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To Balance or Not to Balance Lipo Packs while charging

To Balance or Not to Balance Lipo Packs while charging

Old 08-09-2007, 05:56 AM
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Default To Balance or Not to Balance Lipo Packs while charging

I've noticed that high % of the racers @ or track do not use Lipo balancers while charging Lipos.



So whats your take on this. Is it safe not to balance lipos
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Old 08-09-2007, 06:04 AM
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lipos usually dont need to be balanced. Maybe once in a little while. I have the Orion 4800 pack and I already have an Astroflight "Blinky" balancer for my other lipo batteries. I plan on building a balancing harness that i saw on the lipo thread so I will be able to balance on every charge
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Old 08-09-2007, 07:19 AM
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My plan was to use my balancer without a charger to balance the cells. However what I have found is everytime I plug it in my packs are balanced. So in my opinion being able to balance while charging is highly overrated. Get a balancer to be safe.. check your packs for piece of mind because they'll probably never need it if you have quality packs.
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Old 08-09-2007, 07:49 AM
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Austin from MaxAmps recommended to me that a balancer be used on every cycle.

In case you haven't seen them before, here are some Lipo fire videos:

Lipo overcharge fire:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...60570423705609

Lipo Sack Testing:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...11953351279140

Overcharge Test:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...75988211814049

Better safe than sorry!
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Old 08-09-2007, 08:24 AM
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Better safe than sorry is correct!! So before you get a balancer make sure you don't charge a single lipo cell at 30amps!... or in the middle of a field hooked to a car battery. I'll bet I can get some Nimh's to do some cool stuff also... time to get out the camera!!
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Old 08-09-2007, 04:50 PM
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Balancing is not necessary unless you are pounding the snot out of your lipo on every single run.

If you use the battery sensibly, it won't need it.

That's my experience with my airplane lipo's in the last 3-4 years.

Balancers are ways for the companies to make a few more bucks.......
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Old 08-09-2007, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by rmdhawaii
Austin from MaxAmps recommended to me that a balancer be used on every cycle.

In case you haven't seen them before, here are some Lipo fire videos:

Lipo overcharge fire:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...60570423705609

Lipo Sack Testing:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...11953351279140

Overcharge Test:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...75988211814049

Better safe than sorry!
Oh god who hasn't seen them before? The same videos showing people deliberately causing problems that everyone loves to use to show how "unsafe" lipos are. Not saying you are doing that of course. I've got to make some video of nimh exploding but I swore I'd never spend another cent on them. Anyone want to donate some for my little project?
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Old 08-09-2007, 04:57 PM
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I have 2 Orion 3200's and 2 of the 4800's. One of each needed balancing after a few months of use.

I was asked to balance two new (two cycles) MaxAmps packs, and both required it.

I don't know how far out they were, the Orion balancer doesn't say. And if you have an Orion balancer, you'll need to get a 2S Hyperion connector for it in order to use it with those taps. If anybody needs more information on that, PM me, it was an adventure figuring it all out.
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Old 08-09-2007, 06:03 PM
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My charger balances them everytime I charge, so I don't worry about them getting out of balance. Good or bad? Who knows.
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Old 08-10-2007, 03:41 AM
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I have few 2200mAH 3-cell packs for my Heli, after 2 weeks of fun I was receommended to get a balance charger to charge my pack as I was told it is better for the battery life. When I try to discharge my packs with my new toy, there were at least 10%, some are 17% difference in capacity.

Now I use balance charging every time, they are balanced and showing only a little difference in capacity.

I am sure balance charger and discharger worth the money.
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Old 08-10-2007, 05:23 AM
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I thought that one of the reasons you use a balancer, is to prevent overcharging one of the cells if they become significantly unbalanced. Is that not correct?

BTW... I think manufacturer's safety warnings alone are enough to dissuade anyone from buying Lipos.
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Old 08-10-2007, 05:48 AM
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i charge at 2C and balance all the time.

If charging at 1C then balance prob not as essential
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Old 08-10-2007, 08:19 AM
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Yes, if any of the LiPo is overcharge or over-discharge, the LiPo will be damaged. NiCD or NiMH can accept a bit overcharging, but not LiPo no matter 1C or 2C
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Old 10-23-2007, 10:52 PM
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what is a good balancer/ or charger with balancer to get? I have 4 ICE. But they only charge not balance. My lipos are carbon 3200 and platium 4800, both orion.

someone at the track told me to get the FMA scorpion charger, I talked to a person with a trakpower balancer.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Old 10-24-2007, 04:00 PM
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I use MaxAmps 4000mah 2s Lipo's for racing. I run them out until the 6v cutoff on my esc for every single run and charge them up all the way. After 10 cycles, i decided,hm....i'll try balancing, its worth a try. Guess what my balancer said? It said that the cells were already so closely balanced that there is no work for it to do. The two cells will not get out of wack that easy in need of balancing from my estimates for at least 15 cycles if you have a high quality lipo pack, like MaxAmps or the other hard cased lipo's.
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