Fidy$Trainer

My Feedback: (1)

Hi,
I have a few questions regarding LiFeP04 Batteries I was hoping to get answers for. I recently bought a LifeP04 4500Mah 2 Cell battery to switch over from my 2 2000Mah NiMa batteries. First question are the LiFeP04 Batteries the same as A123 batteries? I was told not to go with Lipo but rather A123's I was also told that the LiFe04 batteires are the same as A123's.

On my LiFeP04 2 cell 4500 battery I have a deans connector and a balance plug with 3 wires on it red white and black. I'm assuming the white is the signal wire? What kind of switch do I need? And do I need to somehow modify the balance plug to work with the charging port on the Switch? Can somoene recommend a good not not crazy expensive switch and what's necessary for the modifications?

Thanks for all the help in advance.

ss40

Better study up. The 3 balance wires are + and +/- and - for balancing. No such thing as signal in balancing leads.

ec121

My Feedback: (2)

The chemistry is about the same between A123 and LiFes. You will need the proper charger for this chemistry. You didn't say which plane this was on. Your Z connectors are rated at 3A max. I use a heavy duty switch and charge through the switch jack at 2A. Depending on the size of the plane I cut the Dean's off the battery and solder on a Z connector. On a larger plane I cut the connector off the switch and solder on a Dean's connector for a little less voltage drop. I don't normally balance a two cell battery. As ss40 said, you better study up, because these batteries, like Lipos, can dump a lot of current in a hurry if you make a mistake, but they also charge faster for the same reason.

hanko

A123 is Lithium nano phosppate, LiFe is Lithium Iron. The chemistry is not the same.

ec121

My Feedback: (2)

Sorry, I should have spelled it out for the nitpickers. I meant functionally. When I said "chemistries", I was using the term to differentiate between the two types of that battery on the market. Not the materials used to manufacture them. I didn't say they were the same. I said they were "about" the same. They operate at the same voltages. The same charging algorithm will work for both chemistries. That is close enough for what we are using them for.

hanko

Nit picker? Not only is the chemistry different, the discharge and charge properties are also different. The only thing similar is the voltage. So i guess you could say the Ni-cads and N-mh are close to being the same. I dont think so, but thanks for trying anyway

Nieuport nut

My Feedback: (10)

Actually A123 and LiFe ARE the same.
I believe that both are Lithium Iron Nano Phosphate. If you have a charger that does one it will do both.

Martin

hanko

This is a copy from another thread by RC Tom










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Status: offline A123 is a brand name of LiFePO4. Probably the best brand of this technology. Genuine A123 can charge and discharge very rapidly. For receiver / servo use you normally do not use any regulator. A two-cell pack puts out 6.6 Volts. I run two independant packs - each pack is 2300mAh - on my 40% plane (10 servos). I don't have an opinion about the pack you reference in your post. I'll leave that to others.

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RE: LiFePo4 on my 30% Questiosn - 8/7/2010 11:53 PM


rctom




Certified idProduct=10309&Product_Name=Turnigy_4500mAh_2S2P_30C_LiFePo4_Pack

LiFEP04 is NOT a brand name of A123 and it is not the same. A123 is Lithium-nano-phosphate, Life-P04 is Lithium-Iron-phosphate (the FE is iron). They are similar but not identical, A123 has about 33% higher current delivery ability while LiFeP04 has a higher density, which means LiFeP04 will hold a little more than A123 (for the same weight) but you can't get it out quite as fast. For most receiver applications either one will do nicely. A123 can also be charged a little faster. They have the same voltage range and use the same charging protocol.

No regulator is needed on either one for all receiver/servo applications and for most ignitions. Either chemistry will operate your receiver and servos very well.

The battery you are indicating is cheap but is as heavy as 2 2300 A123 packs, you can get redundancy with no increase in weight. My experience has been that a single cheap battery is false economy.

TF

1.250RCU1

hanko

As i said I suck at that, but the item Im refering to is an explanation about A123's and Li-FE