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-   -   bad battery disposal? (https://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/1114228-bad-battery-disposal.html)

staiguy 07-03-2023 08:59 PM

bad battery disposal?
 
I have a battery that charged and discharged funny. I went to put in storage mode and clicked over to the cell stats and got this after a "completed" storage charge:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...9293f454cb.jpg

The other day at the track there was a popping sound but everything seemed fine and functional. Guess that wasn't the case. I'm about to store this battery outside but how can I safely destroy this? Bucket of salt? attach to an m1000 and celebrate?? lol jk.

gigaplex 07-03-2023 10:00 PM

That voltage looks charged, not storage. One cell is also quite a lot higher than the other. I've had that imbalance happen a lot with a budget charger, and when I switched to an iCharger all my packs have balanced perfectly since.

Roelof 07-04-2023 12:23 AM

It is a common complain about a bad balancer with those B6 copy chargers. It is wise to try another one (from a friend/club member)

billdelong 07-04-2023 07:54 AM

+1 on it being a faulty charger, I would consider investing in a charger that provides IR readings which will give a more accurate measurement of the condition of the battery, more info here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...er-is-the-best

sosidge 07-04-2023 09:05 AM

First of all I would give the contacts in the balance cable and plugs a very good clean. And also check the voltages with a different device or voltmeter.

Balance leads are very sensitive and can give faulty readings if they are not making good contact. I'd avoid "daisychaining" balance leads for that reason.

staiguy 07-04-2023 09:39 AM

I used different everything except a direct line to the charger. I tested against the same type of battery and got a proper reading.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...025ae49632.jpg

I plugged in the questionable battery, made sure it was on storage mode, and still got a "proper" store voltage of 7.85
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...b046cea57b.jpg
Checked the stats and still shows 4.20, 3.99.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...6e2fad0c65.jpg


A new charger is in the shopping cart for later. Gold level A-main here I come :P. I can hopefully get to the track later this week and test using someone else's charger. I am little concerned if one cell is at full charge for a couple days. :/

billdelong 07-04-2023 10:59 AM


Originally Posted by staiguy (Post 16016538)
I am little concerned if one cell is at full charge for a couple days. :/


You should never leave a battery fully charged... you want to immediately use it and then place it in storage mode when you're done.


Full charge is around 4.2V

Storage is around 3.8V


More info here:

https://batteryuniversity.com/articl...ased-batteries

Batteries that are going to be left at "Full Charge" for phones, laptops etc are considered fully charged at 3.92V which is essentially storage mode

staiguy 07-04-2023 12:44 PM


Originally Posted by billdelong;[url=tel:16016551
16016551[/url]]You should never leave a battery fully charged... you want to immediately use it and then place it in storage mode when you're done.

These are the cell values after the charger says it’s done doing a storage mode and reads a total of 7.85v. I don’t know why the charger would read this way unless the battery or cell is damaged. My two other batteries read at proper levels. I’m probably just going to get rid of this battery in a proper way.

billdelong 07-04-2023 12:48 PM


Originally Posted by staiguy (Post 16016589)
These are the cell values after the charger says it’s done doing a storage mode and reads a total of 7.85v. I don’t know why the charger would read this way unless the battery or cell is damaged. My two other batteries read at proper levels. I’m probably just going to get rid of this battery in a proper way.

I am not convinced the battery is bad, though that's why I recommended earlier to invest in a charger to read the IR of the cells which will give you a better indicator of when the battery needs to be replaced.

7.85V / 2 = 3.9V per cell which is close enough for storage, the lower grade chargers are not going to be very accurate

gigaplex 07-04-2023 03:07 PM


Originally Posted by staiguy (Post 16016589)
These are the cell values after the charger says it’s done doing a storage mode and reads a total of 7.85v. I don’t know why the charger would read this way unless the battery or cell is damaged. My two other batteries read at proper levels. I’m probably just going to get rid of this battery in a proper way.

It's reading one cell at 4.20 (fully charged) and one at 3.99 (decent amount of charge). Total voltage 8.19V. The charger is incredibly inaccurate if it's simultaneously reporting 7.85V combined. A battery fault won't cause that, it's a charger or cable issue.

disaster999 07-04-2023 05:42 PM

If you want to save this battery, I would try putting it in balance mode (not sure if your charger has this or not) and let the charger balance the 2 cell's voltage so they are the same. This might take a few hours depending on the charger. Once its done, do a balanced charge on the battery and see if the voltage is all over the place or not. If it is then pretty safe to say the battery is dead and not worth saving. See if there are any local electronic recycling shops or places that takes in lithium batteries locally near you.

gigaplex 07-04-2023 06:12 PM


Originally Posted by disaster999 (Post 16016646)
If you want to save this battery, I would try putting it in balance mode (not sure if your charger has this or not) and let the charger balance the 2 cell's voltage so they are the same. This might take a few hours depending on the charger. Once its done, do a balanced charge on the battery and see if the voltage is all over the place or not. If it is then pretty safe to say the battery is dead and not worth saving. See if there are any local electronic recycling shops or places that takes in lithium batteries locally near you.

While I agree with you, in my experience a charger of this quality cannot recover when the cells become this unbalanced.

Roelof 07-05-2023 12:44 AM

Did you try to measure the cells with a voltmeter or a LiPo checker?

staiguy 07-05-2023 01:46 PM


Originally Posted by Roelof (Post 16016688)
Did you try to measure the cells with a voltmeter or a LiPo checker?

I tested it with a voltmeter. Total volts was 8.01~8.03 but when doing each cell, balance port and negative/positive they read 4.02 on the negative and 3.99 on the positive. Not fully charged so that's a relief but odd the charger reading the total output at 7.85 but its really 8.01. I know this isn;t too far off but again my other batteries read either exactly the same or off by 0.01.


gigaplex 07-05-2023 02:40 PM


Originally Posted by staiguy (Post 16016830)
I tested it with a voltmeter. Total volts was 8.01~8.03 but when doing each cell, balance port and negative/positive they read 4.02 on the negative and 3.99 on the positive. Not fully charged so that's a relief but odd the charger reading the total output at 7.85 but its really 8.01. I know this isn;t too far off but again my other batteries read either exactly the same or off by 0.01.

It's also odd that the charger read one cell at 4.20 and the other at 3.99. I wouldn't be trusting that charger anymore.


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