1. I need a new charger/chargers. For the longest time I've used a couple of DuraTrax IntelliPeak AC/DC Pulse chargers, $55 a pop, and they're plug-and-go. Just a button, a knob to set amperage, and 4 LED lights that go on to tell you what charge mode it's in. All but brainless operation, and I'd like to keep it that way. I really don't need anything like an ICE or a Turbo35 or a Pulsar, what I need is something I can set the amperage, plug the battery in, push a button, and it charges the pack. Bonus points for AC/DC and if it has a balance lead.
TRAKPOWER MAKES A VERY CHEAP IN PRICE DC CHARGER THAT WORKS GREAT. YOU WILL NEED A POWER SUPPLY. $59.99 FOR CHARGER. I RUN TWO OF THESE OFF OF A LRP 14AMP POWER SUPPLY AND IT IS FLAWLESS
2. If the charger doesn't have a balance lead, are there stand-alone LiPo balancers available? And how often should my LiPo pack be balanced?
YES THERE ARE STAND ALONE LIPO BALANCERS, COMMONSENSE RC CELLS 2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF BLINKY BALANCERS THAT CAN PLUG RIGHT INTO THE TRAKPOWER BC6 CHARGING HARNESS
3. I've heard LiPos don't trail off like nickel packs do as they discharge, they run at full power until they go empty and then just dump. I've also heard you do NOT want to take them past this point, but short of buying one of those LiPo cutoff modules or a new ESC does a LiPo pack give any kind of warning before it dumps (ex: all of a sudden you've got no top-end speed, etc.) and if so about how long can you keep driving without damaging the pack once you notice that warning?
LIPO FOR THE MOST PART WILL GIVE YOU CONSTANT POWER UNLIKE NIMH THAT WILL LOSE ITS PEAK PERFORMANCE AFTER THE FIRST COUPLE MINUTES. YOU CHOULD BE ABLE TO TELL WHEN YOUR LIPO BATTERY IS LOW BY THE WAY THE CAR FEELS, I WOULD NOT TRUST THIS METHOD AND WOULD GETA LIPO CUT OFF AND INSTALL IT IN YOUR ESC. YOU DO NOT WANT A LIPO CELL TO DROP BELOW 3V PER CELL.
4. I live in Wisconsin and race indoor electric in the winter, so how resilient are LiPo packs to very cold temperatures? I know whenever I would try driving one of my trucks in the cold with a NiMH the pack would drive almost as if it was in the process of dumping, but it would run like that for the full 5 or 6 minutes I'd normally get out of it. Warm it back up and it's just fine. But with the level of care people take with LiPos, would there be any real harm in leaving my LiPo pack with my toolbox in the back of my 1:1 truck while I'm at work?
LIPOS DO NOT HEAT UP LIKE NIMH DO, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WARM UP THE CELLS PRIOR TO RUNNING. YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE THEM IN EXTREMELY HOT TEMPERATURES. LIPO TECHNOLOGY HAS COME A LONG WAY AND ARE BECOMING VERY PLUG AND PLAY BUT BE SURE TO NEVER LET VOLTAGE DROP BELOW 3V AND TO KEEP THEM BALANCED WHEN CHARGING
5. As far as electric goes, I race weekly offroad during the winter and on-and-off in the summer with my TC dirt late model. I always had a plan for my NiCd and NiMH packs when they weren't going to be run for, like, a month or more. Is there anything I should do before I shelf my LiPo pack for awhile? During the week between races in the winter?
If storing for a prolonged period, charge battery to about 4v per cell and they will be fine
6. I would think they've been around long enough for someone to know; assuming it's taken care of what's the typical life span of a LiPo before they go bad for good? And is there a way to tell, like how one dead cell in a NiMH pack would get noticeably hotter than the other 5 during a charge?
some companies are claiming up to 200 charge cycles and 100 race worthy charge cycles
7. For a pack like this, a 3 cell 4900mAh, what's a "safe" amperage to charge it at? I'm racing Stock Truck so I don't need to do anything like the crazy 10 amp charges guys were blowing up NiMHs with.
this all depends what brand of battery you are charging and what its rated to charge at. trakpower can be charged at 2C but i normally stay at the 1C mark so this would mean 4.9Amps
Hope this helps and you can find lipo info on my webpage that may help out some more.
http://www.BulldawgRC.com