Need Fe Battery Charging Advice

happybradboating · Apr 23, 2014

[SIZE=medium]I need some FE advice on how to setup the following charger:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Hyperion Charger E0S0720i Net3 AD[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]This is the type of battery: Turnigy Lipo Battery 5000mAh 5.0 40-50c Discharge 4 cell – 14.8V[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The charger is going to service the following battery(s) and for now I picked out the lowest battery measuring 89%.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Battery 16.39V 89%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]#1S 4.167V 97%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]#2S 4.176V 97%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]#3S 4.158V 96%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium] #4S 3.886V 57%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I set the charger up as follows:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Battery Type= Lipo[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Batt Volts= 14.8 Vpack[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Battery Capacity= 5000 mAh[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Charge Current= 5.0A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Temperature Cutoff= 122 F[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Safety Timer= 120 min[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]TCS Capacity= 99%[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]TCS End Action= Continue[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]TVC – Your Risk!= +80mV 4.280 VC\C[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Discharge Amps= 5.0A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Discharge Volts 3.8v/Cell [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Set Storage TCS= 60%[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Thanks for any insight![/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Brad[/SIZE]

Chilli · Apr 23, 2014

Your set up on the charger looks good but the low voltage on cell #4 is a concern. You might have a bad cell. I would charge up the pack and keep a very close eye on it if the voltage on cell 4 stays significantly lower than the others. If it starts to puff, dispose of it properly. Are your packs new or used??

happybradboating · Apr 23, 2014

Mike,

The #4 cell is a concern of mine as well. I purchase 5 battery packs at the same time and had another boater charge it up only 2 times. It was ran once in the boat and then charged and has been sitting around for only 2 weeks. I am not sure what you mean by Puff? Are you talking about the pack actually changing size like swelling up. This is my first FE boat after doing nitro and gas boats for many years.

Thanks

Brad

Chilli · Apr 23, 2014

Yes sir. The pack will physically swell. Sometimes it will feel like gas bubble under the wrap. Othertimes the hard part of the cells will deform. Don't know if this happened in your case for you but one thing you don't want to do is run a LiPo pack down to much. This is a mistake I see many new people in the hobby make. This will heat up the packs and rapidly shorten their life. Using the Lipo cutoff on your ESC more often than not doesnt do a good job of protecting your cells. Also, many Turnigy packs perform well for a year or two but ocassionaly you will get a bad pack. It's a hassle but the price some pay to save a few bucks. That being said, I don't expect anyone to spend money on top shelf packs on their first boat. I didn't. But for those that decide FE's are for them, the extra money spent on top shelf packs will give you better performance and packs that will last for years.

happybradboating · Apr 23, 2014

On the first time out with the FE 33" Seaducer I got some advice from a local boater that built the boat for me and he said not to go below 20% on the Turnigy batteries. I checked all 5 batteries today and they self discharged to around 96% with the exception of the questionable battery listed earlier in this thread. After charging the lowest battery for 120 minutes the S4 cell only went up to 76%. I guess it is time that I see if it can be replaced by the seller.

I assume it would be fine to give the other 4 good batteries that are between 94% to 96% a short 30 minute charge to top them off taking into account they are all testing out fine by each cell?

In addition, you mention the top shelf packs, I may consider purchasing them if you can let me know where to go for a better battery that has a longer shelf life etc.

Thanks

Brad

D. Newland · Apr 23, 2014

happybradboating said:
... I checked all 5 batteries today and they self discharged to around 96% with the exception of the questionable battery listed earlier in this thread. After charging the lowest battery for 120 minutes the S4 cell only went up to 76%. I guess it is time that I see if it can be replaced by the seller.

...

Brad-Are you storing your batteries fully charged? If so, don't. Fully charge them only when you are ready to use them. Otherwise, keep them at around a 50% charge rate for storage. Also, the cooler you can store them, the better. For instance, I don't store my batteries in the garage during the summer in Az.

This practice will help your Lipo's last much longer. and, yes, see if the seller will replace that pack for you.

ron upton · Apr 23, 2014

if u plan to race the seducer id get with mojoracingproducts.com for some great batteries that are top shelf

ron upton · Apr 23, 2014

for some great batteries u can look over on this site mojoracingproducts.com u have a great charger there...same ine I have and I do understand its a bit complicated to get started with it

happybradboating · Apr 23, 2014

Well at a quick glance it looks like a battery with 5000mAh & 14.8V would run $103 with mojoracingproducts.com. I will be racing the 33" Seaducer this year so it may be my next step in upgrading my equipment if the performance and shelf life aspect is an improvement. The other issue is getting a charger that does numrous batteries at 1 time.

Thanks

Brad

jayt · Apr 25, 2014

The low voltage cell may cause a real problem. I am not familiar with your charger, but many will charge the pack to an average of 4.2 volts per cell. That means the other three cells will be overcharged, leading to a risk of fire etc. The correct procedure is to use a balancer to equalize all four cells BEFORE you charge the pack. Balancing the pack may fix the problem...or not.

.

happybradboating · Apr 25, 2014

As it stands right now the charger I use still charged the bad cell in the battery to 76%. I have read and heard that Lipo's pose fire hazards so I keep them in close watch while running the charger. I have already started the request to get the bad battery pack replaced with the seller. It appears to me as what I know about the charger is it not set or does not come with a feature to balance the cells before charging the pack.

The plan a couple weeks ago was to race the boat so I did a full charge on all the batteries but the race got rain & snowed out. In the future after my next test run or race I will try charging them to 40% or 50%.

That is what it up to date.
Thanks I am learning!

Brad

Jordan levy · Apr 28, 2014

Perhaps a dumb question, new to boats but plenty of lipo experience with cars - how many times have you cycled the battery (if at all) with your Hyperion?

I've had tgy packs come with a low cell that balanced fine.

FYI - I love my 720, make sure you have the latest software update (seems to be much more efficient for me) and if you haven't tried it, the PC interface is great

Jordan levy · Apr 28, 2014

(Sorry about that, just saw your last post - ignore)

darryl whitman · May 21, 2014

Bard, to have good batts, U should fully charge ur batts the night before boating or the day of, it's not good on lipos to fully charge them and leave them fully charge for more than a day, NOT GOOD. also don't drain any cell under 3.2 V , for storage the cell voltage should be 3.8 V for long term storage,

also charge rate, 1 C charging is fine , it may be longer time wise , but its safe, hope this help u,

happybradboating · May 23, 2014

In the more recent past most of my batteries have been stored between 40% to 60% charged. At that amount they seem to be at 3.8 Volts or slightly higher. I have purchased a stand alone balancer and balanced the batteries in the low 3.8 range. I dropped the charge & discharge to 4C. In addition, to avoid overcharging I have setup different time ranged from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

Brad

darryl whitman · May 25, 2014

Brad, that sounds great way , where did u get your stand alone balancer at ?

happybradboating · May 25, 2014

I purchased the stand alone balancer/discharger from Tower Hobbies that works but drains the battery down real slow. It can take up to 3 hours and more from a full charge to get the pack down to 60%. It did not cost much at $45 less discounts when purchasing over $100.00 in various products. The only concern I have when testing it with my other stand alone device is the cell percentages have been off by as much as 5% after balancing a pack down to 3.8 volts.

Here is the link to Tower Hobbies:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYGX4&P=7

happybradboating · May 26, 2014

happybradboating said:
I purchased the stand alone balancer/discharger from Tower Hobbies that works but drains the battery down real slow. It can take up to 3 hours and more from a full charge to get the pack down to 60%. It did not cost much at $45 less discounts when purchasing over $100.00 in various products. The only concern I have when testing it with my other stand alone device is the cell percentages have been off by as much as 5% after balancing a pack down to 3.8 volts.

Here is the link to Tower Hobbies:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYGX4&P=7

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Shortly after this post I discharged a battery for about 1-hour and the “Integy Universal 3 in 1 balancer/discharger” from Tower Hobbies got really hot causing the plastic air vents to slightly melt. The battery was still completely cold but the Integy balancer/discharger was another story. At this point I would NOT recommend purchasing this type of discharger. If I ever look around for a stand alone balancer/discharger again I would want one that has a cooling fan.

happybradboating · May 26, 2014

happybradboating said:
happybradboating said:

I purchased the stand alone balancer/discharger from Tower Hobbies that works but drains the battery down real slow. It can take up to 3 hours and more from a full charge to get the pack down to 60%. It did not cost much at $45 less discounts when purchasing over $100.00 in various products. The only concern I have when testing it with my other stand alone device is the cell percentages have been off by as much as 5% after balancing a pack down to 3.8 volts.

Here is the link to Tower Hobbies:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYGX4&P=7

Click to expand...

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Shortly after this post I discharged a battery for about 1-hour and the “Integy Universal 3 in 1 balancer/discharger” from Tower Hobbies got really hot causing the plastic air vents to slightly melt. The battery was still completely cold but the Integy balancer/discharger was another story. At this point I would NOT recommend purchasing this type of discharger. If I ever look around for another stand alone balancer/discharger again I would want one that has a cooling fan.

happybradboating · May 26, 2014

Opps previous multi post. Not sure how to delete one?

Brad

Need Fe Battery Charging Advice

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