battery problem
 

I bought a brand new battery (70 bucks ! )

First flight with it lasted about 3 or 4 mins

after that .. it only lasts about 1 min max ..

using a balance charger ..
batt from local hobby

mini titan .. larger motor

pretty new to this .. not sure what is going on ...

thanks
mike

RE: battery problem
 

I am guessing LiPo, right? If we know the battery rating/size, the motor on the mini titan, and what kind of flying you do, we could give you a ball park figure on how long the battery "should" last. If you have a multimeter, you can test the battery for DC volts and DC miliamps when you take it off the charger and if it is not at or slightly above the given ratings, then you probably have a bad battery. Might also check your chargers output, to make sure it is putting out what it is supposed to, and if it is a peak charger, try a different battery to make sure it isn't false peaking. Anyone else want to chime in with something I missed that might help?

RE: battery problem
 

thanks Bugzilla


its a 2200ma 11.1v 25c

when I first charged it .. the charger took it up to 12.4v
from then on .. it will only get up to 11.9v

not sure what is normal ..

when I bought the motor .. I got it from ebay .. its a 3700 something hi-performance
which I am sorry for now .. because all I do yet .. is hover .. and the head speed
is way to high for me ..,. it makes me want to wear safety glasses, its so fast ... grin ..

RE: battery problem
 

What kind of charger are you using?

RE: battery problem
 

some fancy looking one from china .. no name on it ...

I liked it because it had a large lcd screen on it that gives the voltage & current of all the cells

seems ok .. but .. this is the second battery I have problems with ... it is very programmable
and maybe I should be using a different charge rate ... and it automatically charges for 3 hrs.

RE: battery problem
 

Mike,

Charge at no more than 2.2A or 1C (Samething) - shouldn't be taking 3 hours tho.
Does your charger state what it's charging at? If so, what is it?

How much capacity is the charger putting back into the battery? Should show mah.
Are all the cells showing as balanced? eg: All the same voltage?

Sounds like a bad cell in the battery, or the charger underperforming (alot)

RE: battery problem
 

thanks N1pster ..

ok .. I was getting ready to ask how hard I can push my charger .. so here are
my options on the setup (for my charger)

my voltage options are ... 4.15v 4.25v 4.35v

my current options are .. 500ma 700ma 900ma 1100ma

(im pretty sure these refer to ... per cell)

I can change the charge time to anything I want

the defaults are all the minimum ... except maybe the 3hrs

I am excited that you may be able to help me get more out
my charger ...

thanks
mike

RE: battery problem
 

If you posted all the battery voltage options... well then there's the problem.

Your trying to charge a 3 cell, 11.1v (12.6 fully charged) battery with a 4.35v (max) charger.

Is there a cell number amount option?
Even so, none of those those voltage options seem correct for even a single LiPo cell.

RE: battery problem
 

max cell voltage should be 4.2v so stick to the 4.15v use the highest amp setting and you'll charge your battery in around 2 hours.

it sounds like you're using a timed charger instead of a peak voltage detection...

RE: battery problem
 

totally cool ..


thanks so much

mike

RE: battery problem
 

seriously look into whether it's a timed or peak detection charger. from what you say, with an lcd screen, and everything it should be peak detection, yet you say you can specify a time. My TP610C also has a time function on it but it's a max time to auto stop regardless of what state the batteries are in. It's a safety feature, my batteries get charged till they are full then the charger stops (usually an hour or less) automatically.

RE: battery problem
 

You're playing with fire here, literally.

Be VERY SURE of what you are doing.

They [LiPos] are safe when charged/discharged PROPERLY but... these batteries are very volitile and can burn in excess of 2000F.

LiPos use a CC/CV (constant voltage/constant current) algorithm and ARE NOT compatible with other charging schemes (such as timed, etc.).

I'm NOT an expert, maybe the others here are, but anyone can find this info on the web. Not to mention the disclaimers supplied with the batteries and chargers/balancers.

Do your own research and make your own call or seek out someone locally who can BE SURE of what you are doing.

There are stories of LiPO fires on RC forums!

RE: battery problem
 

thanks .. I actually found out what I was doing ...

my charger ate another battery and I took it back to the HS ...

the very knowledgable guy there just smiled and said .... you left it hooked up ... didnt you ?

apparently you cannot leave it hooked up to the charger (after charging) ... even if the charger appears to
turn off ... it drains the bat ... and ruins it ...

anyways .. thanks for all the info