Hi Guys

Another stupid question............are any of you guys running a 3S lipo for the regulator power source? The reason I ask is that I have a couple of 1000mAh 3S lipolys hanging around that I do not use that much. I also have 800mAh 3S and 800mAh 2S batteries but if there are no issues I think I am leaning towards the 1000 3S. Jaccio states that the input is good up to 15V but on a forum search one guy had smoked his Jaccio reg with a 2200mAh 3S. Opinions??

Cheers

MJ

I don't think I would recommend it. I would be worried about the excess voltage being turned into heat and eventually affecting the regulator. Jim O monitors these threads and he can give a much better answer than my limited knowledge can provide.

Woodie
Team Acme LG

If you were using the regulator for some low power application it could take 15V or if you had a heat sink with adequate cooling it would also work. But Woodie is right. Don't use a three cell pack as you will ask the regulator to dissipate a lot of power which means heat and if it isn't adequately cooled it will shut down to save itself. It will continue to work after it cools to a point in its normal operating range and it is nearly impossible to permanently burn it out. If you must use a three cell pack add a resistor in series between the battery and the regulator to drop the voltage. The resistor must be rated at more than the expected power dissipation and you will want to cool it too. Easier to use two cells.

Jim

Thank you very much Woodie and Jim. I will use the 800mAh 2S batteries for the regulator. I have 2 of them and will monitor the draw after each flight for a while to see how much I am putting back in.

This forum is absolutely indispensable.

Thanks again guys.

Cheers

MJ

on average I use about 35mAh per flight; so even with one 800 mAh battery I can fly 10 flights without even hitting 50% of the battery capacity. So you should be fine with a 800.

Volkert

I run my WindS 110 on 3S 4,00 mAh packs because I have a few lying about. I am using the Hyperion TiCOOL regulator and that is rated for like up to 48V. I get many more flights. If there is a risk of your regulator smoking then its not worth the risk at all.

It is impossible to make smoke come out of the regulator unless you reverse the input polarity in which case a capacitor blows, but the regulator continues to work when you connect it properly. What does happen if you have too high a voltage drop from input to output and at the same time draw high current, is the temperature increases and if you don't keep the regulator cool, it will shut down the current to save itself. When it cools it will still work like new. With proper cooling one could run 15 volts and 5 amps but why would you want to?

It is not wise to waste power in heat. It is called poor efficiency. Aren't you guys worried about global warming?

Jim

Hi Jim. I have a Jaccio regulator that has been used for a year but has been in my toolbox unused for the past 10 years. Would it still be usable today or is it a risk to use it? Or should I maybe change the wires or something? Thanks.

I believe the Titan Cool BEC is a switching BEC and not a linear BEC, so there is very little waste heat generated regardless of the input voltage. However, what you do get is high frequency ripple sitting on the voltage lines and a higher component parts count.

For our uses I prefer a linear BEC over a switchmode one any day of the week and live with the losses. I do use switchmode regs in planes I can afford to lose and I have never had a problem but I just don't trust switchmode power supplies.