chuck l

My Feedback: (17)

My A123 battery charger just died and I had to order a new one. Is it ok to charge the batteries using the lithium setting on my Triton charger? It can be set to 3.6V and down to .1A. Each cell would have to be charged individually, but at least I could get some flying in while waiting for the new charger to be delivered.

Chuck

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Well I've seen guys post on another forum which cannot be mentioned here, that they've used the Triton to charge A123 packs by selecting the Li-Ion option and monitoring the voltage to cut off at 7.2 which is where the A123 software cuts off.

Sounds a bit like asking for issues to me, why not just wait for the new charger?

simplechamp

My Feedback: (18)

As long as your charger has a LiXX mode and can be set to cut off at 3.6V per cell then you are fine. So you plan on charging each cell individually through the balance plug? Sounds tedious, but if you need to fly you need to fly!

snuts

Nominal Voltage:
A123 - 3.3V per cell
LI-Ion - 3.6V per cell
Li-Po - 3.7V per cell
Hope this helps.
-Snuts-

tomlee

My Feedback: (1)

My old Triton will charge my LiFe 2s packs if I use the Pb 6 volt setting. The charger will shut off about 80 % of full charge. Any other setting will overcharge the batteries and destroy them.

Please, stay with the batteries and monitor them to be sure they do not overheat and blow the safety plug, which results in a spot of liquid on the table and a destroyed pack. How do I know, I have been there and done that.

In order to be safe, I have purchased the correct battery chargers for my LiFe batteries.

matello

My Feedback: (1)

I recently bought a Thunder ac charger and it has settings for balance charging LiFe batts. Am I to assume that once the individual cells read 3.3v, the balance charge is complete? It only took very little time to charge them up, about 15-20 minutes, does this sound right? It's a 2s pack. I'm new to lithium batts and want to make sure I'm doing things right.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Umm.... there's that word again; assume....

While the nominal voltages listed by snuts are actually correct, they are also a bit misleading.

A123's/LiFEPO4's should come off the charger at 3.6 volts per cell. Li-Ion/LiPo should come off the charger at 4.2 volts and therein lies the problem with using the Li-Ion/LiPo settings for charging A123/LiFEPO4's.

Now the A123/LiFEPO4's will settle down to about 3.6 volts pretty quickly and stay there for most of the discharge curve. Dropping LiPo's to 3.6 volts is considered by many to be the recharge point for those chemistries and running 'em lower could damage or shorten the life of the cells, particularly the newer high discharge rate LiPo's which are starting to show up.

If my A123's don't show real close to 3.6 volts per cell after the charger shuts off, I charge 'em again. If the problem persists or there is a cell imbalance, I cycle 'em a few times and if that doesn't work you may have bad cells.

Oh....

Twenty minutes is about right for charging if you have charger capable of running a decent output rate or they haven't been run down much.

snuts

Zeeb, all good.
Not to mislead anybody, only to bring interested persons back on the same page.
I have found that people start comparing 3.6V full charged Li-Fe, to 3.6V nominal Li-Ion thinking that they must have the same charging caracteristics -Not So-
Therefore the advice is, charge with a charger marketed for the chemistry of your battery.
Investing in good support equipment, adds to the enjoyment of the hobby.
-Snuts-

matello

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the help guys.