-EXTRA-

You guy's would get laughed at where i live if you put your batterie's in and under crap LOL...i think that's funny..i have personally never had an issure with a lipo neither anyone i know..there so easy to use it's pathetic..my charger(triton JR) WILL NOT begin charging if my setting's for the battery are incorrect so i don't have to worry about that and i know i treat them well so no worries here..GL to all who use concrete block's and backing pan's ETC..LOL...

Bigshades

Most modern chargers will detect VOLTAGE, and make thier assumptions based on such.

Lipo = 3.6 - 4.2v Per cell. So the charger will only begin a charge for a lipo cell, when the detected voltage is between those values per cell.

But there still is the possibillity of fooling a charger. These algorithyms were designed to help reduce Errors, but are not flawless. It is still important to check every time you charge a pack.

Access

Right, the charger could detect a 5,6,7-cell NIMH as a 2s LiPo, or something similar. Voltage detect is no gaurantee.
Charging the LiPo (as NIMH) or NIMH (as LiPo) can both end badly, you should always check just to be sure.

GravityJunkie

That's exactly what I was getting at. The only thing a charger can do is see the voltage. And it will be total voltage of the pack if charged through the normal discharge leads. It can't determine chemistry. Looking at the voltage can maybe save you a little bit, but it's nothing that much of a safety net. And like I stated before, humans make mistakes. Just now there is a new thread about someone charging with the wrong setting. It happens. And if it NEVER happens to you for the lifetime you're running rc, you'll be a statistical abnormality.

Actually, I was wondering if his charger chargers through the balancer or something. I guess if it did that, it could assume a charge through there would be lipo. And it would know cell count along with individual cell voltages. I really asked it because I am in the market for a new charger, and a super safe lipo charger would be a nice thing to have.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Correct me if I`m wrong[since I am just getting into this] but if you charge through a balancer does`nt the balancer charge to each individual cell ? So wouldn`t it be better to charge lipos with a balancer all the time , instead of a charger that just sees total voltage ? [sm=confused.gif][sm=confused.gif]

Hardin Valley Magic

I always use a balancer.. Just to be safe from over or under charging one cell more or less than the others..

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Pretty interesting results so far . seems more don`t use them . I have an Ice charger and decided to do some tests to see what it will do . I set it to Lipo and tried charging a NIMH , won`t even do it . Said something like detected or wrong battery , then tried a charging a 4 cell nimh with setting for a 6 cell , right away it states battery voltage is lower then number of cells selected . Being that and I will only be using lipo from now on and with my charger models set to lipo I don`t see there being a charger error . From what I`ve heard the problems with lipos come from user error like charging a damaged pack , charging to fast rate , or charging in wrong mode .

wattman

From the Dollar stores or something like , a blue metal turkey roasting pan with lid is cheap , works for me to hold the charging batterys in , and I do not leave the house while charging them .
It even has handles to grab and run outside with , if need be []

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Nice idea , but i think I`d rather use the sack or a clay pot before lugging around a roasting pan .

GravityJunkie

I personally know of someone went to top off a lipo pack with an ICE. However the charger was set at nimh. Puff city.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

I`m not saying it`s not possible but even before charging my Nimh packs or gell cell for my starterbox I always check the mode , charge , discharge , peak values before even connecting the leads . If I had money laying around it would be no problem spending $30 on a sack . But I`m on work comp and they haven`t been paying my benefits for almost 4 months plus 5 months last year , so money is a little tight . If I can get by with a clay pot until this comp is settled I`ll do so . Thanks for all the input . The more I hear about bad experiences with lipos it seems it`s more user error then the actual batts .

t9dragon

My Feedback: (11)

You are exactly correct....... Most problems with the lipos are more user caused then the batteries themselves.

GravityJunkie

I'm not telling you that you have to use a liposack. Just get yourself some sort of a bunker to charge in. Whether that's a sack, clay pot w/sand or an ammo box is up to you. Things can go wrong, just take the appropriate safety precautions.

I'd tend to think that most lipo issues are user error. At least most of the ones I've personally seen have been of this variety.

Access

And I posted a thread a while back about the types of injuries people have seen / witnessed / been involved in during RC racing and couldn't find one battery-related injury, all the injuries were impacts (vehicle crashing into person), burns, etc. caused by carelessness.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

I have to say I expected the poll to be a little closer in results . 34 said no and 16 said yes . Very interesting , keep them coming ! Now I just need wait for the mail to get the lipos here .

Access

The bags might become more popular in the future though, the current rules for ROAR require them for using and charging LiPos I think.

Safety Hawk

My Feedback: (6)

I have never had a problem charging a Lipo, and I have been doing it for over four years now. However, I use fireproof safe to charge them in anyhow. Seems to me that the little investment is worth the peace of mind. The only issue I've ever had with a lipo was from lawn darting one of my planes while doing a full throttle slow roll and loosing orientation. The pack smashed through the firewall and ripped two of the cells open. It smoked some, but never caught on fire.

DARKWAV

I have one just to be on the safe side. I also balance charge my LiPos everytime. Now I didn't pick-up a temp sensor for my ICE charger, figuring the balancer will protect from overcharing issues and the LiPo sack is my safegaurd against any battery charging issues resulting from any physical damage that might have been introduced by shock loads from crashes or drops. Anyway I'm curious if anyone out there consistently uses all three of these safety measures; sack, balancer, and temp sensor.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

I plan to use the balancer and a pot every time I charge .

GravityJunkie

Dude, save the POT for after your battery is charged. Having a little too much pot may cause more user errors

noname994

What's a lipo bag? I don't know anything about lipos. Also how are they better than NiMh batteries?

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Lipos hold the voltage longer and can be charged and ran numerous times a day , unlike Nimh .

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

well , I ran my lipo last night and can`t believe the difference . Got 35 minutes of runtime with my truck that has a 10.5 brushelss and 20 minutes on my buggy with a brushed 10 turn . glad I made the switch .

Safety Hawk

My Feedback: (6)

For someone who is as into rc as you seem to be, I can't believe you waited as long as you did.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

I never wanted to switch until talking to a guy at the track last week about them . I`ve been racing since the 80`s and just got stuck in the old ways of doing things . But right now my buggy will probably stay brushed until i need new motors .