charging tips and basic info
 

Purchased my 720i charger and really like it thus far. only charged 3 cycles!! but the manual is very vague and would like to do some more reading on tips and tricks to get the most out of it. I basically used the automated settings and it worked great. I would just like to figure out how to charge at a faster rate while still being safe. Also, how many mah I put back in. those types of things. It took close to 70 min to charge my 5s 5000mah turnigy from LVC. So hoping to inprove upon that. The battery is rated at 2c max charge rate. Thanks guys

I am not familiar with that charger, but it should tell you the mah put in the pack when its finished charging. 2C for a 5000mah pack is 10 amps, if your charger can provide that then it should lower your charging times by alot. Just remember that the slower you charge your pack the longer it will last.

It does tell you what mah was put in, its a matter of paying attention. The only way to speed up charging for lipo is to charge at higher C rates. If your lipo manufacturer has said yours is ok for 2C charge rate, then there's your answer. My lipos are all older generation which were 1C, so I haven't done any 2C charges. Your charger is rated for 20amps so 10amps should be no prob provided you have a power supply thats up to the task.

The manual is not detailed, but I find it covers most everything the charger will do if only with a passing comment. I have 2 0610i chargers that I use to network charge lipos for my Flux and aince thats not mainstream, its hardly covered at all. The charger is intiutive enough that I've managed to figure it all out. You should be able to do the same. Sit down with the charger, tiurn it on and go exploring the menus. Maybe even take some notes if its important.

Your Turnigy's will last longer and charge quicker if you don't run them to the lvc - set lvc higher and when you 1st think to yourself is it slowing?, quit. The deeper discharge on these causes more cell imbalance - thats where some of the extra time charging is going to balancing. My 2S 5000mah 25C Neuenergys take less than an hour to charge (~40-50min), I use 3.4v/cell as an lvc (6.8v) and when I notice response has fallen just enough to notice, I stop and recharge - I'm usually putting somewhere around 3600mah back in and teh cells are rarely more than .005mv apart. Measure yours the next time you run to the lvc and see haow far apart you're pulling them.

There's a lot of things in this hobby you have to discover for yourself.

Ya, mistakes and just plain gettin in there is how you learn. But, I have 5 months of cold/snow to look foward to. So thats why I was looking for some reading material!! My lvc is set at 5s on my RX8. Seemed to hold pretty good pwr to the end, But I could definatly tell it was getting slower before it finally went. So maybe I can tweak that a little. At least My lipos are only like 60 bucks if I mess one up vs 200 for now. thats why I went with them to start. Thanks for the help.

Quick and probably stupid question. On lipos with just a balane hole what type of connector do you use?

You use something like this -

http://www.allerc.com/product_info.p...oducts_id=3702


This is for a Hyperion charger - you need one that will work with your charger - the white block connector plugs into tha balance port on the charger.

So that thunder charger you should a link to, would it work with that type of plug? I remember its saying it was a jst type balance plug. I kinda wish we would just stay in nimh and brushed motors. All this new technology is wacko, no consensus on rates and balancing.

thx for the help

This one has a jst type plug - its for a charger that uses the jst balance type connection -

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...llet-Connector

I agree that the lack of standardized connections, especially balance connections makes it more difficult than it needs to be. Really once you get into it, its not bad, just involved - there are only 4 balance type connections in use today, at least its not more... The thing that disappoints me is some lipo resellers don't list the type balance taps their lipos use. Thats just poor.

Thanks for your help. I've floated in and out of this sport for 22yrs. I have my first car i bought still. The old faithfull RC10 gold bucket. I have more stuff but they are a little dated from just two years ago. Oh well, the stuff keeps getting better, just can't step out for long or you get lost like I did. LOL.

Know the feeling - I was big into planes, just getting into my 1st RC plane before college. That killed everything and I was away from teh hobby for a loooong time and then jumped into surface about 6yrs ago so I had the break plus the different side of the hobby.

You figure it out and there are some great places online to find help too!

Correct me if I am wrong but this type of ballancing plug would only ballance up to two cell packs. It only has one point of contact on the small banana jack. I don't have any Lipo yet but am looking. Thanks

That was for a 2S hard case lipo - they are different when it comes to balancing. They have 3 holes in the case and the main harness is just the pos and neg wires. You buy another harness that includes the 3rd wire and the connector to the balance port or adapter of your charger.

Thanks Duster Thanks again.