1st time using lipo

[Mr. Brian]

Hello! Had my Wildcat out on the water for the first time. I did a full balance charge on the lipo. Then ran for about 8-10min or so. I'd like to run the boat tomorrow. I'm not sure how much I've run the battery down. Not sure if my charger can tell that or not. Do I do a discharge at all to bring it down to a certain level before charging again? Will my charger automatically bring it down to a safe level so I can charge again tomorrow? Thanks!

[Mr. Brian]

ok, been doing more research. So far, I've found that you don't need to discharge a lipo unless you wish to store it for a while. Some say a week or more. Discharge down to 3.8 per cell. I didn't run the boat down to the point where it slowed down, so prolly has a fair charge to it yet. Do I just put it on the charger and charge as normal regardless of where the battery left off?

[oscarel]

Charge it and see how much you put back in. That will give an estimate on how long you can run it. 8-10 mins is a long time in the electric world.

[785boats]

Your next purchase should be a cell checker so you can check the state of charge & capacity remaining in you batteries as soon as you bring the boat back in. Then you can judge how long you can run the boat for.
As stated above by oscarel. 8-10 minutes is a long time. Lipos should not be run down below 3.7V/cell at rest. That leaves about 20% capacity in the pack. Which is as low as you want to go.
Get one of these.
http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...y-Cell-Meter-7

[Mr. Brian]

Thank you so much for the input. I'll get a cell checker today. Is there any risk to charging a lipo that MAY be discharged a bit too much? Like I said, I'm not sure where it is right now in it's charge, and it seemed like there was plenty of life in the boat when I brought it in. Fire risk? Thanks

[Fluid]

If in doubt about the condition of your LiPos, charge them outside on a non-flammable surface. A lot depends on how low the cells were discharged and on the quality of the cells. Better safe than to burn your house down.

Thousands of people run LiPos with no problems at all. But the potential for a fire is there - note the infamous Samsung S7 cell phone. Just think safety and you'll have no problems.


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[fweasel]

Brian, I use a cheap Amazon cell checker at the lake after each run and then as soon as I get home, I put it all my batteries through storage mode on the cahrger which brings them up (or down in some cases) to 3.8V per cell. Your charger has storage mode. Look on Youtube for a thorough review of the iMax B6 mini if you still need a little assistance navigating the charger's menus. Plenty videos posted that do a good job explaining what each function does.

[boattiger]

Definitely invest in a cell checker. If i had to make a guess you probably have it run down at around 30% by now. No way to check it so go outside and charge it if in doubt.

[Erroneous]

I charge, discharge and storage charge on a big granite slab. Stays nice and cool and fire/ heat proof. Still have a 440 electrical service panel I need to put fans and my PowerLab8 in. Cheap insurance.

[Mr. Brian]

Thanks everyone! Everything went fine with charging. I did get a tester as well.