Ok total lipo newb here!

I have a brand new 3s 2200mah battery.


So do I charge it right away (ie: does it come charged?)


If you charge a battery with any charge left in it will my Turnigy 8150 discharge it first then recharge it or just top it off?


Charge rate should be 2.2 amps?
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Charge it. Set the charger to balance charge, 0.8 A, 11.1V. It will stop charging at 12.6 v, which is proper for a 3 cell battery. The higher your c rating, the more amperage you can charge it with. If in doubt, I like 0.8 A.
 
1.5C its the 9xr battery pack

Is there a prefered for plugging in the battery. power then balance cord or visa versa?
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
Well, I posted a fairly long reply but I see it didn't take. So here's a shorter version.

You can generally charge at 1 amp per 1000 mah. A 1500 battery can charge at 1.5 amps, 2000 at 2 amps and a 2200 at 2.2 amps etc. By following this rule of thumb you won't have trouble as long as your batteries aren't damaged. You will also find that no matter the size of the battery, they charge in about an hour.

I wouldn't worry about the temp probe because you should never leave charging lipos unattended. I bought a lipo charging bag and always charging on a fire resistant surface. It's only an hour remember, so it's really good idea to be around when charging.

Lipo batteries don't get a memory like the nicad batteries do. If you discharge them past 3 volts per cell it damages them. It's also okay to charge them from whatever level you like as often as you like and they don't get a memory. You can run one down until you hit the cutoff in the esc or you can run one for two minutes and charge, either way it's okay.

As far as balance charging, it's not really necessary to do it all the time but it doesn't hurt either. I rarely balance charge. I do have a cell checker that I plug into the balance port to see if it's charged and it tells me the individual cell charge levels. If one is off a bit, then I balance charge it but I rarely ever need to do that.
 
Don't leave the battery at full charge for any longer than necessary - leaving the battery fully charged for long periods is one of the greatest factors in reducing the longevity of the battery. You want to charge the battery as close as possible to the time when you're going to fly. If you're not going to fly in the next day or so, you should leave the battery at what's called a "storage charge" level - between 3.7 and 4.0 volts per cell. Most modern chargers have a storage charge/discharge function that will take the battery to these levels (usually about 3.85 volts per cell - the exact voltage is not critical as long as it's in the range specified above.)

I would greatly recommend investing in a cell checker - I have both the HobbyKing HK-010 Wattmeter & Voltage Analyzer which includes a cell checker as well as the power analyzer and HobbyKing Cell Key - 6s Lipoly Cell checker. Check the voltage of your batteries when they arrive, and if they're in the storage range (most batteries ship with a storage charge) leave them alone until you're ready to fly (or the night before at the earliest.)