Originally Posted by
happywing
RE: LiPo Voltage Cutoff
I've seen it published from several sources that LiPo are safe down to 2.7v per cell (10.8v for 4s). The 3.0v-per number comes from manufacturers padding the voltage to be safe. Myself, I have run 4s to just under 12v a couple of times. I still have these packs and they are still as good as day one. I avoid going below 12v, but I'm not afraid of it. I set my LVC to 11.5. I have hit cutoff with this setting. By the time I checked the pack it was at 12.6v, even though the cutoff was set at 11.5.
Consider that a draw spike may trigger an LVC cutoff while the pack still has some safely usable power left.
I wouldn't suggest everyone set their LVC below 12v. You must have good cells and keep them balanced.
That's bull.
I'm talking from practical, first hand experience here.
All my ten cell heli batteries are logged for each flight and I keep track of stuff like available capacity, voltage droop for a given amp draw, cycles, etc.
I've got a few hundred cycles on some, and I've had others give up after 50 cycles.
Every single time they've dropped below 3.2 volts per cell, there is a degradation in their ability to hold voltage at a given amp draw.
Doing this repeatedly significantly shortened their life span.
They still work of course, just not as well as a good pack, output and capacity are reduced.
This is with quality enerland cells.
And of course the pack's voltage will come back up once you remove the load, it's sub 3.3 volts under load that does the damage. If a draw spike pulls the cells down under 3 volts, the pack is being damaged, whether you realize it or not.
I wish someone would make a cumulative mah logger that alarms at a user preset value, that would be ideal for these buggies as the loads are quite variable.