Newbie ? How to charge lipos

[rcjrboatman]

I'm new to charging lipos but not to FE boats. When charging lipos, what gets plugged into charger first? The battery plug or the balancing plug? What am I supposed to look for when charging? This is the setup I have bought used but with no instructions. From what I've heard they can catch fire and certainly don't want to do that. I have lipo bags to charge in too. Can someone give me the correct procedure on charging? Thanks

[sailr]

Be careful of that Astro 109 charger. The early ones had a bad habit of jumping the cell count and burning down houses, cars, etc. You have to WATCH it constantly to be sure it doesn't increase the cell count beyond what the pack has. For example, you may be charging a 3S pack and all of a sudden the charger decides it's a 4S and starts shoving way too many volts into it!

Astro fixed the problem with the newer chargers (last year or so). If yours is older than that or you bought it used, I highly recommend going to www.astroflight.com and getting the latest 'chip' for your charger!

[sailr]

Plug in the balance tap first and then the main battery leads. Not sure, but plugging in the other way might confuse the Astro charger. Either way, NEVER leave lipos unattended while charging. Stop and feel the pack once in a while to be sure it's not getting hot. The Astro 109 goes through 3 phases of charge, Constant Voltage, Constant Current, and then averaging or something like that. Watch that the cell count does not change when the phase changes. VERY IMPORTANT. Refer to my previous post.

I'm new to charging lipos but not to FE boats. When charging lipos, what gets plugged into charger first? The battery plug or the balancing plug? What am I supposed to look for when charging? This is the setup I have bought used but with no instructions. From what I've heard they can catch fire and certainly don't want to do that. I have lipo bags to charge in too. Can someone give me the correct procedure on charging? Thanks

[rcjrboatman]

Thanks for the quick response. Do I have to do anything with the "amps adjust" knob on it when it is charging or even before?

[rcjrboatman]

I tried the charging and got the batteries charged. Had two of the same and they both came up to 8.4v for 2 cell batteries.. Really don't want to look too stupid here but are you supposed to charge with the balancer hooked up? The charger says "cell short" if I do that but it charges without the balancer. Packs didn't even get warm doing it this way. Thanks for any help.

[LiPo Power]

You dont have to use balancer every time. Only sometimes when you measure your voltage of your battery and will notice big diference between cells. Then you charge with balancer. 8.4V for 2S after charging is good. They do not allways get worm when cgarging. NMH do....
All the best
Robert
Get this:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6589&Product_Name=Battery_Monitor_2-6S

Yor LHS may have it in stock, great tool for checking your lipos

I tried the charging and got the batteries charged. Had two of the same and they both came up to 8.4v for 2 cell batteries.. Really don't want to look too stupid here but are you supposed to charge with the balancer hooked up? The charger says "cell short" if I do that but it charges without the balancer. Packs didn't even get warm doing it this way. Thanks for any help.

[mappo]

I tried the charging and got the batteries charged. Had two of the same and they both came up to 8.4v for 2 cell batteries.. Really don't want to look too stupid here but are you supposed to charge with the balancer hooked up? The charger says "cell short" if I do that but it charges without the balancer. Packs didn't even get warm doing it this way. Thanks for any help.

I always charge with my balance tap plugged in, so as not to have any cells at different voltages, it is a safe way to determine if and when your pack has a bad cell.

[LiPo Power]

This maybe a silly quastion but are you running your boats with balancer plugged in to make sure your cells are beeing discharge the same way....?

I always charge with my balance tap plugged in, so as not to have any cells at different voltages, it is a safe way to determine if and when your pack has a bad cell.

[rcjrboatman]

Thanks everybody

[BHChieftain]

I keep the power supply on the charger disconnected until I have all of the batteries and taps connected (in no particular order), then I fire up the charger.

Chief