How do you discharge your batteries?

[Houndpup Rc]

Just wondering how everyone else discharges their LiPo's?
(I know some people are going to cringe or disagree saying that I should buy a discharger. lol) My way is to just chuck it into a pail of water and let it sit for a week.

 

[Foamforce]

I use a $5 lipo killer. A couple of my battery chargers have a full discharge function too though.

 

[AIRFORGE]

Just wondering how everyone else discharges their LiPo's?
(I know some people are going to cringe or disagree saying that I should buy a discharger. lol) My way is to just chuck it into a pail of water and let it sit for a week.

If you mean discharge an old/bad batt to 0 to make it inert, I cut off the leads at the battery and put it in a metal bucket with salt water for a few days. I did run an ice pick through one once. 😲 No pops or booms. Just a dead batt. Yawn.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

If you mean discharge an old/bad batt to 0 to make it inert, I cut off the leads at the battery and put it in a metal bucket with salt water for a few days. I did run an ice pick through one once. 😲 No pops or booms. Just a dead batt. Yawn.

Yeah, basically the same way I do. (I did a video the first time I did it, hoping there might be something exiting to post but it was boring! lol)

 

[Flying Cherokee]

Nail gun!!! just kidding, do not try to ”let the air out“ of your batteries, do as has been said before in this thread.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

Nail gun!!! just kidding, do not try to ”let the air out“ of your batteries, do as has been said before in this thread.

LOL🤣😂 yeah don't do that! (thinking to myself: That's what I have to try next!!!!! lol just kidding!)

 

[LitterBug]

Well... I have killed quite a few batteries by forgetting to disconnect things from them.... 🤣

For a more precise discharge, I use one of these https://www.buddyrc.com/products/aok-3-in-1-lipo-life-battery-checker-blancer-150w-discharger

 

[Merv]

To kill an old battery, I use a car tail light. Just solder it to a connector & plug it in & leave it for a few hours or days.

 

[Bricks]

To kill an old battery, I use a car tail light. Just solder it to a connector & plug it in & leave it for a few hours or days.

This is how I discharge my bad batteries. I have taken a few and shot them with a .22 just for fun and it was especially bigger 6 cell.

 

[LitterBug]

Chucking it in a pail of water is not really a good way to do it, especially if you don't have any idea what the resistance is. Distilled water for example will have NO discharge.

It can also lead to a buildup of hydrogen and oxygen if done in an enclosed area making for an explosive environment. Think Electrolysis seperation of H2O into H and O

 

[Tench745]

I have read that, especially for larger batteries, soaking in salt water is not the best option. The reasoning is that the connections can corrode away because of the salt water long before the battery is fully discharged. If you test it, it shows 0 volts, but the actual cells can still have energy stored. Some kind of bought or built battery discharger is supposed to be the more reliable option.

 

[Mr Man]

Chucking it in a pail of water is not really a good way to do it, especially if you don't have any idea what the resistance is. Distilled water for example will have NO discharge.

It can also lead to a buildup of hydrogen and oxygen if done in an enclosed area making for an explosive environment. Think Electrolysis seperation of H2O into H and O

Don't play with lighters near that stuff!

 

[AIRFORGE]

To kill an old battery, I use a car tail light. Just solder it to a connector & plug it in & leave it for a few hours or days.

(A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...) When I was discharging 6 & 7 cell rc car ni-cad packs, I used 10 tail lights soldered in series connected to a volt meter.

 

[Foamforce]

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKMLLsP

$2

 

[bisco]

i attach it to a plane and run the motor until it dies

 

[Houndpup Rc]

i attach it to a plane and run the motor until it dies

That might hurt your electronics

 

[Houndpup Rc]

Chucking it in a pail of water is not really a good way to do it, especially if you don't have any idea what the resistance is. Distilled water for example will have NO discharge.

It can also lead to a buildup of hydrogen and oxygen if done in an enclosed area making for an explosive environment. Think Electrolysis seperation of H2O into H and O

I do it outside, I don't experiment new things inside!

 

[Bricks]

That might hurt your electronics

How? Over voltage definitely but never heard of under voltage hurting electronics, usually just quit working.

 

[Merv]

i attach it to a plane and run the motor until it dies

That is a good start to killing a bad battery, but that may not fully discharge a pack.
Most plane ESC's have a low voltage protection that will kick in and shut things down well before a pack is fully discharged.

 

[Houndpup Rc]

It's a good thing they put that in because I once had a plane get caught in a tree and all my electronics were stuck up there too! It was terrible hearing my poor ESC beeping and telling me that the battery was getting uncomfortably low and I could do nothing!!! Thankfully my plane blew out over night.