another bat question dangit

[akphill]

Now let me get this straight if I have a battery that is 3cell 2200mha
I can charge that bat at 2.2 amps safely or can I charge it with more power
It says on the bat not to charge more than 2C how much charge is 2C
;D

Guess I am confused a little bit gray hairs a coming

[Solitaire]

It's 1C per amphour
On a 2200mAh LiPo, 1C would be 2.2amps, 2C would be 4.4amps
Many still charge at 1C even if the battery says 2C max as they say it increases LiPo longevity. I can't prove or disprove that, but usually charge at 1.5C and haven't had any problems. So far.

[akphill]

thanks Sol
I think I'm starting to understand
So if I charge my 6s 3000 mah bat at 3.0 should be 1c per hour or at 2C it would be 6.0 is this anywhere near correct ;D

[Solitaire]

Yep, a 6amp charge on a 3000mAh LiPo will be at the 2C rate. But, there's more to the equation.

The run-of-the-mill chargers like the Accucel-6 (HobbyCity) and the AC6 (XHeli) are only rated at 5 amps/50 watts max (with an adequate power supply), so you wouldn't get 2C on a 6S LiPo. You wouldn't even make 1C with those chargers.

50 watts output would limit you to about a 2amp charge on a 6S battery. Any charger with a minimum of 150 watts output and a decent power supply should fit your 6S needs.

[akphill]

OK now I am getting closer to understanding it is better to charge at 1C if you don't have a 200Wat charger and all my charger is rated for is 80 WATS and am using a 10 amp power supply to run it
that explains why it got really hot when charging the 6s bat

Thank you Sol
helps a lot

[akent]

This is good info!
I experimented with charging at 2c with a few batteries. I marked them, so I would only charge those at 2c. I charged all the rest at 1c. I flew them all the same amounts. After about 9 months, all of these batteries started to puff and lose capacity. It didn't seem to matter how I charged them.
There were a couple of batteries that puffed earlier and oddly enough, those were ones charged at 1c.

I really think it matters much more how low you discharge these things. If they get too low and hot, they will puff.

I also had a couple of random cell failures with batteries that were not abused at all.

What I do these days is charge at 1c at home where I have plenty of time. I charge at 2c at the field.

These were with Flightmax and Turnigy batteries only, 15c to 40c, 3s to 6s, 500ma to 5000ma.

In my experience, 2c charging is not a bad thing with these batteries.
Kent

[Solitaire]

You're probably right, Kent. I've never had a problem charging at 1.5C. Even the small LiPo's. I could likely up that to 2C without worry. I have a couple of Turnigy Nano LiPo's, but haven't had the guts to charge those at their 5C rating yet.

I've also never over discharged a LiPo...yet. Most of my LiPo's are still functional, although a few have lost some punch (mostly the 1S LiPo's for the mCX). The only LiPo I had to discard was one that I never got to use. Just sitting there with storage voltage, one cell died. Probably just a connection problem with one of the balance leads, but I wasn't about to dismantle it.

Oh, there was one other LiPo that puffed on me. I used a 7.4v battery to test an 11.1v system and it didn't like it. Tossed that one as well.

[Gabe]

My Power Edge 2200 is rated up to 5c and I charge it consistently at 5amps (2.5C). Still going strong after 8 months.

I've heard that only Power Edge and Thunder Power should be charged above 2C. Something about the way they are made and the quality if materials. I've heard never to charge Turnigy or Zippies above 1C even if they are rated as such. I'm finding my Turnigy's and Zippies last about 8 months on a 2C charge and then start to puff. Oh well, they're cheap and work great in the meantime!