joeling, I too am intrested in the A123 batteries which are similar in every way othe than chemistry to the LiFe. I will answer your questions with information I gatherd from researching the net.


1-Charging LiFe and LiOn(A123) is the same as charging a LiPo and can be done on chargers with highly slectable parameters. A LiFe and LiOn peaks at 3.3V and a LiPo peaks at 4.3. So if you charge it on a LiPo charger it will overcharge the batteries but unlike LiPo they wont explode. The batteries how ever can be damaged and this will affetc their lifespan. There are specific LiFe and LiOn ballance chargers. Hyperion and Thunder Power make some which will also do LiPo.

2-The LV cut off for a LiFe and LiOn battery is 2.7V. You dont have to worry about over discharging them because Rc motors wont run when the voltage is under 6V. Thats just because there isnt any more power to make the motor go.

I found a place thet sells A123 batteries for 1/2 the price of other retailers but they are loose cells and i would need to build teh packs my self, which isnt a big deal. The weight of the A123 cells concerms me as well as I would like to run 5S, 2P in order to get 16.5V, 4600MAH to run in my 1/8 scale electric buggy and truggy. The up side would be that, by what I have read, these cells dont spike like some cheap LiPos do, safeguarding my expensive 1/8 scale electronics.


Hope that helps.