Newbie how to charge not got a clue

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leyla1989

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Hi I have a brand new spektrum 14.8v lipo 4s 5000mah . Do I just charge it at the settings on the charger which are
lipo 5.0A. C= 5000mah 14.8v


Or do I have to discharge it first

On settings lipo discharge d= 1.0A. 14.8v

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

Leyla

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image.jpg
 
It looks good to me, don't quote me on that though, I would do as much research as possible. I would charge it at 4 amps just to be safe.
 
yup, you've got the right settings for a 1C charge rate... many current brands of batteries are rated for 3C charge rates and higher so check with Spektrum to see if that battery can be charge at a higher rate.

Discharge won't be necessary if you run the battery down to LVC at the end of the day, then use the storage mode setting on the charger when you are going to store the battery.

Never leave the battery fully charged for more than an hour, also keep your batteries away from heat, store them in a cool environment such as a LiPo storage bag inside the house.

Good Luck!
 
Never leave the battery fully charged for more than an hour, also keep your batteries away from heat, store them in a cool environment such as a LiPo storage bag inside the house.
I usually charge my lipos a night before I go to the track or out to bash. Well if I go out to bash its mostly like 30 mins before going out. I do got a lipo storage pouch and 2 little charging pouches I use. I also keep mine in the basement where it is cool anyways. If I do charge lipos the night before they will usually stay at 8.4V (all of these are 2s) Some might discharge itself to 8.3 or 8.2. I am planning to go to the track this saturday and they are racing so I'm debating if I charge the night before or charge when I get there at the track. (I charge my LiHV shorty packs at 10A (6100mah packs))
 
Greetings leyla1989. Is your new Spektrum a 'Smart' battery? G1 or G2 version? If a G2, it may require a Spektrum Smart charger.

Check out the Horizon Hobby or Spektrum websites for further instructions and info. 'AC'
 
How do I know what 1c charge rate is ? Is it because I’m charging at 5amps on a 5000mah battery. ??

So what would a 3 c charge rate be ?
Cheers leyla
 
How do I know what 1c charge rate is ? Is it because I’m charging at 5amps on a 5000mah battery. ??

So what would a 3 c charge rate be ?
Cheers leyla
1C would be 1/1000th of the mAh rating so a 5000mAh battery would be 5A. 5000/1000=5.
6000mAh = 6A, 3300mAh = 3.3A etc.

So a 3C rate on a 5000mAh battery would be 15A. 5000/1000=5 and 5x3=15.

Hope this helps.
 
All this information is perfect thank you .

I have a spectrum G1, which has a separate balance lead .

Thank you all again
 
Hi I have a brand new spektrum 14.8v lipo 4s 5000mah . Do I just charge it at the settings on the charger which are
lipo 5.0A. C= 5000mah 14.8v


Or do I have to discharge it first

On settings lipo discharge d= 1.0A. 14.8v

Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

Leyla

View attachment 159052

View attachment 159053
Something i didnt see mentioned. Use the settings you mentioned for charging, but, balance charge it, dont just fast charge it, that way the cells stay balanced. Its how i always charge mine. As for the balance lead, that has to be plugged into the charger to charge the battery, and, you should always charge, discharge, and storage charge them, as well as carry them, in lipo safe bags. Some guys will store them in a lipo safe bag inside an ammo can for added protection, since, especially if handled improperly, lipo's can cause fires.
 
I usually charge my lipos a night before I go to the track or out to bash. Well if I go out to bash its mostly like 30 mins before going out. I do got a lipo storage pouch and 2 little charging pouches I use. I also keep mine in the basement where it is cool anyways. If I do charge lipos the night before they will usually stay at 8.4V (all of these are 2s) Some might discharge itself to 8.3 or 8.2. I am planning to go to the track this saturday and they are racing so I'm debating if I charge the night before or charge when I get there at the track. (I charge my LiHV shorty packs at 10A (6100mah packs))

TheJANG from URC shared his experience when LiPo technology was first introduced and very little information was available at the time. He bought several brand new batteries and charged them inside his house which was a cool 72°F. He then packed all his RC gear into the trunk of his car on a hot summer day with temps around 100°F, we can only guess how hot temps were in the trunk! He then drove 2 hours to the beach and when he pulled out his gear to install the freshly charged batteries into his RC he discovered that every single LiPo had swollen up into balloon shaped sausages! Never got to use a single battery and they were all destroyed.

Since then, we have learned that heat will increase voltage and it's best to charge the batteries at about the same ambient temperature that they will be used. You also want to minimize the amount of time that the cells are away from storage voltage, more info here:
https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

1674578650377.png

Something i didnt see mentioned. Use the settings you mentioned for charging, but, balance charge it, dont just fast charge it, that way the cells stay balanced. Its how i always charge mine. As for the balance lead, that has to be plugged into the charger to charge the battery, and, you should always charge, discharge, and storage charge them, as well as carry them, in lipo safe bags. Some guys will store them in a lipo safe bag inside an ammo can for added protection, since, especially if handled improperly, lipo's can cause fires.

As a battery ages, the IR of the cells become mismatched any many low quality chargers do not have a respectable "Balance Current" to keep the cells properly balanced so charge times extend 2-3 times longer than when the battery was new. A trick to get around this issue is to use the "Fast Charge" mode which bypasses the CC/CV algorithm... you won't get the proper saturation charge, but you'll get close to 95% of the capacity you need rather than waiting an unacceptable amount of time for the battery to charge.

A better way to deal with charging older packs is to invest in a quality charger with as least 2A of balance current, more info here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3496127-Which-charger-is-the-best
 
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But concercened just plugged it on charge and it says 15.488v. And it’s going up

image.jpg
 
Bash it and enjoy
 
Kraton 4s, One of my cars on the list since they came out with the V2 which is basically updated. If I do get one I am going to get a metal chassis bar since I know those chassis break on hard impacts or landings. Have fun!
 
1C would be 1/1000th of the mAh rating so a 5000mAh battery would be 5A. 5000/1000=5.
6000mAh = 6A, 3300mAh = 3.3A etc.

So a 3C rate on a 5000mAh battery would be 15A. 5000/1000=5 and 5x3=15.

Hope this helps.
that helped me too lol. I've been charging my lectron pro 3s 5200 mAh battery on 6.0 amps so that's prob why it doesn't charge the fastest. And its on the lectron dual charger.
 
It looks good to me, don't quote me on that though, I would do as much research as possible. I would charge it at 4 amps just to be safe.
Yeah, I don't know as much as everyone around me does.
 
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