150 minutes to charge a 4500 2s lipo!!!????
10-25-2008, 10:38 AM
#18
I did that test for you...I put over 4500 mah into my Orion 4800 (at 1C = 4.8A) and it took about 105 mins. Actually running my car, I've never pulled that much capacity off though, even running 3 heats without charging. I can run my 4wd with a 6.5 BL for close to 15 mins on a Orion 3200 without hitting cut-off on a small indoor track. After the charge was finished I hooked up my balancer and it was perfectly balanced.
I really think you need to try charging once without balancing to see if the balancer is 'eating' extra capacity and extending the charge. Unless you're running 30 mins, I don't see how you're pulling over 4000 mah off with a brushless system, they are actually far more efficient that brushed systems. But there are factors such as the size of motor, drag in the drivetrain, etc. The comments from others about the charge rate actually being cut to 3A might be the real issue or the extra 45 mins could still come from issues with the built in cut-off.
BTW, it took about 45-50 mins for my charger to hit 8.40 volts and start tapering the charge and had put about 3900 mah in at that point. So that should mean putting 3900 mah into a NiMh pack at 4.8A would take that long as well. LiPo's do take longer to charge to full capacity than NiMh because of the CC/CV charging instead of full amperage until peak detection, but in general most people don't pull the full capacity off of a LiPo pack like you do when properly discharging/charging a NiMh.
I really think you need to try charging once without balancing to see if the balancer is 'eating' extra capacity and extending the charge. Unless you're running 30 mins, I don't see how you're pulling over 4000 mah off with a brushless system, they are actually far more efficient that brushed systems. But there are factors such as the size of motor, drag in the drivetrain, etc. The comments from others about the charge rate actually being cut to 3A might be the real issue or the extra 45 mins could still come from issues with the built in cut-off.
BTW, it took about 45-50 mins for my charger to hit 8.40 volts and start tapering the charge and had put about 3900 mah in at that point. So that should mean putting 3900 mah into a NiMh pack at 4.8A would take that long as well. LiPo's do take longer to charge to full capacity than NiMh because of the CC/CV charging instead of full amperage until peak detection, but in general most people don't pull the full capacity off of a LiPo pack like you do when properly discharging/charging a NiMh.
10-25-2008, 10:46 AM
#19
Another also question 
Based on the pictures and rest of the discussion are you actually charging the pack through the balance plug with nothing connected to the 4mm bullets on the pack? If so, I think this is not recommended for car packs like suggested by others. You can charge some receiver and other small capacity packs through the balance connections.
I have a very similar balancer to yours, the Hyperion net 10, but there's one big difference. It actually has the charge leads separated from the balance leads coming out of the balancer. So when I balance charge my packs the charge current goes into the main leads and the balancing happens through the balance port. This would be similar to the high capacity leads for the equinox that the others have mentioned.
Don't be afraid to charge your pack and balance it after it's charged though. People ran LiPos for years with no balancers. The absolute best practice might be to balance charge every time, but it can definitely be overkill unless you see that your pack has problems staying in balance.
Based on the pictures and rest of the discussion are you actually charging the pack through the balance plug with nothing connected to the 4mm bullets on the pack? If so, I think this is not recommended for car packs like suggested by others. You can charge some receiver and other small capacity packs through the balance connections.I have a very similar balancer to yours, the Hyperion net 10, but there's one big difference. It actually has the charge leads separated from the balance leads coming out of the balancer. So when I balance charge my packs the charge current goes into the main leads and the balancing happens through the balance port. This would be similar to the high capacity leads for the equinox that the others have mentioned.
Don't be afraid to charge your pack and balance it after it's charged though. People ran LiPos for years with no balancers. The absolute best practice might be to balance charge every time, but it can definitely be overkill unless you see that your pack has problems staying in balance.
10-25-2008, 11:37 AM
#20
I was just talking to a friend that I race with and he is having the same problem.He runs the same exact charging setup that I do and he asked a very good question....Would the pack charge faster if we were'nt trying to charge through the equinox like we usually do?This is the configuration that we charge in......
He is thinking that if we just run the charge through the regular charge leads without the equinox and into the packs connector that it may charge faster .could he be correct?
He is thinking that if we just run the charge through the regular charge leads without the equinox and into the packs connector that it may charge faster .could he be correct?
10-25-2008, 11:43 AM
#21
You need them to charge over 3 amps, the stock leads only do up to a 3 amp charge. 2s - 5s hi power leads
10-25-2008, 11:55 AM
#22
I was just talking to a friend that I race with and he is having the same problem.He runs the same exact charging setup that I do and he asked a very good question....Would the pack charge faster if we were'nt trying to charge through the equinox like we usually do?This is the configuration that we charge in......
...image remove...
He is thinking that if we just run the charge through the regular charge leads without the equinox and into the packs connector that it may charge faster .could he be correct?
...image remove...
He is thinking that if we just run the charge through the regular charge leads without the equinox and into the packs connector that it may charge faster .could he be correct?
Built a 4mm bullet to Traxxas connector and try to charge once without the balancer. You can always balance the pack after charging, I believe your balancer works just fine that way too. I definitely don't think you should be charging through the balance leads though.
10-25-2008, 12:01 PM
#23
From the Trinity manual: The small balance charger plug is used only for balance charging. Do not fast charge through this connection.
http://www.teamtrinity.com/pdf/4500_lipo_ins.pdf
http://www.teamtrinity.com/pdf/4500_lipo_ins.pdf
10-25-2008, 01:26 PM
#24
wow!! I didn't get a manual with my pack.Thanks for the info.So I did a charge using just the charge leads and got 5959 seconds,4102 mah.Thats much better so from now on I will charge that way but I am still going to mod my cables with the extra charge lead.
10-25-2008, 08:18 PM
#26
Try that, it may be what is slowing yours down. Running a thunderpower 1320 lipo in my M18, I noticed no difference in charge time before the equinox, and after the equinox. Also, keep in mind the circutry on the adaptor may not let it go over 3amps, even though you modified it, so i would buy a set of the leads if you can if your mod doesnt make a difference.
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