Originally Posted by
Johnnysplits
Apparently, you are missing something. Read it again. Full charge (4.20v/cell) for two weeks...no problem. Stopping the charge at 4.18v/cell is to [B]make them last longer[B]. Topping off a lipo on every charge cycle will shorten it's life quicker than if you stopped the charge at 4.18v/cell. I didn't contradict anything that I said. Storing for up to two weeks at either voltage level will not do any harm.
Guess all I can say is I used to charge lipos the night before racing. Occasionally leaving one charged for a week between races. Then I picked up a charger with internal resistance and estimated capacity measuring capability, which allowed for better tracking of performance. IR would rise and capacity would fall off fairly quickly, I had to get new lipos a couple times a year. At the time my son was running stock, where good batteries are important.
Then I got more diligent with storage, now I rarely have a lipo charged for an hour if that. Since then I have several lipos of a few brands that are 2-3 years old that have only minimal rises in IR and reductions in capacity. Not just my experience, websites that have actual battery testing consistently show the same. All I did was try it, and it worked for me.
If one is running something fairly easy on batteries like a mod 2wd buggy it may not make much difference, as more than enough power and capacity is typically available. But if running a stock class or say a heavy 4x4 short course the benefits are fairly attractive in my opinion.
BTW, I agree on not using the full charge when possible. For modified I’ve gotten in the habit of short charging too, to around 4.16V.
Cheers