LiPop Battery Help Please!

[danb46]

Hi all,
 
Last night I added ailerons to my HZ SuperCub LP, I have done it with 2 servos in the wing, I have changed out the stock receiver and now have an Orange RX and a Turnigy 30A brushed ESC.

I plugged everything in and checked that the servos were working OK, however I have a feeling that the battery was fairly low, it now appears to have swelled, but only ever so slightly, it is pretty much the same size as my other, it is just quite firm but squidgy...

I am using the stock motor, and battery (PKZ1033) 11.1v 1300mAh. It has never been damaged/never had a problem before... I have attached a picture comparing it to the other one, the one in question is at the bottom.

1) What should I do with this battery? Is it safe? Can it be reused if charged again?

2) Would the new set-up have caused this or is it the fact that it was low?
 
Many thanks in advance, and apologies for any newbie questions/mistakes!

Dan

[Knackered Sailor]

I'm sure more experienced than me will reply but if I had a battery I was doubtful about I'd get rid of it and buy a new one. My thinking is that is it worth taking a chance on a serious fire for the sake of a few £'s or $'s?

[danb46]

This is my thought process too... how do you go about getting rid of them?

I will pop to my LHS tomorrow and check with them about it!

Dan

[flydiver]

Slight puffing is not terribly unusual. It's not desirable either as it does indicate aging and deterioration.
Safety limits are more personal than you would imagine. Some folks will take serious risks not to have to pop for a new battery. Others will dump them immediately.

If you choose to dump them:
1. Discharge with a light bulb until completely dead, 12v tail light-solder on an appropriate connections.
2. Cut the main leads leaving a bit of a working stub.
3. Bare the stubs and short them. Twist together. You sure NEED that battery to be DEAD when you do this!!! It guarantees there is NO charge left > no fire danger.
4. Toss in trash (no toxics in lipos), or recycle as is appropriate to your area or ecological mindedness.
Note - soaking them in salt WATER does NOT work and is OLD, INAPPROPRIATE information. Do NOT pass it along like you know what you are doing.

If you choose to keep them:
1. You need to mark and WATCH them. They are NOT as stable as when new.
2. It behooves you to get a better charger than stock so you can WATCH them 'properly'. With the stock charger you have NO idea what is going on.
(An IMAX B6 may not be a better charger, some are fake.)

Points:
Your new setup did not do it. A new power mod with a much stronger motor pulling more amps can easily do it. If a battery cannot supply the motor demand it gets hot and starts to fail. Puffing in this instance is not uncommon.
Over discharging (flying to LVC, getting stuck in a tree, etc.), and keeping the battery fully charged for long periods, especially if warm, are likely culprits.
Some batteries are just lame and do this. I've gotten brand new ones that are mildly puffed that continue to work fine. I've got old lame ones I use for bench testing that are still completely hard. Some Hobby King Nanos are known for this problem.
If it charges PROPERLY (that better charger, eh?), and PERFORMS OK, you can consider keeping it, IF you feel you can do so safely.
If it won't perform properly, I'd dump it

Please read and bookmark this site:
sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos/lipo-terminology

Addendum (per your same question in RCGroups)- Unless the hobby shop knows how to measure internal resistance (highly doubtful) they won't be able to tell you anything not already said. Cell checkers are useful for quickly finding approx. voltage, nothing else. They DO NOT and CANNOT tell you whether a lipo is safe or not.

[renard80]

Flydiver, just dropping by to say this: if anyone deserves a gold medal for unfailing, thorough, excellent advice to SCC members, it's you!

Never go away - please!

[flydiver]

Thank you. Sometimes it does seem like a thankless job.

[Knackered Sailor]

Feb 4, 2014 0:27:11 GMT 1 renard80 said:

Flydiver, just dropping by to say this: if anyone deserves a gold medal for unfailing, thorough, excellent advice to SCC members, it's you!

Never go away - please!

Bang on! I've not been here very long but I would like to associate myself with the above.

[danb46]

Hi Fly,

Thanks for the very very thorough information! I have been to my LHS and they suggested to diacard it...

I have brought 2 2200mah lipos which are compatible with my stock charger, if you reckon I should get a different charger can you suggest a couple if possible please? If the connector could be the same that would be brilliant!

Thanks again!
Dan

[danb46]

Wouls it be worth getting something like this?
www.brchobbies.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1745

It is a balancer/discharger...

Thanks
Dan

[flydiver]

Depends on what you want it for. As a field cell checker > sure.
As a discharger > Read Notes:

Notes:
* The NiMH/NiCd voltage check function requires power from an external source (7.4-11.1V eg.2-3S LiPo) via the JST RCY (BEC) socket.

* This unit is not suitable for discharging large LiPo packs because heat dissipation is low and slow.

* For NiMH/NiCd packs, while the voltage display is accurate, this unit does not place a load on NiMH/NiCd packs to simulate the demand of your RX and servos. The voltage displayed is simply the nominal voltage of the pack. You should not rely on this data to determine whether or not it is safe to fly.

Bold is my emphasis.
So, IMO it's a fancy cell checker, not very useful for NiXX, can't discharge very well, so not very useful for much besides simple field checking.

Battery charger? - That only gets asked about once a week here, and a dozen times a week in RCGroups. Do some reading. There is no lack of opinions. After I spend a half hour typing the guy asking goes out and buys something else anyway.
Just don't buy a fake, low quality, cheap, POS IMAX B6.

If you want the EC3 terminal you are fresh out of luck. Only Horizon seems to have settle on these and I wouldn't buy a charger from them. There is no standardization in battery terminals unfortunately. Best think about learning to solder.

The stock charger will take a long time to charge those batteries. It'll work, just slow. I suggest you use it, and start doing your homework on lipos, chargers, and power supplies.

[hghost]

Feb 4, 2014 18:26:42 GMT 1 danb46 said:

Hi Fly,

Thanks for the very very thorough information! I have been to my LHS and they suggested to diacard it...

I have brought 2 2200mah lipos which are compatible with my stock charger, if you reckon I should get a different charger can you suggest a couple if possible please? If the connector could be the same that would be brilliant!

Thanks again!
Dan

I will say this Flydiver is the one to consult about things and do as he says and read up on this stuff, it will serve you well in the long run

If you are looking for something cheap and temporary I myself bought this charger, before I got into Lipo batteries and back into the plane hobby
I intended to use it for my Nimh batteries instead of the small stock wall plug I used that took hours to charge my Nimh batteries for my RC Buggies.
But it works very well for Lipo's and so far has been very good.

Here is a video www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQIancXVHV8

Know one thing it is cheap and simple, but it does do the job and is inexpensive.

But if you are intending to grow in this hobby and maybe later have more Lipos and more cells etc...going ahead and buying a larger better charger maybe in order, but it will be expensive at first.

Here is a newer version they say -http://www.nitroplanes.com/73p-ac680-accharger.html

And if your going to be charging batteries, one needs to invest in a adapter that has multiple charging ends that cover an array of battery ends
like this perhaps ( this is the one I own )
www.amazon.com/Mega-Charge-14-in-1-Charging-Adapter/dp/B0045UXMBK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1391569062&sr=8-5&keywords=Mega+charge


Just a few suggestions and as Fly said you will get many opinions and multiple answers of which is best and or whatever

Starting out cheap is what most consider and ease of use, this charger is easy to use and does the job, but ultimately it is you who know how far you intend to go and what your limit is.And there are far better chargers than this one, so you know.

But again Flydiver is the expert and is advice is Priceless

and when i need answers he is the one I ask...because He knows.You can take him at his word, and he will not steer you wrong.

Hope that helps and good luck

[flydiver]

The Thunderpower charger is one of the 4-button 50W chargers (there's about a dozen of 'em). It works fine. I personally use the accucell-6.
The A/C power is no big deal. It's simply a 12v/5A laptop charger hidden in the top section. It's not special or 'magic' even though people seem to make it out like it's a big deal. It ain't. Plus if it dies (they can) then you have a problem. I'd rather have a separate power system but that's mostly a personal choice.

It's worth watching the video to get an idea how they work since they ALL work the same. That does NOT mean they are all the same quality of construction. Really cheap is....really cheap. The more expensive ones are usually better.

Once again, avoid the fake IMAX B6.

[danb46]

Once again, thanks for your help!

I will keep my current charger and research/do my homework before getting a new one, I wont be flying for a while anyway, what with the weather we are having here in the UK!

I am able to solder so will have to change the connector on the batteries I have bought to EC3 connectors, but there is someone at work I can ask for help/will research before doing this!

Many thanks again, your help is much appreciated
Dan