John_jrp3

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i picked up a pretty nice charger. skycharger B6Ac

has alot of options and i can choose the amperage to charge my batteries.

my question is what to charge them at.

i have a few 4s1p one is a 3300mah and the other 3000mah

and a 2s1p 1000 mah and a 2s1p 850mah

what should these be charged at for amperage? nasically is it better to charge at say 1amp or is that to low. and if im wanting to fast charge whats to much without hurting the lifespan

ive searched for a while now and cant seem to find any answers on amperage.

karlik

This link will answer all the basic questions and then some -

[link]http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html[/link]

The answer to your question is charge at 1C.

C is the Capacity of your packs so a 3300 ma pack would charge at no more than 3.3 amps (less is slower but means a little longer battery life). Your 850ma pack would charge at no more than .85 amp. Me personally - I'd charge the 3300 at 3 amp, the 3000 at 2.5 amp, and both the 1000 and 850 at .8 amp. Mine are all 1300 and I charge them at .8 amp.

As far as fast charge? DON'T charge at more than 1C (that pretty much means there is no fast charge ).

John_jrp3

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ok, i seen the 1c on wiki and had no clue. thansk for answering all my questions.   i have been charging them all at 1.5a and it takes 2 hours like this.

Solman

For my charger, it says to charge 1 amp for every 1000 mah.

matty_p80

exactly Solman - 1C!!!!

Solman

I was just breaking it down so it makes more sense to him.

Commander_Bob

I have a TP charger and batteries and [link=http://www.thunderpowerrc.com/PDF/ThunderPowerRC-Pricing_09.11.06.pdf]they say you can charge them[/link] up to 5C with an "approved" charger, 2C with balancer, and 1C w/o balancer. I've been charging my TP2250-3SP30 packs at 2C (TP-610C charger w/ balancer) and they don't even get slightly warm.

However, if you are not sure what you can charge your battery at I would definitely only charge it at 1C and make sure it's in a place where if it did catch fire it wouldn't cause too much of a problem.

John_jrp3

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i did the ole wikipedia search and it says 1c max on all li-po's   

karlik

The standard answer has always been 1C.

However, along the same lines as what Commander Bob says here's a quote from the link I provided in my original answer -

"Most LiPo experts now feel however you can safely charge at a 2C or even 3C rate on quality packs that have a discharge rating of at least 20C or more safely, with little effect on the overall life expectancy of the pack as long as you have a good charger with a good balancing system. There are more and more LiPo packs showing up stating 2C and 3C charge rates, with even a couple manufactures indicating 5C rates."

I get a little concerned when I see are words like "most experts" and "a couple manufactureres" and "approved charger". Since we're dealing something that has a remote chance of starting a fire I'm gonna keep using that safety net and suggest 1C until I start seeing all the sources simply say "5C with any charger and any battery". I guess maybe I could do like Commander Bob and make it pretty clear I suggest 1C but here's a link to a source that says you may be able to go higher if you feel your equipment and batteries meet the criteria - check with the manufacturers?

I wonder if this is worth starting a new thread so the community can discuss what the best answer to the question would be?

John_jrp3

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thanks karlik, i might be ableto change the title if we all think its worth discussing. i just mainly wanted a solid answer on how to cahrge them. even at 1c mine dont take to long to charge, and no matter what i have to let them cool down to room temp first.