popped my lipo cherry tonight

[savagefan04]

hey guys, nothing too exciting but i felt i should share. i popped my lipo cherry tonight and ran my slash with 7.4 lipo.

a great time and just enough to get a fix in before darkness.

side not, is it commom for the battery to not get hot while charging? since this was my maiden run, i temped the battery every few minutes. it never got about 74.4 degrees.

 

[abadk9420]

Did you notice a big difference between the lipo pack and your old batteries?

 

[alpinehyperlite]

So, was it everything u expected and more? And at a low amp charge your lipo will usually stay pretty cool.

 

[sweetdiesel]

Congrats on making the switch.

If your pack ever gets warm during charging something is wrong. The pack temp should never rise above ambient temps during a charge cycle.

In the Slash with stock pinion, the motor has such a low amp draw that the lipo pack will seldom if ever get warm. With the larger kit pinion, the pack may get slightly warm to the touch after 6-7 minutes of running. Always let the pack cool before charging again. You can use a fan to speed up the process.

Don't forget that the Slash ESC has no LVC, so as soon as the truck starts to lose power and speed stop driving and pull it in.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Don't forget that the Slash ESC has no LVC, so as soon as the truck starts to lose power and speed stop driving and pull it in.

I was just about to suggest the same thing. Beat me to the punch.

 

[savagefan04]

SD- thanks for the info on the temps and the reminder on the n LVC it certianly helps. i was thinking maybe the charger was not working right since my nimh cells get warm.

Alpine - so far i'm happy. i really didnt push the truck too hard as my lhs store told me to go easy on the batteries for a couple runs. Not really sure why, but i figured it couldnt hurt.

as for seeing a difference, yes i did. i ran a venom 4200 pack before the lipo and thought it had decent punch and speed. after seeing the lipo perforance the nimh cells look slooooow.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Just always ALWAYS remember to not leave your lipo's charging unattended, and always check the batteries before you use/charge for swelling, or torn casing.

 

[mach1basher]

Just always ALWAYS remember to not leave your lipo's charging unattended, and always check the batteries before you use/charge for swelling, or torn casing.

Yes its it hard habbit to get into.

If the pack gets warm its not HORRIBLE but just keep an eye on it. My SMC pack gets warm after the charge but so far so good.

 

[marauder]

Don't forget that the Slash ESC has no LVC, so as soon as the truck starts to lose power and speed stop driving and pull it in.

And don't leave the thing plugged in when you're done either!!! :\

 

[alpinehyperlite]

And don't leave the thing plugged in when you're done either!!! :\

+1 tru dat.

 

[sweetdiesel]

If the pack gets warm its not HORRIBLE but just keep an eye on it. My SMC pack gets warm after the charge but so far so good.

Check the balance on it. If they are not out of balance there is a good possibility the cells have been overdischarged/overcharged at some point. Not horrible yes, but expect your cell capacity to start decreasing at a higher rate than normal.

 

[savagefan04]

thanks for the info guys. I havent checked the balance on them yet (hyperion charger on the way). how often should i check/balance my packs?

they are losi 7.4 5000mah 2 cell 2S config and 35c max burst with 20c continuous

and thankfully these are hard case so i should be okay in regards to torn wraps.

 

[Hyster]

okay, so I have missed something in the past. I thought the manual stated you shouldn't use lipo's with stock traxxas esc and Titan motor, so you can?

 

[mach1basher]

I've seen people run them with the xl5 and titan. Titan will die quicker than normal and just don't run the battery for long(since there isn't a LVC).
As far as balancing some say it depends on the quality of the pack and the higher quality packs can hold a blanace longer. I personally say balance everytime. It can't hurt anything it can only help things.

 

[sweetdiesel]

thanks for the info guys. I havent checked the balance on them yet (hyperion charger on the way). how often should i check/balance my packs?

they are losi 7.4 5000mah 2 cell 2S config and 35c max burst with 20c continuous

and thankfully these are hard case so i should be okay in regards to torn wraps.

Those are decent packs. Just balance them every 10-20 charges and you'll be fine.

okay, so I have missed something in the past. I thought the manual stated you shouldn't use lipo's with stock traxxas esc and Titan motor, so you can?

It only states that because the XL5 doesn't have an LVC. Of course there is always that one guy (or gal) that uses lipos and doesn't stop the truck when it decreases in power and overdischarges their pack. The pack eventually puffs and in the absolute worst case scenario, causes a fire and burns his house down, taking the entire city with it. The firefighters determine the cause was the lipo pack being overdischarged and the guy says "Well the manual didn't state I couldn't use lipos so that means I could, right?" It's the same reason why they have safety tags on hairdryers stating they shouldn't be used when in the bathtub. Liability. :shrug:

 

[CharliesTheMan]

The XL-5 will handle the voltage fine, but you need to run an external LVC or be really careful. The Titan shouldn't die an early death unless the gearing is wrong or the user runs stout gearing and doesn't monitor temps. I know a lot of people that go through the titans like mad on 8.4 volts, and it's always because they run the piss out of them and don't let them cool down. If you're going to sqeeze every last drop of performance out of a motor, it will get warm, and you need to let it cool down. As long as you watch the temps, the Titan should last quite a while.

SweetDiesel, are there any disadvantages to balance charging my packs every time?

 

[sweetdiesel]

The XL-5 will handle the voltage fine, but you need to run an external LVC or be really careful. The Titan shouldn't die an early death unless the gearing is wrong or the user runs stout gearing and doesn't monitor temps. I know a lot of people that go through the titans like mad on 8.4 volts, and it's always because they run the piss out of them and don't let them cool down. If you're going to sqeeze every last drop of performance out of a motor, it will get warm, and you need to let it cool down. As long as you watch the temps, the Titan should last quite a while.

SweetDiesel, are there any disadvantages to balance charging my packs every time?

The first Titan motor on my Slash lasted about 20 packs. 75% of those were run under race conditions so YMMV. It also happened to die right between heats. Luckily I was able to run to a LHS and grab a new one for the main. Now I keep a new spare motor in the package at all times.

The only disadvantage to balance charging every time is that it takes longer to charge your pack.