Originally Posted by
rektafew
How important is it to have/use a balancer for my lithium-ion polymer battery packs? I don't want to open any old wounds or start a flame war, but it seems that there are widely varying opinions on when and whether LiPo balancing is necessary.
I've used 2 cell 7.4V and 3 cell 11.1V Li-Polys in my B/BL planes for years on a simple Electrifly Triton do-everything-except-balance-Lipo charger without issue. I've had great flight times and all the power I needed (well, I suppose I could ALWAYS use MORE POWER
) but never concerned myself with balancing.
Now that I'm moving up to newer 8000maH 2S2P packs for my BL E-Revo, I was told that I should get and use a LiPo balancer. I'd just like to get current comments please.
BTW, I've ordered one, but would still like some expert advice.
Thanks in advance!
Brian
It isn't something that needs to be done constantly, but definitely recommended every few cycles. Just get a charger with an automatic balancer so you don't have to think about it.
The higher quality packs seem to stay in balance longer and under load that the cheap packs. If you are running cheaper lipo packs (i.e., zippy brand) I would recommend balancing them every cycle as they can get out of balance a little easier than the high dollar packs in IMHO.