Lipo Battery Balance Connectors Introduction

What is a balance connector?

A balance connector is nothing more than a breakout connector for accessing all the individual cells contained in a lipo. This allows for the monitoring and manipulation of each cell individually.

Why are balance connectors needed?

Like everything in the world, no two things are exactly the same, and batteries are no different. When multiple batteries, or cells, are assembled into packs, those different differences can lead to imbalances within the pack. In most cases, like NiXX cells, this is not a problem due to the chemistry of the cells. But when using lithium based cells, these imbalances can damage the cells and in some extreme cases even result in a fire.

The age of lipos

As of right now there are single lipos ranging from gens ace lipo 1s 80mAh to 12s 6000mAh lipo, with C-ratings ranging from 15C to 65C. These lipos power a huge range of models from micro helicopters to 33% planes. What used to be a simple answer, "Use Deans Ultra Plugs", has now become a little more difficult to answer.

LiPo Battery Connectors and Types

Bullet Connectors

Bullet connectors are many times the stock connector attached to LiPo batteries, especially larger LiPo batteries. These connectors can handle a lot of current but have the tendency to pull apart during hard landings or through rough usage. If you plan to leave the bullet connectors that came with the LiPo battery on, be sure to purchase the correct size to match. For example, this 5000 mAh 3S 25C LiPo from Gens Ace lipo comes stock with a 4mm bullet connector.


Deans T-connectors

This is the original t-plug connector. This was the first heavy duty plug that I felt comfortable using on everything. These were purpose made for the RC industry. You can find the authentic W.S. Deans Ultra Plug and these days there are clones of this design. I have found many of the clones plastic will melt if you get your soldering iron too hot when attaching your wires. The main issue with this plug is that they are a little tricky to attach wires to since they are simply flat. If your wires are very thick (larger than 12awg) then they are really tricky. They will also pop when you connect them if you are using a big lipo. This doesn't bother me personally but some folks find it unnerving.

Deans Connector Battery Recommendation

This is the 7.4V lipo battery 5000mah With Deans Connector. This battery is perfect for any Airsoft soldier who is looking to add more power to their weapon! You can never go wrong when you choose a Li-Poly battery, not only do they last long, and they hold a stronger charge but they also come with outstanding quality. So whether you are getting a replacement battery or an extra battery for your favorite Airsoft gun the 7.4V 1800mAh Lipo Battery With Deans Connector is the perfect choice for you! 

XT60

These are rated for 60 amps. I first starting seeing XT60s on Gens Ace lipos. This seemed to be their alternative to t-plugs. These consist of 3.5 mm bullets that are shrouded with plastic. There is a male and female side. The great part about this plug is that the side you solder to is cupped. It will hold your solder and your wire a lot easier than a Deans plug. The other advantage is that a lot of batteries ship with this connector. That means all you have to do is create some corresponding connectors for your charger/RC vehicle and you are in business. Since I was already Dean based I never migrated to this style of connector. Disconnecting them can also be a little tricky. I will say that if I was to change to a new connector this would be the one. Most of my quads use this type of connect. Most I have cut and switched to Deans but I have also made adapters.

EC3

The connectors on this plug are fully shielded. Connecting the EC3 isn't confusing and once connected they stay connected. These are also very easy to solder together and no heat shrink is required. My reason for using them might sound silly. Separating them is a bit of a pain. When you do separate rate them the suction between the two makes a POP sound. I'm not sure why I find this off-putting. Maybe I feel like I'm straining the solder since they are so tough to separate. I have never used this type of connector for very long. Ultimately I cut them and change over to Deans.

What is the best battery brand?

Gens Ace batteries are one of the top LiPo battery manufacturers around in terms of performance and quality in general. However if you are are after some professional level batteries I can highly recommend the Gens Ace TATTU series of Lipos. These Gens Ace lipo batteries are abit more expensive that other brands, but they are worth paying abit more for, especially if you are carrying expensive equipment on your drone.

My DIY Lipo Battery Back Experience Share for You

Superior monolithic battery may not produce high quality Lipo battery pack for RC aircraft, but excellent RC aircraft battery pack necessarily need superior lipo cell to produce. This is particularly true if you need a battery pack to regularly power equipment such as remote controlled (RC) cars or aeroplanes. Batteries such as nickel cadmium (NiCad) or nickel metal hydride (NiMH) are popular choices for RC car enthusiasts, while lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries are chosen by RC aeroplane enthusiasts, due to the that battery's lighter weight and higher output voltage. Make a rechargeable battery pack wired in series to increase output voltage: RC models need about 10-volts to operate, although it varies by type. Wiring in series combines the output voltage of each battery in the pack.

I have two gens ace lipo 6S 5000 mAh battery packs. One pack has one defect cell. I remove the defect cell and one of the good cells from the defect battery pack and thus get a 4S pack.

I connect the 6S and 4S packs lipo battery 5000mah together in serial to get a 10S battery pack. Wiring diagram is shown below.

I also cheek each battery pack using RC LI-Po battery tester. The RC Li-Po tester clearly indicates how many cells there are in the battery pack  (including the Voltage of each Li-Po battery cell). However, this particular RC Li-Po tester can only test up to 8 battery cells. Fully charged battery cell has a voltage of nearly 4.2V. The pictures below depict the testing of a 6S (number of cells) and a 4S (voltage of a single cell in a pack) battery pack. When I connect everything together, I get a 10S 5Ah 36V Li-Po battery pack. I put the pack into the triangle bike bag for easy fitting on to the bike. Total weight of the battery pack is only 1,42 Kg.

So far in the auctions I have won on Genstattu, I have paid an average of $8.94 per cell, including shipping and handling charges! The 6-cell Lipo pack that I will build in this How-To cost me a grand total of $54.87 including the cost of the 6 cells, the Deans Connector, the 12 gauge wire and the tape used to hold everything together. If you decide to add a balance connector, this will add about $2.00 to the cost of the build.

The 6 cell pack built here has a open circuit voltage of 6 x 3.7 volts per cell for a total pack voltage of 22.2 volts, and has a capacity of 2300mah. The pack can deliver 30C continuous (69 Amps) with burst capability of 40C (92 Amps). I am currently running them in my 150% F-4 and 166% F-18 ParkJets and in both planes I am pulling 35 Amps (15.2C), and getting 5-6 minute flights with 300-400mah left in the lipo battery pack at the end of the flights. At this current draw, the Gens Ace 6-cell pack delivers 22.2 volts or 2.867 volts per cell. In this application, the packs are delivering 22.2 volts x 35 Amps or 602 watts, which is pretty good for a battery pack that weighs just 1 pound!

I think that I may be somewhat alone in my continued usage of Gens ace lipo batteries. If you care to join me, you can buy factory assembled Gens lipo battery packs from numerous vendors. Those of you comfortable with heavy soldering can save a few bucks by assembling your own packs from individual cells. In fact, most of my Gens Ace lipo battery packs were built with cells scavenged from certain DeWalt cordless drill batteries. Also note that Gens Ace lipo battery cells require specific chargers.

Sizing Your Battery Pack

LiPo batteries were more expensive than Li-Ion because they are more labor intensive to manufacture. Fortunately prices have dropped substantially since they have become as, if not more popular than Li-Ion battery technology. This holds especially true for electric powered RC aircraft and the real driver behind LiPo battery research – portable communication/entertainment devices.  Now the best RC battery brand is Gens ace lipo, many RC hobbist use Gens Ace Lipo batteries.

1. Average Amp Draw

To work out the value for average amp draw, you’ll need to know the all up weight (AUW) of your drone and relate this to thrust and amp values found in the datasheet for your motor/prop configuration. The idea is to work out how many amps your multirotor will draw to maintain a stable hover (note we are taking a stable hover to represent average flight). For example, if your quadcopter has an AUW of 2kg, each motor will have to produce 500g of thrust in order to hover. If each motor draws 4amps to produce 500g of thrust, then your average current draw will be 16amps.

Please notice that current draw depends on your way of flying and external factors such as resistance, weight and wind. Preferably, always use a LiPo low battery warner on your RC device. This will warn you when the battery is drained before it's fully empty (20%). Don't push the LiPo. They don't like to get discharged to the bottom. And you won't like your multicopter falling down from the sky suddenly either.

2.  Daily energy use

Next find the energy used in a day. Figure out how long each electronic device will be run in hours during a day. Multiply the wattage of each device by its run-time to get the energy in watt-hours per day. Add up all the watt-hour values to get a total for your home. This estimate is likely too low as there will be efficiency loses. To get a very rough idea of the real value with system loses, multiply by 1.5. This will help account for decreasing performance when temperature increases.

3.  Days of autonomy

Now decide how many days worth of energy you want to store in your battery bank. Generally this is anywhere from two to five.

4.  Battery bank capacity

Finally we can calculate the minimum battery AH capacity. Take the watt-hours per day and multiply them by the number you decided upon in 3. This should represent a 50% depth of discharge on your batteries. Therefore multiply by 2 and convert the kwh result into amp hours (AH). This is done by dividing by the battery voltage.

Example calculation of max. flying time:

Gens Ace Battery from Genstattu.com

A constant current draw of 20A from a 2200mAh LiPo will get you:( 2200mAh /1000) / 20A = 0.11 x 60 = 6.6 minutes flying time.

Discharge: LiPo batteries can be permanently damaged if they are fully discharged. In respect of this, it's common practice to not discharge your LiPo batteries below 20% mAh during flight; this is known as the '80% rule'. To represent this in the flight time calculator enter the value 80% in the discharge field.

Here a example for you

If your airplane requires a 3S setup using a typical 3s 2200mah lipo pack and you change to a “hotter”motor—meaning one that is more powerful and will pull more current—you need to see if your current packs can handle it. If your current power system is pulling 20 amps with your 2,200 mAh 15C pack, but your next motor upgrade will pull 35 amps, that pack won’t be happy.

Almost every RC LiPo battery cell is packaged in a foil pouch coincidentally called a pouch cell. The picture to the right shows a typical 2 cell LiPo RC battery pack.

It is best to size your battery packs so they run somewhat below theirm maximum C rating. You will stress them less and they will last longer. For example, if your motor needs a pack that can deliver 10 amps, getting a 1000mah pack that is rated for 10C ( 10 amps ) will meet the spec, but it is running at its limit. A 15 C rated 1000 mah pack would be better, or perhaps a 1300 mah 10 C pack. In either of these cases, the pack will be less stressed and should handle the load much better over the long term.

I recommend buying a quality LiPo pack that is well beyond the projected requirements of the setup. Running a pack at its limit will guarantee a short life and wasted money. Pay attention to the label and notice if it gives two ratings such as 30C/60C. These represent the continuous and burst ratings as previously mentioned.

Do You Know the Lipo Batteries Misusage For RC Airplane

Daily Using Mistakes of Lithium Batteries 

For the lithium battery "activate" problem, most people agree that recharge time must be more than 12 hours to activate the Lipo battery. This " The first three charging more than 12 hours to charge " was obviously inherited from the nickel battery ( such as nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride ) argument. Therefore, this argument was miscommunication from the start. After sampling survey, we can see a considerable number of people confuse the two battery charging methods.

Long charging time and completely using the battery power will cause overcharge and over discharge, it will lead lithium -ion battery positive and negative in permanent damage, from the molecular level, excessive discharge of carbon anode will lead to excessive release of lithium ion and makes it lamellar structure collapsed. Overcharging Lipo battery will put too many lithium ion into the negative carbon structure that causing some of the lithium-ion no longer be released. This is also why the lithium-ion batteries are usually equipped with charge and discharge control circuit.

The proper way and precautions before 3 times

1. There is no need for extraordinary time charge as 12 hours to activate the battery when the first three charging time.
2. Place a long time do not use , or frequent that charge is used for some time, the method is a complete charge and discharge , and then you can use namely battery charge , and only after long-term use needs to be fully charged and discharged again to recalibrate again.
3. If your battery place a long time, or frequent use in a period of time, the method is a complete charge and discharge, and then you can use namely battery charge. Only after long-term using, your battery needs to be fully charged and discharged.
4. If your batteries have long time using, you can place your battery before charging your lipo batteries to 40%. Or you can watch each piece voltage batteries, 3.75-3.85V is the best preserved voltage. If your batteries are long-term using, in order to protect the battery.

Here share some little knowledge about Lipo batteries configurations

Series increases the voltage of a pack. 1S is 1 cell lipo, 2S is 2 cell lipo 5000mah battery in a series connection, 3S 3 cells, 6S 6 cells in series etc. Parallel adds capacity for the pack. Better way to measurement is to use the total watt hours of a pack. 12S3P can be the same as a 6S6P. The difference between the two is 12S is double the voltage than 6S.

12S3P = 12 cells in series and 3P means 12 series are in 3P.

Typically, 12S is the highest voltage we use for electric skateboards since most esc/motors don't run above 12S.

6S lipo battery is typically used for up to 20mph. Many people use 12S for added power/range and efficiency over 6S. Although, there's nothing wrong with 6S except after a while you get use to 6S top speed. Typical, 10Wh is .62 miles and/or .98 km.

Charging Lithium ion batteries at slow rates

When the charge rate during the constant current phase is low, the charger process will spend less time during the constant voltage tail. If you charge below about 0.18 C, the cell is virtually full when the 4.2 volts is reached. This can be used as an alternative charge algorithm. Just charge below 0.18C constant current and terminate the charge when the voltage reaches 4.2 volts per cell.

Every lithium ion battery pack should have a method of keeping the cell balanced and preventing them from being over-discharged. This is usually done with a safety board which monitors the charge and discharge of the pack, and prevents dangerous things from happening. The specifications of these safety boards are dictated by the cell manufacture, and may include the following:

• Reverse polarity protection
• Charge temperature--must not be charged when temperature is lower than 0° C or above 45° C.
• Charge current must not be too high, typically below 0.7 C.
• Discharge current protection to prevent damage due to short circuits.
• Charge voltage--a permanent fuse opens if too much voltage is applied to the battery terminals
• Overcharge protection--stops charge when voltage per cell rises above 4.30 volts.
• Overdischarge protection--stops discharge when battery voltage falls below 2.3 volts per cell (varies with manufacturer).
• A fuse opens if the battery is ever exposed to temperatures above 100° C.

Talk about so much, I believe you have know more about RC lipo batteries now, welcome every RC hobbist to share your RC hobby information for us. We are Gens Ace, a professinal manufacture of RC & Drone lipo batteries, you can choose 1s to 6s gens ace lipo from us, 2s 5000 mah, 3s 4000mah lipo, 4s 2200mAh lipo are all our hot sale product.

Lithium polymer vs lithium ion battery which is better

A lithium polymer battery is rectangular in shape and is very thin. These batteries are used in a variety of devices from laptop computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Other names for lithium polymer batteries are “LiPo” and “LiPoly.” If a person had to choose which is safer, a lithium polymer or a lithium ion battery, most would say the polymer based battery is safer. The commone Lipo batteries, we can see that is RC lipo battery. Any battery can explode if over charged but the polymer battery is not as likely to burst into flames like the ion based battery. The lithium polymer battery is what many call a pouch cell design battery. This is what makes it lighter than the lithium ion battery. The lithium polymer battery is designed where the electrode sheet and its separator are laminated onto each other. This eliminates the metal needed in the ion batteries. Another benefit of the lithium polymer battery is that manufactures can shape the cell into any form that is needed for any type of device.


Application of lithium polymer battery

LiPo cells provide manufacturers with compelling advantages. They can easily produce batteries of almost any desired shape. For example, the space and weight requirements of mobile phones and notebook computers can be completely satisfied. Also, they have low-self discharge rate, which is about 1%.

Radio controlled equipment and Airsoft

LiPo batteries have just about taken over in the world of radio-controlled aircraft, radio-controlled cars and large scale model trains, where the advantages of lower weight and increased capacity and power delivery justify the price.

As of the beginning of 2013, LiPo packs of 1.3 Ah exist, providing 45C continuous discharge, and short-time 90C bursts. Bigger packs of 4.5 Ah may feature discharge rates of 70C, with 140C bursts.

Much More have introduced a completely new line of Impact Lipo battery called FD or Flat Discharge. The new configuration gives a flatter discharge curve meaning you get more voltage for longer instead of a steady drop in voltage as in regular packs. Available in 7200mAh 80C & 6000mAh 80C stick packs, 6000mAh 80C & 5000mah 3s lipo (low height) saddle packs, 4600mAh 80C shorty pack, 6400mAh 70C 1S & 3000mAh 60C 2S 1/12th packs and a 4200mAh 50C (low height) stick pack.

Lithium ion batteries use carbon anode and lithium cobalt oxide cathode and an electrolyte gel. Chemistry of lithium polymer is much similar to Li-ions but it also uses a porous separator which converts into gel on exposure to electrolyte. Also Li-polymers employ different architecture. These batteries do not use metal shell like Li-ion batteries. Li-polymer battery is in next level of development and replaces liquid electrolyte with a plastic or polymer electrolyte thus allows these batteries to be molded in various shapes and sizes. The chemical construction of Li-ion battery restricts it to only rectangular shape.

Selecting the right battery for a specific task can become quite a technical challenge which is why retail battery packaging sometimes lists the kind of device they are best suited for. An example of the problems with selecting the best battery technology for a specific task might be the new Boeing Dreamliner. The entire fleet was grounded for several weeks because of a battery catching fire.

We are the number one manufacturer of custom LiPo batteries for RC hobby and commercial grade quadcopters and rc vehicles. gens ace lipo is the best way to upgrade your DJI and Traxxas batteries. We can custom build with any voltage or capacity you require.

LiPo Battery Testing Report About Gens Ace Lipo

Lithium polymer (LiPo) battery cells are more and more popular and are used extensively in remote control models, particularly airplanes. LiPo cells produce 3.7 volts and have a capacity of 2,100 mAh (milliamp hours), if in good condition, which is approximately three times more than a nickel-based rechargeable battery. If you want to test the condition of your LiPo battery pack then use a multimeter and you can test the voltage and mAh. Recently I bought two pack gens ace lipo batteries from genstattu, one is 5000mah 3s lipo battery, the ohter is 2200mah 2s lipo battery, all of these two lipo batteries run well now with my RC models.

I have tested many batteries from the cheapest to the most expensive. There are NiMh batteries out there that make some of the LiPo batteries look awful, particularly when it comes to the discharge graph. Some of the cheapest LiPo batteries on the market have a discharge slope that is linear with a negative slope. Most NiMh batteries for the same price offer better performance than a lot of the cheap LiPo batteries, but at the cost of weight.

Like all things, you really get what you pay for. One might argue the fact that their cheap LiPo batteries work great for them and they have no issues. Thats just great, and I am glad you are happy. I'm simply stating the facts.

Some other useful info about LiPo batteries:

1. After a discharge, the cell voltages of a pack will rise back up and try to get as close to the nominal voltage as possible (3.7V/Cell).

2. LiPo batteries should not be charged more than 4.25V/Cell, and should not be discharged more than 2.75V/Cell.

3. LiPo batteries should be stored at room temperature. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

4. If your lithium battery has swelled, toss it. There has been a phase change in at least one of the cells and it is permanently damaged.

The following is the Gens Ace 30C Lipo battery testing report

3S 7.4V 5000 mAh Gens Ace 30C LiPo Battery Tests

The 5000mah 3s lipo LiPo batteries are compact batteries often utilized in small scale flying radio controlled models such as RC planes and helicopters. These small batteries have a pretty high discharge and charge ratings that we need to confirm in our tests. What is important to note for this particular battery is that it can be a 2 cell battery, but there's no balance plug, only a JST discharge one that brings out the combined voltage from the two cells. While this normally should not be a serious problem, not having a balance connector may shorten the life of the battery if the cells become a little more and more disbalanced over time.

For comparision here is the data for the Turnigy 2200mah 35C battery.

Scenario (Turnigy) ........ IR(mOhm) ........Amps(avg) ........ C(avg)
Full Charge (75F) ................... 3.5..................... 61 .................... 28
Full Charge (95F) ................... 2.2 ....................71 ..................... 35
Storage Charge (75F) .......... 3.4 ................... 62 ..................... 28

We can conclude that the 3S 7.4V 5000 mAh Gens Ace 30C LiPo batteries are performing very good and meet their specs, the only thing to note is that if you are going to be pushing to their maximum you should make sure they are cooled properly (at 25C-30C discharge rates). a lot of different 3s, 5s, 6s and 10s in different sizes on sale now,welcom to buy lipo battery for your rc model from genstattu now.

RC Battery Buying Guide For Your RC model

What Is mAH rating?

All RC batteries come with a certain capacity to store electric energy for a specific period of time. This capacity of the RC battery is expressed in terms of mAH. mAH stands for Milli-Ampere Hour and the rating defines the ability of the mobile battery to perform for a specific period, typically one hour. The higher mAH ratings are sometimes misunderstood as how fast the current is drawn from the battery. Rather, the higher mAH ratings indicate how long the current can be drawn from the battery until it is completely discharged. This is one aspect that almost every mobile phone user must consider before purchasing a replacement battery.

A RC battery's mAH rating determines the period or the number of hours or days a battery can keep the mobile phone alive on a single charge. For instance, a 1000 mAH battery is capable of providing 100 milliamps for a period of 10 hours, and a battery with 7.4v 2200mah lipo battery capacity can supply similar volume of current for a period of 20 hours. The larger the number of mAH rating on the battery, the less frequent would be the need to recharge the phone. The number of hours mainly varies across different OEMs or manufacturers and is also governed by the usage patterns.

mAH Rating and Types of Battery

Different RC batteries with the same mAH rating need not have the same shelf life. The technology used in manufacturing the battery, the usage pattern, the RC software, etc. determine the overall performance of a RC battery. mAH is just an indication; it need not always translate into real-time results. Buyers should look into their RC needs and power requirements when buying a RC battery.

Understand battery terms when buying an RC battery.

    mAh: Milli Ampere Hour. This is basically the electric charge transferred by a current of one milliampere for one hour. The higher the mAh, the longer a battery will last per charge. This is the one part of a battery that you can change without damaging the heli.
    Volt: The electrical pressure. Basically this determines how much power can flow to the motor. For lipo batteries the voltage comes in multiples of 3.7 volts, or 3.7 volts per cell.
    Cell: An independent 3.7 volt battery.
    Litium-Ion (Li-Ion): a type of battery that has a rigid cell structure and shape. It is safer than a lipo battery, but not as efficient.
    Lithium-Polymer (Lipo): a type of battery with a flexible cell structure and shape. Lipos can catch fire and explode if mistreated or dropped on a hard surface. Be careful! Although more dangerous, they are more efficient than li-ion batteries and can come in practically any shape with the same cell count.

My tricopter has a max current draw of around 30A – 35A, and all of the batteries below meet the requirement.

From these data, you can create some very interesting and useful graphs, for example I usually do

    Density, which is capacity per gram (= capacity / weight), and
    Value, which is capacity per dollar (= capacity / price)

From the above graphs, if I am only going for best performance and not worry about the price, I would definitely go for 2650mah lipo, 3000mah lipo, or 3300mah lipo. Also 4000mah lipo might be a good choice too due to its outstanding value.

These graphs tell you some insights into which battery has the highest price/performance ratio, but it doesn’t tell you whether this is the best battery for your RC aircraft, quadcopter or tricopter. To do that, we need to create a mathematical model.

Recommend Gens Ace LiPo Battery

Gens Ace LiPo batteries are designed for customers seeking the ultimate in battery performance. Building upon the highly rated Admiral brand of LiPo batteries, Gens ace lipo offer a higher continuous discharge rate and lower internal resistance. While the majority of our products are sufficiently powered by our standard Gens Ace batteries, we offer the Gens Ace series for enthusiasts who are running high current draw devices or hobbyists who want a "top of the line" LiPo battery. 

Does cold weather affect a lipo's performance

LiPo batteries are also known as lithium-ion polymer batteries. These kind of batteries are rechargeable or secondary cell batteries. They are commonly utilized in phones, but can also be used in radio-controlled planes and other smaller electronics. These batteries may also be used someday to power electric cars.



Cold weather affects lipos, like other batteries, you will probably capacity to be down, and therefore duration to be down. If your model is set up to direct cooling air over the lipos in the summer then it'll supercool them in the winter time, unless you make a change. What I do is to put aluminium tape over the inlet ducts that are there to provide that cooling air.

The Lipos themselves sit in a Liposack, with a number of chemical handwarmers to keep the worst of the chill off. One of those will give about 30 minutes of decent heat and so four of them last about as long as I want to be out in the very low temperatures. On returning home the crystallised chemical handwarmers are warmed up in a pan of boiling water up and they then revert to their liquid state for the next time .

There is a way to get more performance out of a LiPo battery; optimize the Starting Temperature. LiPo batteries have an "ideal output temperature". The internal resistance is at its lowest when they're ran with a starting temperature of around 100°F (38°C). A pack at a temperature of less than 50°F (10°C) (very cold pack) can show noticeably poorer performance until it warms up with use. In the winter time or in cold climates, it's best to store packs in a heated indoor living space. For outdoor use in cold climates, you should pre-warm your packs to 90-100°F (32-38°C) before using them. But remember, 140°F (60°C) is the maximum safe temperature, and the pack's temperature will increase when it's used, so be careful not to pre-warm the pack up too much.

Tips for your Lipo batteries

There are a couple effective ways to do this. The most effective is to find a square heating pad that you can place in your battery bag at the bottom. The only issue here is you will need a power source, not always a choice when out on location.

The second method is the method I've used when I don't have access to the generator or another plug in. These tire heaters work perfect to plug into a small 7.4v 2200mah lipo battery and keep the batteries warm. Simply place your batteries on top of each element and choose a heat that won?ˉt melt the plastic. Also don't forget to keep an alarm on the Lipo batteries

Disclaimer: you must make sure to attach the sensor to one of the pads so they don't run on full power not stop. To do this, just poke two small holes through one of the pads and zip tie the sensor to it so it's secure.This will help keep your batteries warm while out in weather normally too cold for Lipo batteries.

Best RC Lipo Battery for cold weather

 

Now available from Genstattu, a collection of high capacity, high drain, gens ace lipo specially designed for use in RC cars and models where extreme power and rugged reliability is a must.

With discharge rates of 90-100C, capacities ranging from 4800-6000mAh and in a range of configurations the Extreme Track LiPo range comes as standard with Overlander's unbeatable quality, true extreme power and excellent value for money.

Available now; a 4800mAh 2S 7.4v 90C Shorty pack, a 5800mAh 2S 7.4v 90C Saddle pack, and a 6000mAh 1S 3.7v 100C, all provided with tubes and necessary cabling!

This will help keep your batteries warm while out in weather normally too cold for Lipo batteries. Good luck, respond to the post with any questions!

10C 15C 20C Lipos - What does the C mean

How quickly a battery can discharge is it's maximum current capacity. Current is generally rated in C's for the battery. C is how long it takes to discharge the battery in fractions of an hour. For instance 1 C discharges the battery in 1/1 hours or 1 hour. 2C discharges the battery in ? or half an hour. All RC batteries are rated in milli Amp hours. If a battery is rated at 2000 mAh and you discharge it at 2000mA (or 2 amps, 1 amp = 1000mA) it will be completely discharged in one hour. The C rating of the battery is thus based on its capacity. A 2000mAh cell discharged a 2 amps is being discharged at 1C (2000mA x 1), a 2000mAh cell discharged at 6 amps is being discharged at 3C( 2000mA x 3). I think gens ace lipo is best choice, they are the proffessional manufacturer of Lipo battery.


Currently LiPo technology does not allow currents as high as NiCad or NiMH batteries do. For this reason, this many LiPo batteries are put in parallel to increase the present capacity of the battery pack. When 2 batteries are wired positive to positive and negative to negative they become like one battery with double the capacity. If you have 2 2000mAh cells and you wire them in parallel then the result is the same as 14000mAh cell. This 4000mAh cell has the same C rating as the original 2000mAh cells did. Thus if the 2000mAh cells could discharge at a maximum of 5C, or 10 amps then the new 4000mAh cell can also discharge at 5C or (4000mA x 5) 20 amps. This method of battery pack building allows us to use LiPo batteries at higher currents than single cells could produce.

The naming convention that allows you to decipher how many cells are in parallel and how many are in series is the XSXP method. The number in front of the S represents the number of series cells in the pack so 3S means it's a 3 cell pack. The number in front of P means the number of cells in parallel. So a 3S4P pack of 2100mAh cells has a total of 12 cells inside. It will have the voltage of any other 3s lipo 5000mah since the number of cells in series determines the voltage. It will have the current handling of 4 times the maximum C rating of the 12 individual cells. So say our 3S4P lipo pack had a maximum discharge of 6C. That means that it has a nominal voltage of 10.8 volts (3x3.6) and a maximum discharge rate of 50.4 amps (2100mAh x 6Cx4P ).

The maximum continuous current delivering capability of a battery can be determined by multiplying the C-Rate X (mah of battery).

A 2000mah, 20C battery would be capable of delivering 40000ma (40A).
A 2000mah, 25C battery would be capable of delivering 50000ma (50A).

That's in a perfect world - however, there are no standards for how a manufacturer/vendor decides how to C-Rate their batteries. The big boys like Enerland probably do a good job of accurately descrbing the C-rate. Other pack makers may be another matter. They may call a real 15C pack a 25C pack in order to sell more. You just have to go by the RCG reports on the packs to get some idea on how accurate the C-rate is.

The other side of the coin is flight time. To get a 10 min flight, the average C-Rate draw needs to be 6C. A 20C pack operated at 20C will last a max of 3 min flight time and you'll maybe get 50 cycles out of it at the best.

Here is a good rule of thumb to go by.

3min flight to 80% drain = 16c avg and it can peak 32c = use 30c+
4min flight to 80% drain = 12c avg and it can peak 24c = use 25c+
5min flight to 80% drain = 10c avg and it can peak 20c = use 20c+
6min flight to 80% drain = 8c avg and it can peak 16c = use 15-20c+
7min flight to 80% drain = 7c avg and it can peak 14c = use 15c+

For me, high C-rates (>15) have no value as I want at least 8-10 min flight time. However, I'll take them if the price differential is small as it generally means a battery with a lower IR.

Proper Way to Disposal of Lithium Polymer Battery

To begin with, damaged lithium polymer batteries (and even undamaged ones) can be extremely dangerous. The horror stories are very well-known, but new RC hobbist typically don't come across good info on proper handling, storage, and disposal of lipos until well after they've begun their journey into the hobby. Usually, it takes a search for "why is my lipo so swollen?" before people get the spiel about the dangers of lipos. The scary part is that most people would have squeezed and poked at the RC car batteries lipo before they ever do the research. And typically, if you're new, you're doing some crashing and hard landings that bang the battery up even more.

The most important part of lipo disposal is to make the lipo safe, safe to be crushed in a garbage truck or safe when tossed in the recycle bin. We do not want to pass off a potentially dangerous lipo to people that do not understand what it is or how to handle it. As such I believe we have a responsibility to make them safe before they leave our care.

So, what is the safest way to dispose of LiPos? Enter the humble incandescent 12 volt automobile taillight bulb. If you have any skill at all at soldering (and you'll need it anyway if you do anything with electric RC) it's very easy to solder some wire to the contacts of a 12 volt automobile taillight, add whatever your battery connector of choice is to the other end and insulate it with electric tape or heat shrink. To dispose of your battery, just plug the battery into the taillight, put it somewhere where it's safe (I use the holes in a cinderblock with a plastic baggie full of sand above - if the battery blows the baggie will melt and the sand will pour over the battery) and leave it until the bulb goes out. Then leave it for some hours more, check the voltage to make sure the battery is completely discharged, cut of the battery connector, strip the wires and twist them together. Then dispose or recycle the now completely safe battery. A single taillight bulb will work for up to a 1s lipo battery pack of any size, use two taillights in series for 4S lipo battery or more.

Here recommend Brand Lipo battery for you

Trust the battery that consistently delivers peak performances even through the roughest conditions. The Gens Ace 40C 4S 5000mAh 14.8V LiPo Hard Case battery pack has a high-capacity, high-discharge rate that gives you the power and run-time you expect from all Gens Ace batteries. This battery includes not only plug adaptors to fit Deans, Traxxas, Tamiya and EC3 plug types, but also heavy-duty features like 12 AWG soft silicone wire leads and our patented High Current Universal Plug System.

Gens Ace warrants this product to be free of material and workmanship defects when new. This product has been checked for proper functionality and inspected before leaving the factory. All Gens Ace batteries are warranted against the following: DOA (Dead on Arrival) cell or pack, swollen or puffed pack upon arrival, loose or broken solder joints, and wires or plugs on arrival.

Home made battery disposal

The first task is to drain the battery to 0V as Lithium polymer batteries are safe if carrying no voltage then you need to ensure no more charge can build up, the following will guide you through it.

• Grab a bucket of sand and place it outside with the battery inside.

• Connect an led or small lamp to the battery and drain it completely, leave connected for 1 day after the led stops glowing.
• Cut the connectors off the battery.
• Strip the wires
• Join the red and black wires to create a short circuit and prevent any build up of voltage.
• LiPo Battery successfully stabilised and you can safely dispose in the regular trash.

A slow discharge produces less heat and is much more safer then draining the battery fast with a motor or high load connection.

Hopefully I have dispelled the myth of salt water LiPo disposal, and I hope that this helps people who are looking for a safe way to dispose of their LiPos.

How to Choose and Where to Buy Lipo Batteries

Given the wide range of actuators and electronics which go into a RC model, choosing the right battery may not be an easy task. This article guides you through the thought processes involved in choosing one or more 1s lipo battery for your RC models. We’ll start with an example:

7.4v (2S) 2200mAh 25C

Seems confusing, but it’s not.

7.4v: This refers to the voltage of the entire pack. Since each cell holds 3.7v, this pack must have 2 cells wired in series. Common pack voltages you’ll see for airsoft use will be 7.4v and 11.1v.

2S: This refers to the number of cells in the battery pack, and the fact that they are wired in series.  If they were wired in parallel it would have said 2P instead.

2200mAh: As usual, this is the capacity of the RC car batteries lipo in milliamp-hours.  The larger the capacity, the longer the battery will last before needing to be recharged.

25C: We talked about this in part one.  It’s the discharge rate.  If you don’t remember what the discharge rate is all about please go straight to part one, do not pass Go, and do not collect anything but nasty looks from the gnomes who write these things.

Now let us look into what it is that we want out of the AEG we’re putting this into.  If you’re looking to create an ROF beast, then an 11.1v battery is your goal.  If you’re simply looking to replace that mini 8.4v or 9.6v NiMH or NiCad battery, then a 7.4v li-poly should fit the bill nicely.  Your next concern is capacity.  How do you determine the capacity you need?  Well, it depends on a lot of things, and there is no real concrete answer to this.

If you have a gun that runs at a high fps, you’re going to need more capacity as it’s going to be used up more quickly.  Now looking at reality, I’ve seen an m14 DMR running semi-auto only, go through 700 rounds and the 2200mAh li-poly battery was still almost full.  Your real limiting factor here is space.  You can use a battery as big as the space you have to fit it in, but you might want to consider using this battery in more than one gun, so you have to fit the smallest denominator.

Let’s look at the Gens ace brand li-poly battery that is available at Genstattu.com.  The specs read as follows:

11.1v 1600mAh 12C

If you are using RC servos which operate at 4.8V to 6V nominal, an 11.1V LiPo will kill them, so you either need a separate battery or a voltage regulator. The C rating is the capacity and the discharge rating is normally provided as a multiple of the ‘C’ rating. The capacity relates to how long the robot will last. For example if your 11.1V battery has a capacity of 2000mAh (2Ah) and can discharge at 5C, that means it can discharge at 10A, which is more than enough for your motors.

Now let us look at a 7.4v li-poly made by Gens Ace for just $6 more:

7.4v 2200mAh 30C

Doing the math, you get a 66A continuous discharge capability!  So sure, we drop back to 7.4v, but we’re back to supplying the motor and drivetrain the current it needs to run at 100%!  So in this case, the 11.1 wasn’t a win because of its low C rating.  Once you’ve decided on capacity and voltage, you need to consider the discharge rate carefully.  As proven here, the low discharge rate is a real deal-breaker for the Firefox batteries!

Be careful when using 7.4V LiPo batteries with RC servos (which normally work best at 4.8V to 6V). LiPo batteries can normally discharge at high current (a meaure of the capacity). The higher the capacity, the longer the robot will run, but also the heavier the battery will be. For hexapods similar to Lynxmotion’s, a 2-4Ah battery is best, and you might get 15-20 minutes of use. 800mA won’t last too long.

Conclusion:

LiPo batteries have the potential to overtake NiMH batteries in general use in the next few years, quicker than any battery in history. It is certainly an exciting time for the hobby, and things are changing on a frequent basis. Just remember to have fun, and if you don't know something, ask questions! The only dumb question is the one you don't ask!

What Lipo Battery to Buy and Why

Lithium-polymer batteries are the fourth most like type of battery to be commercialized for EV applications. The discovery of nonmetallic solids capable of conducting ions has allowed has allowed for the development of these batteries. Lithium-polymer batteries have anodes made of either lithium or carbon intercalated with lithium. One candidate cathode under evalution contains vandadium oxide. This particular battery chemistry has one of greastest potentials for the highest specific energy and power. Unfortunately, design challenges assoicated with kinetics of the battery electrodes, the ability of the cathode and anode to absorb and release lithium ions, has resulted in lower specific power and limited cycle life for lithium-polymer batteries.

This guide is intended for the new user that wishes to start in the RC world and needs a basic knowledge about Lithium Polymer batteries.

Single cell battery packs

Each cell is rated at 3.7v nominal voltage. Why nominal? Because a fully charger cell has 4.2v and a fully discharged one will have about 3.5v. A 1S lipo battery is usually comprised of 1s lipo battery that has the negative(black) and positive(red) wires hard soldered to its terminals and these wires are used for powering up the system.Depending on the battery make and purpose this might also be used for charging the battery.

In some cases a different connector will be used for charging. The battery in the picture shows the same cell made by the same manufacturer but with different cables used for different interfaces. The cell is a Turnigy Nanotech  750mAh 35C constant discharge with 70C burst discharge. Weighing only 19 grams this battery will keep a Syma X5C with an all up weight of 100 grams flying for about 10 minutes.

Multiple cell battery packs

The image on the right shows what you will typically find in a multi cell battery. All the cells are stacked together wrapped in plastic. The cells are wired in series and this gives the name and the voltage of the lipo RC car pack. In this configuration the voltage adds up and the capacity remains the same as the individual cell. So a 3S battery will have 3x3.7v=11.1v. This is the usual type of configuration and you might find it marked as 3S1P. Where the first 2 characters (3S) represent the number of cells and the last 2 characters (1P) represents how many packs are inside a battery. If you connect 2 3S batteries in parallel you will have a 3S battery with 2 times the capacity. This is a 2 pack battery and the marking for it would be 3S2P. More than one pack is not very common so this type of marking is not widely used but you might run across it when looking for dedicated receiver battery packs. This is the principle that works with all the range of battery packs.

Usual configurations are as follows:

3.7 volt battery = 1 cell x 3.7 volts (1S)
7.4 volt battery = 2 cells x 3.7 volts (2S)
11.1 volt battery = 3 cells x 3.7 volts (3S)
14.8 volt battery = 4 cells x 3.7 volts (4S)
18.5 volt battery = 5 cells x 3.7 volts (5S)
22.2 volt battery = 6 cells x 3.7 volts (6S)
29.6 volt battery = 8 cells x 3.7 volts (8S)
37.0 volt battery = 10 cells x 3.7 volts (10S)
44.4 volt battery = 12 cells x 3.7 volts (12S)

Capacity or mAh Rating

The best way to explain this is that the more milliamperes the battery stores after a full charge the more it will be able to keep your model running.

So the next thing would be to think "Hey i want my plane to fly for longer i'll just put a higher capacity battery inside!". Well, there is a catch. The higher the mAh rating is, the cells get bigger in size and weight also. So if your plane flies 8 minutes with a 2000mah battery it might fly for 10 minutes with a 2200mah battery but a 10000mah pack might be to heavy and the plane will not fly at all. This is where weight plays an important role. You need to be able to maintain the centre of gravity and also the ability of the model to lift, carry or float with the added weight.

Discharge rating

You can view the discharge rate as a container that has some mahs inside. This container has an opening on the bottom. The bigger the opening the faster the mahs flow out of it.

You should read the following if you do not want to destroy your batteries.

Following our example the 20C lipo battery will be able to provide 44000 milliamperes per hour or 44 Amperes.
If you want to calculate how long your model will run on this battery you can do the next calculation:
multiply the capacity by the maximum load of the battery
2200mah * 20C = 44000mah (these are milliamperes per hour)
Divide the result by 60 minutes
44000mah / 60 minutes = 733ma (power draw per minute)
Divide the capacity of the battery by the power draw per minute
2200mah / 733ma = 3.01 minutes

So from a theoretical point of view this battery will hold on for 3 minutes in a system that needs 44 amps to work normally.

If we put this battery in a flying wing that is powered by a NTM prop drive 2826 with a 8.5x6 propeller that needs about 4.0A to fly normally at around 50% throttle we will do the next calculation:

We need 4000mah lipo battery to operate the motor and we divide this by 60 minutes to find the power draw per minute
4000mah / 60 = 66.6ma per minute.
We then divide the capacity of the battery by the draw per minute result
2200mah / 66.6ma = 33.3 minutes (about 3 minutes and 20 seconds)

Here comes the 80% discharge rule:
This rule says that a lipo battery should never be discharged with more than 80% of its capacity.

So for a 2200mah battery this will be:
2200mah * 80 / 100 = 1760mah

At the end of the discharge cycle there should be 440mah still left in the battery.

This discharge limit will usually be about 3.7v per cell. Using a battery monitor will alert you when this limit is reached and you know when to bring your model back.

The C rating is important when you buy a lipo battery because if your system uses under normal load more than the constant discharge rate the battery will puff or swell, its internal resistance will rapidly deteriorate, the cells will become more and more unbalanced and the battery does not like that.

The bad things about Lipos

You might hear a lot of people saying that Lipos are dangerous, they explode, they swell, puff, make a lot of smoke not work for more than 10-15 times.It is true. If you mistreat them, Lipos are a waste of money.
Main causes of Lipo failure:

• Overcharge
• Over discharge
• Not enough discharge rate
• Charging the battery with fast chargers for too many times
• Not using balance chargers
• Running the battery at its full burst C rating repeatedly for more than 10 seconds.
• Physical damage to the battery during landings or crashes
• Short circuits in the system

Basically any abuse on the Lipo battery will decrease its life time. Serious abuse or damage can lead some times to  explosions, fire and aggressive swelling. Obviously there are those remote cases when the batteries have a manufacturing fault but usually these faults can be detected before or on the first use.

How to Storage and Extend Your Lipo battery Life

Lithium polymer batteries (lipos) power our electric model airplanes. With sizable inventories of packs that represent a fair investment, getting the longest life out of our lipos is in our best interest. Two words: proper storage.

As lipo batteries age, their internal resistance rises. This causes the voltage to drop under load, reducing the maximum current that can be drawn.Additionally as lipos age, usable capacity is lost. Typically once a battery has lost 20% of its rated capacity it considered at the end of its useful life. It's a fact, lipos age and degrade even during non-use. What can we do to minimize these effects? Manage two factors that are totally in our control: cell storage voltage and storage temperature. At first, we can here recommend you Gens Ace RC battery. And we will introduce the Gens Ace battery storage for you.

Gens Ace & Tattu is a professional Lipo battery manufacturer and exporter in China.

Genstattu.com offer a wide range of RC product including RC car battery, RC Helicopter Battery and RC , and RC TX/RX battery. Our RC batteries ranges from 3.7v to 22.2v, there are 3.7v lipo, 2 cell lipo batteries, 11.4v lipo, ect. We also supply 4000mah lipo battery, 5000mah lipo battery, 10000mah lipo battery, if you can't find the battery you want, you can contact our customer service.

Storage Voltage:

A fully charged lipo cell is approximately 4.2 volts. Lipos are different from other battery chemistries as they should never be stored fully charged. Lipos should be stored approximately "half full". Many of the newer lipo balance chargers have a“Storage Mode” which charges the pack to the proper reduced voltage state for storage purposes. The popular FMA CellPro charger charges cells to 3.85Vdc in Storage Mode. Check your charger manual, some chargers can both discharge the pack and then charge up to the storage level, while others can only charge up to the storage level. The later type charger requires you to discharge the pack below the storage level to take advantage of the storage feature. Storing your packs at the proper voltage level is the simplest thing you can do to lengthen their usable life span (assuming proper application and use). Storage is not just “over the winter”. If you only fly on the weekends, your packs are technically in storage all week, week after week during the entire flying season. Those cumulative hours can add up slowly degrading your packs.

Temperature:

Lipo batteries function via a chemical reaction that occurs inside their sealed foil envelopes. Providing power is a chemical reaction, while the aging/degrading process is another chemical reaction. If you remember back to high school chemistry, a chemical reaction doubles its speed for every ten degrees increase of ambient temperature. This is why lipos don’t perform as well in cold weather. The cold “slows down” the chemical reaction process. But this fact can work in our favor when it comes to lipo storage. Reducing the storage temperature slows the chemical reaction of the aging/degrading process. There is a limit as to how cold is OK. Lipos don’t want to be frozen solid, but keeping them cool during storage is most certainly in our favor. It turns out the typically household refrigerator (37 to 40 degrees) is the perfect storage place.

The following are 4 tips for Extending Lifespan of Lipo Batteries

1.During storage periods, keep your lithium battery at a 40% charge state.

Although it’s best to fully charge a lipo batteries for RC before use, prior to storage of Lithium polymer batteries it's harmful to fully discharge them.  The best battery manufacturers store lithium batteries at around 60 degrees and at a 40% charge level.  The 40 percent charge allows a stable condition even if it means a level of self-discharge.  Some reserve charge is necessary to keep a battery and its protection circuit operational during long periods of storage.

2. Never leave your Lipo battery at an elevated temperature.

Lithium ion batteries do not like heat.  By leaving a lithium battery at a constant high temperature, their lifespan, run time and charge capacity reduce significantly. This is particularly true for laptop computers.  Laptops produce heat.  If you treat your laptop as a desktop replacement and use it as a main power source for a period of one year, the lithium battery capacity could fall to 60% of its original max capacity and lead to a greatly reduced battery life performance.  This issue can be resolved by removing a lithium battery while using a corded power source.

3. Never overcharge your Lipo battery.

When a RC model is not in use, it's best to remove the Lithium polymer battery from the RC model unit. It's also best to remove the lithium battery when a RC car is running on a power adapter. If you have a spare Lithium polymer battery, use one for the RC unit and keep the other cool by placing it in a refrigerator.If you leave a lithium ion battery inside a digital RC battery compartment at all times, the battery will become unusable at a much faster rate. It's best to give your digital RC a breather by removing the battery every time it's not in use.

4. Avoid frequent full discharges of your Lipo batteries.

One of the great advantages of a lithium battery is it has no memory effect, which means recharging a partially charged lithium battery is not harmful.  And partial discharges with frequent recharges are much healthier for a lithium battery than one long deep discharge.  High discharge rates contribute to damage and strain on a lithium battery. But by charging lithium ion batteries at a slower charge rate and more frequently, you can expect the life of your Lipo battery to last much longer.

About Gens ACE & Tattu

Gens is specializing in R & D, design, production and sales of lithium polymer battery products. Located in one of the high-tech industrial centers of China, Shenzhen. Gens ACE & Tattu covers an area of 3,0000 square feet and has a staff of approximately 500 people. With good quality and perfect after-sales service, Gens Technology is enjoying a high reputation, and we sincerely welcome your visit.

Comparison of NiCd, NiMH, and Li-Ion Batteries

Land mobile portables have traditionally used Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) batteries were recently introduced as an additional chemistry alternative. This article will help users make an informed decision when selecting among NiCd, NiMH, and Li- Ion (Lipo) batteries. All chemistries have advantages and disadvantages that must be weighed before choosing a battery pack chemistry.

Battery Characteristics

NiMH batteries provide the following advantages over NiCd:

• Higher capacity

• Limited memory effect

• Environmentally friendly

NiCd batteries provide the following advantages over NiMH:

• Longer cycle life

• Wider range of operating temperatures

• Lower price

Li-Ion batteries provide the following advantages over the Nickel chemistries:

• Light weight

• Environmentally friendly

• No memory effect

• Highest energy density of the three chemistries

Choosing a Battery Type

Table 1 shows key parameter comparisons of NiCd, NiMH, and Li-Ion batteries.Operating Parameters

1. Relative Capacity – Electrical capacity of the batteries when compared to a NiCd pack. M/A-COM determines the capacity of its battery packs by testing. Some third parties rate their packs by using individual cell specifications. Cell manufacturers rate cells based on a slow charge and discharge. In land mobile radio applications, batteries are charged and discharged much more aggressively and will not reach their rated capacity. Also, when cells are connected in series, as they are in all battery packs, it is impossible to extract the rated cell capacity from the pack.
2. Charge/Discharge Cycle Life – This represents the number of times a battery can be charged and discharged, which equates to the lifetime of the pack. Usage patterns can lengthen or shorten this number.
3. Memory Effect – The memory effect occurs when a battery pack is repeatedly recharged before it has been completely discharged. The result is that even after a full recharge, the battery will not allow its full capacity to be extracted. Memory can be minimized by conditioning. NiMH batteries are less susceptible to memory effect. Li-Ion is not susceptible to memory effect.
4. Conditioning – Conditioning entails fully discharging and then recharging a battery 3 or more times. This can be performed with a Cadex C7400 or iTech BC3506QP-5 battery conditioner available from M/A-COM. See the Cadex or iTech manuals for instructions on how to use the products.
5. Operating Temperature – This is the range of temperatures at which the battery can be reliably used due to characteristics of the chemical reactions involved. At lower temperatures, the battery is not able to convert its chemical energy into electrical energy. At higher temperatures, safety devices called positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistors inside the battery prevent it from being used until the temperature falls. Batteries that are used in very cold or very hot conditions for extended periods of time can be permanently damaged.
6. Charging Temperature – This is the temperature range in which batteries can be charged due to limitations of the chemistry. All M/A-COM chargers limit charging outside of this range per cell manufacturer’s ratings. This often affects vehicular chargers because vehicle temperatures can vary to extremes.
7. Storage Temperature – If batteries are stored above or below their storage temperature range, permanent performance degradation can result. In short, batteries must not be stored in excessively hot or cold locations.
8. Storage Charge State and Duration – All cells degrade over time. Nickel packs should be stored in a fully discharged state. Li-Ion packs should be stored at 40% charge. Li-Ion packs should not be stored for extended periods of time (3 to 6 months from manufacture).
9. High-Temperature Susceptibility – Prolonged high-temperature discharge damages the organic materials for both NiCd and NiMH. High-temperature discharge can occur while a user is operating the radio in a high-temperature environment, or if the battery is stored in a high-temperature environment. Short exposure to high temperatures will not permanently damage the cells. Short-term performance will be degraded, but can be recovered through a couple of charge/discharge cycles at room temperature (typically 77°F or 25°C).
10. Self-Discharge – Self-discharge is the gradual loss of charge over time for an unused cell. It is directly proportional to ambient temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster the battery discharges. The lower the temperature, the slower the battery discharges.
11. Recycling – By U.S. law, NiCd batteries must be recycled. Currently, NiMH cells are recommended but are not required to be recycled. Li-Ion batteries are not required to be recycled.

Conclusion:

This article presents the advantages and disadvantages of NiCd, NiMH, and Li-Ion batteries for portable radios to help users make an informed choice when selecting batteries. NiCd batteries provide more recharging cycles, operate over a wider temperature range, and are lower priced than NiMH batteries. NiMH batteries have a higher relative capacity, limited induced memory effect, and are environmentally friendly. Li-Ion has a higher volumetric efficiency than the nickel-based batteries. Li-Ion batteries have no memory effect and are environmentally friendly. According to the lipo voltage, there are 3.7v lipo battery, 2s lipo battery, 3s lipo battery, ect.

Top 5 Benefits of Gens ACE Batteries

Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) battery has high power to weight ratio making it popular in electrical equipment and devices. Due to the compact size, weight and flexibility of remodelling in any shape and size, it is widely used in RC vehicles. Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) or drones are widely talked about for fun or by the military for special recon purposes. They come in different size and background according to its function. Manufacturers are always on the look to reduce weight to obtain more performance from the aircraft with the available power. In this case Li-Po battery is used for an electrically driven UAV.

Pilot in command form the ground needs to know the amount of energy available in the battery to know the remaining flight time. A device must be integrated in the UAV to monitor the energy left and relay this information back to the ground. Power consumption varies with the change in the environment such as wind, temperature and also the flight time spent during climb, cruise and descent. Thus, it is essential to know the limit and capacity of a Lithium Polymer battery.

Gens ACE had very humble beginnings having been started out of a garage with the Gens Ace Temperature Monitor for nitro engines in 2001. In 2002 Gens ACE introduced it’s first NiMH and NiCD batteries. Back then, as is still true today, Gens Ace focuses on selling high quality LiPo batteries at realistic prices. Gens took on LiPo battery packs almost since the beginning when LiPo battery technology first began to make an impact on Radio Control vehicles about 7 years ago. Since then we’ve carried a variety of packs for all your RC needs big and small, land, sea and air. Gens have evolved with the technology in these few short years and the results show. Gens Ace are one of the top selling brands of rechargeable RC battery packs in North America and our products are found in more than 50 counties globally.

Top 5 Pros of Gens Ace Batteries

The following top five benefits distinguish Gens batteries.

1. Gens Power Packs Have Patented Adaptability

Gens’s patented UNI plug makes its LiPo, NiMH, and LiFe battery packs are extremely versatile. Designed to handle even high-current battery power,the UNI plug for Atomik brand RCs comes with adaptors that fit Traxxas,Deans, Tamiya, and EC3 toys, making tricky, DIY soldering of adapter plugs unnecessary.

2. Soft Silicone Wire Leads for High Performance Power

Gens uses soft silicone wire connectors. Because they are flexible, they are easily adaptable to various installations in tight spaces. Silicone is resistant to temperature extremes, minimizing meltdown risk and frost damage should the RC toy be left outdoors.

3. Gens’s Limited Lifetime Battery Replacement Policy

A company’s warranty policy often indicates the quality of its products. Gens offers an impressive lifetime replacement plan on every rechargeable RC battery pack it sells. The manufacturer pledges to replace or repair defective products free within the first year after purchase. Thereafter, purchasers have the option to replace a power pack for a new one of the same description and receive a 30 percent discount on the original purchase price.

4. Gens’s Sizable Selection

Gens’s battery selection features dozens of choices to suit just about any RC or Airsoft power supply demand. With three different types of batteries plus plenty of package configurations, Gens’s catalog offers virtually all of the options available for RC hobbyists.

5. Connectable RC Batteries for More Power

When powering a larger RC, connecting Gens battery packs in a series multiplies the voltage. The manufacturer makes this easier in two ways. First, Gens sells battery-wiring harnesses that have plug-in connectors for hooking power packs together. Secondly, the company offers discounts on multiple packs of its batteries, making it less expensive to ramp up the power.

Where to buy Gens Ace Battery?

You can search Gens Ace battery on "Google", "Amazon", or direct go to our website: http://www.genstattu.com/. If you want to focus on our new RC battery information, please follow our facebook Gens ACE Global .

What You Should Know about Lipo Batteries Packs

Battery choice is import for both electric and nitro vehicles. They both need batteries to operate. In a eclectric vehicle the batteries propel the vehicle and power the steering. In nitro vehicles the batteries power the steering and throttle servos while the nitro or gas engine propels the vehicle.

Gens ace 4000mAh Lipo

In electric vehicles, the choice comes down to NiCd, NiMh and Lipo battery packs. NiCd and NiMH batteries have long been the workhorse of electric vehicles. They are simple to charge, maintain and also tend to have long lifespans. These batteries however have been steadily losing popularity to Lithium Polymer (Lipo) batteries. Lipo batteries tend to require more maintenance and special charging methods but offer users a more exciting experience with their perfromance.

Lipo batteries have revolutionized the capabilities of electric models in this hobby. One key example vehicles at extremely affordable prices such as Traxxas' XO1 model which is a ready to run vehicle capable of traveling at 100 mph right out the box without any modification or Proboat's Miss Geico 29 and Blackjack 29 which are capable of traveling at speeds of over 40 mph across the water. Here we can recommend you gens ace lipo rc car, all batteries are tailored for various scales of the RC Models such as electronic cars, nitro cars, aero planes, vessels and also other models, toys, electric tools, electric bikes, electric autos, digital products etc.

Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries need to be charged only with a LiPo compatible Charger. Most LiPo batteries have two wires and connectors. One wire is the main wire which is used to connect the battery to the vehicle and charger. The other wire with the small white plug is the balance cord. The balance cord is used to charge each cell of the battery evenly. Lipo batteries require more care than conventional Nicd and NiMh batteries. To prevent damage to the battery it is recommended to never leave LiPo batteries connected to the vehicle or the charge when not in use. This can drain the battery down to a voltage in which you will be unable to charge the battery again. Many but not all electoronics speed controls have low voltage cutoffs to prevent the batteries in the model from draining down below the preset voltage threshold that will damage your lipo battery. To prevent damage to the battery it is also recommended to never leave LiPo batteries connected to the vehicle or the charger when not in use. In an abundance of caution it is also a good idea to charge and store LiPo batteries in a flame retardant LiPo charging sack.

What is the "C" Rating on RC Lipo Battery

"C" rating is a rating of how quickly energy can be discharged from a battery. The rating is combined with a battery’s capacity to find determine the maximum discharge. This is very important when you consider battery choices for your RC models, because these machines draw very high amps from the motors and it is easy to choose a battery that can’t handle the currents required by brushless motors and steep-pitched props. This article mainy explains what "C" rating is, “C” calculation and the charging of C Ratings.

The "C" rating of a battery only specifies the amount of current a lipo battery RC can safely provide. So a 1000mah 10C battery can safely provide 10 amps, a 1000mah 20C battery can safely provide 20 amps, etc. However it is the motor and it's propellor that determines the amount of current that will be required. So if a given motor/propellor combination requires 10 amps and you use a battery that can provide 30 amps only 10 amps will flow in the circuit. Increasing the current capacity of the battery will not increase the current in the circuit.

Current in a circuit is determined by the voltage applied and the circuits electrical resistance. The motor/prop combination are the circuits primary resistance. The ESC has some resistance and the battery itself has some resistance. Since you are not changing the motor/prop or the ESC these resistances remain the same. So the only thing that can effect the circuit resistance is the battery. It's resistance is so low as to be negligible. So even if your 25C battery has slightly lower internal resistance a negligible amount of current increase should be seen. Here we can recommend you Gens ace 5000mAh 40C 2S1P 7.4V Lipo Battery Pack, Gens ace rechargeable 2S car lipo battery with high capacity of 5000mAh & high burst power of 40C for 1/8 & 1/10 RC car model such as HSP 1:10, Emaxx,Bandit, Rustler version, HPI Strada XB 1/10 RTR Electric Buggy, Kyosho GP 4WD RACING TRUCK etc.

  

“C” Calculation:

To charge a 2100 mAh Li-Po at 1C or C/1, set the charger to charge at 2.1 Amps (mAh divided by 1000 to get amps). It’s that simple. So a 3200 mAh NiCad that can be charged at 2.1C would be charged at 2 and 1/10th times the battery aH rating (3.2 X 2.1 = 6.72 amps). Likewise, a trickle charge of C/10 for the same battery would be 1/10th of the “C” rating (3.2 / 10 = .32 Amps).

Chargings C Ratings

It is also important to consider C-rating when charging batteries. I always stick to the rule of thumb that you should charge your batteries at no more than 1C even if they are rated for a higher Charge c-rating. Zippy compacts are a good example of a battery that will work great until you start charging it at a high C-rating.

Charging these at a 5C charge rating will rapidly reduce their life because their cells become oxidized. The batteries say on them that they can be charged at a 1-5C rate, but my real life experience says otherwise.

As you can see, We Genstattu are well stocked with a wide variety of products for you to choose from. Every single one of our Lipo batteries packs a massive punch and will give you to days of endless fun. This is why you should not hesitate to get in touch with us today. Order your ideal RC battery and get your craft up and running without wasting another second.

This article comes from: http://www.rc-battery.com/bbs/?p=304

Getting to Know Lipo Battery

Lipo technology is widely used in notebook computers, mobile phones, and other personal electronics. When handled and used properly, Lipo batteries can be quite safe. Lipo batteries also offer a variety of distinct advantages over other sources of stored electrical potential.

High Energy Density - For their weight, Lipo batteries are capable of storing a proportionately high amount of energy in comparison with older technologies such as those found in NiCd and NiMH batteries. On many occasions, they offer ove 4 times the energy capacity for the weight.

Flat Voltage Curve - Lipo cells are fully charged at 4.2 volts and are considered fully discharged at 3.0 volts. This allows for a relatively flat voltage discharge curve, providing solid performance throughout the discharge cycle.

No Memory Effect - Lipo cells do not develop a memory effect from being only partially discharged and then charged again (such as that experienced by NiCd cells). The cells may be partially charged and discharged without damaging their performance so long as they are kept within their normal operating voltage parameters.

Low Self Discharge - Unlike NiMH and NiCd batteries, Lipo cells have a very low rate of self-discharge when not in use. Lipo cells experience a self-discharge rate of approximately 5% per month, compared with over 30% per month and 20% per month in NiHM batteries and NiCd batteries respectively. This means that users can now fully charge their Lipo batteries one day and then use them weeks later, at which time they will still have nearly a full charge.

Continuous Discharge Rating (“C Rating”): The notation on Redline battery packs lists their continuous discharge rating in terms of the pack’s capacity “C”. For example:

A 1,000 mAh battery with a “20C” continuous discharge rating can be discharged continuously at a rate of 20 times its 1,000 mAh capacity without damaging the cell.

(1,000 mAh Capacity x 20 = 20,000mA = 20 Amps Continuous Discharge)

A 1,000 mAh battery with a “15C” continuous discharge rating can be discharged continuously at a rate of 15 times its 1,000 mAh capacity without damaging the pack.

(1,000 mAh Capacity x 15 = 15,000mA = 15 Amps Continuous Discharge)

Series Configurations - Individual Lipo cells have a nominal voltage (average operating voltage) of 3.7 volts per cell. Lipo cells are wired in series in packs to create the following voltages:

1 Cell = 3.7 V
2 Cells = 7.4 V
3 Cells = 11.1 V
4 Cells = 14.8 V
and so on...

Parallel Configurations– Multiple like Lipo packs, unlike NiCd and NiMH, can be wired in parallel to effectively create one, larger pack with the combined capacity of both packs. This also has the beneficial effect of splitting the current draw between each pack and thus enabling a higher current draw.

For example, two 1,000 mAh Lipo cells with 15C continuous discharge ratings that were wired in parallel would create one 3.7 V pack with a 2,000 mAh capacity and could support an application where the total current draw was up to 30C (30 Amps).

3S2P - This means that “3” cells are wired together in “S” series to create an 11.1 V pack and that “2” of  these three cell groups are wired in “P” parallel. This code could be read as “three cells in series times two groups in parallel”

2S1P - This means that “2” cells are wired in “S” series to create a 7.4 V pack and that only this “1” group of cells exists in the pack.

1S 3P – Although an unlikely combination, a pack with this code would represent a 3.7 V pack consisting of single cells“1” wired together to create a pack of “3” cells wired in “P” parallel.

Lithium Polymer batteries are a great power source for projects but they require care during use and charging. They can be easy to damage or misuse and can hurt you or your property! All the batteries we sell pass testing and certification but you should still be careful with them.

Genstattu.com is your one stop shop for finding your next RC LiPo battery pack and any other accessories needed for your radio control aircraft. They offer a variety of RC lithium polymer batteries and drone batteries. To see an extensive inventory of batteries to choose from or if you need additional help in selecting the right battery or RC LiPo battery pack for your needs, visit our website at www.genstattu.com.