foam models and picked up a pixie20 esc and TP 2S 1230mah lipo.

i've been afraid of charging since everything i've read says use a 13A power supply, and my extra pc power supply is only 4.5a.

i don't know anything about lipo yet, but i assume that for a 1230mah pack, you would only need 1.5amp or more 12vcd input. is this correct?

back to the flight box. any idea how often i'm gonna have to recharge my glow cell?

thanks,

- skellum

I use a 12V battery for charging. I've even hooked to my car battery when nothing else was available. I have an Astro Flite 109 Li-Poly Charger and it was the best investment I've made since going to Li-Poly. It never screws up, Only I did on a couple of occasions.

Li-Poly must be charged at 1C or lower.

Charging at a higher rate can cause them to overheat and burst into flames at over 1500 degrees. Li-Poly should never be allowed to go above 170 Degrees Farenheit. Keep them cool at all times, and be sure that you have more MAH than your plane needs to fly. If your plane is drawing too much Current and the batteries are getting hot, you stand a chance of them catching on fire.

To be safe I always go a bit below 1C (C being the MAH of the pack) when charging. For example a 1200 MAH PAck I would charge at about 1.0 to 1.1 AMPs. This is a form of insurance. Takes a bit longer to get a full charge, but the time is insurance.

Also, never leave the batteries while they are charging, and never charge in your plane. Some even go as far as to charge in a Ceramic pot of some kind.

Also never leave the batteries hooked up if you aren't ready to fly. The ESC typically is drawing from the pack and eventually will destroy the battery by taking it too low in voltage. Li-Po Batteries cannot be discharged below 3V per cell or they are ruined. So if you have a 3S pack, it should never be taken below 9V. A 2S Pack never below 6V. Most ESCs for Li-Poly have this cutoff built in or in the more expensive ones, it is programmable.

Most of this information is sent in the instructions and warnings when you purchase the packs. I've been using them for over a year now, and have only had incidents when I, the operator screwed up. Learn the characteristics, and you won't have any problems.

Thanks for the feedback.

I have done some research (including reading the documentation that came with the lipo pack and also the one that came with the charger.) I havn't seen anything that specificly says how to rate your input amperage. i'm not sure how much power the charger itself uses.

Everything i've read says to use 13amp minimum for the DC power supply. my thought would be that your DC source should have a minimum amperage slightly larger than 1C of the pack. If is true, i need 12vdc at 1.5amp minimum in order to charge the 1230mah pack at 1A (just under 1C). I'm mostly wondering why everything i've read says to use 13A min if your Amp min would actualy be just higher than the mah of your pack.

i say slightly more becuase i don't know now much of a load the charger itself is, and exactly 1C input to 1C output might end up with the charger trying to charge at 1A when the input is dropped to slightly under 1A by the charger curcuitry. If lipo is as sensitive as i'm hearing, i wouldn't want to try to charge at a higher amperage than the input was providing.

Most people that I know dont worry about anything but the amps going to the Li-Po battery.

An AC to DC power supply will put out 13V in most cases, But so does my fully charged Car battery - And my fully charged Flying Battery setup. My Astro 109 tells me this, but seems to take it into consideration and charge the Li-Po at the rate I choose. Amazing these computers, smarter than we are.

I personally ignore the voltage drop and current draw from the charger, output from my Charging battery etc. What counts is do not exceed 1C going into the packs. I leave all that scientific and Technical stuff to the Brains that designed it.

I guess I'm just making it too simple, but it works for me. I just want my packs to charge, not explode, and work after the charge. Anything else I dont care about.

Something else to consider is that your car battery is capable of putting out in the range of 25 AMPs or better to start your car. So to achieve 13A from most any 12 V Lead Acid or Gel Cell is no shot for a shooter.

is there anything to do when you dischage a pack below specs?

If you mean Li-Poly, Throw it away is what they recommend. Apparently they never recover.

if someone can help me that would be great.

im looking to buy the Triton as it charges the types of batts i own and also Li-pos.
im curious as to how difficult it is to setup this charger to charge a li po pack and my other packs.

as i dont know much about chargers, and it doesnt come with any connectors for them.

thanks a lot!!

Li-Poly packs require a special charger. Trying to do otherwise will cause them to explode or burst into flame. They are not dangerous if you are cautious in their use and care. The only problems I've had with them have been caused by my own errors.

Some chargers have a Li-Poly setting, but they will usually only charge at low rates, requiring much more time to obtain a full charge. Over voltaging or over current can and probably will cause explosion and fire.

Li-Poly must be charged at a no higher than a 1C rate. That is a 1200 MAH Li-Poly pack is charged at 1.2 Amps or lower. This is one disadvantage of Li-Poly batteries, they normally take a full hour to recharge after use. But they hold their charge for up to 6 months. So with multiple packs for a plane, you can charge at home, and be able to fly the batteries without peaking them first.

I suggest that you get an Astro Flight Li-Poly charger. They cost in the range of 130 dollars, but allow you to charge up to 9000 MAH Packs. This is a big advantage when you are charging different packs. I have packs ranging from 640 MAH to 6400 MAH and the charger covers the entire range for me.

If you discharge a lipo too much then it is as good as rubish I discharged my 11.1V to 7V (before I knew better, thats why im on this post) and then tried to charge it, it just bloated and im sure if I left it longer it would have got hot and caught fire...