3s lipo question about storage
 

So in about february of 2012 i bought a traxxas 3s 20c lipo and i drove it once. when LVC kicked in i put the battery away and forgot about it because 3s was too much power so i bought 2 2s's and never looked back. Now i have aquired an 1/8 scale buggy and i want to know if 3s is the right voltage so d you think it is ok to charge and use or should i stay away, it has been stored in the same place in a lipo bag.

I want to use it but I dont want anything to go wrong.

Thank You
-Benny

Have you tried charging it? If not, I would charge it slow...1/2 c, sit there and keep a constant watch on the temp. If it fully charges with no problems, I would cycle it a few times just to be sure everything is good with it.

So what temp is bad and how often should i check it?

thank you very much.

When charging, you really don't want it going over 113* and I would check it every minute. Just touch it and you'll know if it's heating up. I say once every minute because I don't know what charger you're using. If the battery winds up working fine, it would definitely change the rules about lipo storage. Has this battery been stored indoors this whole time?

Yes indoors and the reason i did not put it into storage mode is because i own an onyx 245=no storage. i live in VT so it's pretty cold up here also.

Thank you so much

Good luck and please report back on your progress...i'm very interested to see if that lipo comes back to life!!

A 3S is less than ideal for a 1/8 electric buggy. Generally requires a high kv motor which will run hot, have somewhat limited gearing options, and not so great run times.

Better to have at least a 4S, which is the norm for the class. Depending on track rules where you plan to run if any, some go higher than 4S with lower kv motors.

On the 3S it would be wise to check the cell voltages, make sure they are reasonably close and at least above 3V each. Even better if they are above 3.7V per, should get a little stronger after a couple cycles.

but i am using a novak hv pro 4.5 which has a high KV so i dont want to go 4s. And i am just experimenting

That's cool then. Watch the temps and have fun!

Oh that's the motor you're running? You might just smoke that 3s 20c lipo on that one. You're gonna need a 4s for that setup. What's the mah on the 3s?

Well IT WORKED i am so happy it took 3hrs to charge and a ton of me checking it but it was well worth it. All of my buddies told me it would not happen but it did. I could not use it un my 1/8 scale yet due to the traxxas connectors so i used it in my slash VXL and it was great very fast good run time and a ton of power. i was doing SCT wheelies.

Very happy and thank you all very much for the input you hust saved me a 3s lipo

Technically you don't need storage charging mode you can just charge it up to 7.6, so you balanced charged it?, all the cells were good and well balanced even after all that time?

14 months sitting from lvc and comes right back...that's awesome!!!