Lipos in parallel ?''s
 

I'm not a lipo expert, so I thought I would ask a few questions before I try something and end up ruining some of my equipment.

Basically I want to run to identical lipo packs in parallel. Both are 1800mah 7.4v 35C mini lipo packs.
Running in parallel will still give me 7.4V, but give me 3600 mah correct?
Is there any dangers to running lipos in parallel? Should I check the voltage after they are charged to make sure they are equal before plugging them in together, or will they equal themselves out? Do they discharge equally together?

I know I'm going to get asked the question, "Why don't you just use 1 3400 normal sized lipo?"
I have a few reasons as to why.
1. I'm running this in a Tamiya F104, space is very limited already. And yes I actually GAIN space using two smaller lipos as opposed to one larger lipo. It allows me to play around with weight distribution as well.
2. I only own 1 full size lipo that actually fits the chassis anyways, so I would have to purchase an additional one for racing. Whereas I already own 4 of these mini lipos.
3. Just one of the 1800 mah mini lipos is enough runtime for qualifiers, and it SHOULD be enough for the main, but if it's not I'd like to have a backup plan.

Also the weight of the 2 mini lipos equals exactly the same weight as the 1 full size lipo.

Thanks

No danger at all and they will work fine in parallel

As you suggested just make sure they are at the same state of discharge (same voltage) when you connect them

Their voltage will equalise when connected together and they will discharge equally

ESC will just see it as a 3600 mah pack

You can also charge them in parallel if you get a parallel adapter for the balance leads

Cheers

The only thing to watch for running them in parallel is when they are initially connected. The guideline usually given is that the packs need to be within 0.1v of each other since they will equalize quickly when connected. This is the ideal condition, I suspect they will tolerate higher voltage diff.


No downside at all that I've seen, I've run lipos in both parallel and series and charged them both ways.

Excellent, thats exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the info guys!