twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

whats the proper way to store your lipos and 6cell batts?

Druss

Lipos should be stored at 3.7v. Just set up a discharge on your charger and set it to 3.7v per cell.

are the others nicad or nimh? I usually just put them away full charged then cycle once a month.

twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

What kind of lipo charger has discharge? I only have one that charges 1-3 c and hooks up to a car battery....

Druss

Any relatively good charger over $50 should have discharge on it. I take it yours charges through the balance ports? The little white connector with 3-4 wires?

twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

no i have the Celectra 1-3 Cell LiPo DC Charger....I have an external balancer for when i charge 3c

Druss

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...r_&_discharger

OvalRacer99

I discharge with an old Turbo 30 and set the cutoff volts to 7.4.

john01374

I've alway just charged my Lipo's all the way and put them away. Just make sure you go back and check the voltage about once a month. They hold voltage very well but just check them to make sure they're not getting low. If they are just toss it on the charger for a few minutes.

NiMH needs to be cycled about every month to stay fresh. I use to cycle my race packs every two weeks and my basher packs every month. Glad those days are over.

twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

i still have one brand new lipo 3c that i bought about 5 years ago never used it....do you think it would still be good?

TornadoGuy

Well, I can help you with the NiMh, but with the LiPo, I'm not too sure on. My method for the NiMh is to charge it up fully (according to however long a full charge takes with your specific charger), then just store it someplace where it is not going to get too warm or cold. Every 2-4 weeks just check the voltage. Make sure they don't get too low. I like to keep them above 8 volts, since a full charge for most of my batteries is 8.40-8.55 volts.

Druss

The only issue with this method of storing lipos is that if your pack has any issues that may not be noticeable, you may end up swelling the pack like you would if it was over discharged. Had this happen to 4 of the chinese lipos. Good quality lipos should not do this but why take the chance?

luvdisstuff

My Feedback: (2)

How do you check the voltage? i have an intellipeak twin pulse charger. I knew even less about this stuff when I bought it. It can charge 2 batteries at the same time (no lipo) but it only charges at 3.5 or 1.0 amps. Im not charger savy. I did get a cheap tower charger along the way but i never use it. It is on some type of timer device. It does have a discharge mode but i have never used it. This will be my first winter being in this hobby and I really would like my batteries to be good when i use them again after along cold winter in NJ.

Access

Actually that is very bad. Lipos are unique in that they degrade over time, even if just sitting on a shelf. This degradation is a permanent loss of capacity, between 4% to 20% a year. If they are stored fully charged, this loss is high, roughly 20%, but if they are stored roughly 40-60% charged, the loss drops to around 4% every year. So if you want your LiPos to last the expected 5-year lifetime, store them with around 40% charge.

You can check the voltage with a digital voltmeter, get one from radio shack or just about any other electronics store. Open-circuit voltage of 3.7V is a good place to be (that is roughly 40% charged for most cells).

twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

so that nice brand new still in package lipo i bought about 5 or 6 years ago and never touched is probley useless?

Druss

Not necessarily, lipos are shipped at storage voltage (3.7v). Just check the voltage of each cell through the balance connector to see what voltage they are.

luvdisstuff

My Feedback: (2)

its off to radio shack i go. thanks . my batteries are mostly 1600 mah so i should keep them at 3.7 . what level should i keep them on? is there a formula like when you charge them?

twoolley08

My Feedback: (4)

ill have to look for my volt meter, thats for letting me know how to check the voltage.

Druss

Sorry, I was responding to the OP, 1600mah sounds like a nimh battery, the voltage I listed is for lipo.

As has been stated, for nimh just store fully charged and cycle (discharge then charge) once a month.

luvdisstuff

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks druss. I have a tower charger and discharger but it does not display rates. I use my intellipeak charger not the tower one which i p/u in a trade. it does have a discharge feature which i never used. It has a built in timer and recomendations for differant mah batteries. will that work for discharging as i would love it if my batteries survive the winter.