19LikesAre Lipo mAh ratings bulls@$#%?
09-10-2019, 07:28 PM
#1
Are Lipo mAh ratings bulls@$#%?
Recently I bought 4 new graphene 7500 mAh lipo batteries from hobbyking. Don't tell me I should not expect to get high performance batteries from hobbyking because consumers should get what they pay for. I noticed I could not make run time with my Serpent 977e. I charge at 10 amps and always perform a storage discharge after a race day. My warranty expired. When I decided to check the battery capacities I got less than 3000 milliamps into each of the four batteries.
This is just a vent session. After talking to other racers and shop owners they all said only buy batteries from companies "A" or company "B". It seems battery manufacturers, especially hobbyking, engage in false advertising when it comes to lipo battery capacity because they know they will not be held accountable. I've been burned . This is just a vent session.
This is just a vent session. After talking to other racers and shop owners they all said only buy batteries from companies "A" or company "B". It seems battery manufacturers, especially hobbyking, engage in false advertising when it comes to lipo battery capacity because they know they will not be held accountable. I've been burned . This is just a vent session.
09-10-2019, 07:36 PM
#2
If you are storing your batteries at 60% (typical) then the 3k mah is not to far off to bring your batteries up to full charge. Not making run time... another story.
Not defending hobbyking. I run Pro-Match batteries and very happy with them.
Not defending hobbyking. I run Pro-Match batteries and very happy with them.
09-10-2019, 07:37 PM
#3
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (36)
I’m pretty sure your batteries are bad and not mislabeled. All my batteries I have always got close to the mah advertised on the batteries with the exception of protek. The actually mah of protek is about 500-1000mah les than what they advertise. But when a batter starts to go bad and the internal resistance goes up and they puff the mah severely go down.
you also may be checking the mah incorrectly. You discharge the battery to 3.0volts per cell than charge the battery. If your checking the mah from a 3.8-3.9vokt storage charge than 3000 mah sounds about right.
you also may be checking the mah incorrectly. You discharge the battery to 3.0volts per cell than charge the battery. If your checking the mah from a 3.8-3.9vokt storage charge than 3000 mah sounds about right.
Last edited by riceball777; 09-10-2019 at 07:58 PM.
09-11-2019, 03:32 AM
#4
Recently I bought 4 new graphene 7500 mAh lipo batteries from hobbyking. Don't tell me I should not expect to get high performance batteries from hobbyking because consumers should get what they pay for.
...
It seems battery manufacturers, especially hobbyking, engage in false advertising when it comes to lipo battery capacity because they know they will not be held accountable.
...
It seems battery manufacturers, especially hobbyking, engage in false advertising when it comes to lipo battery capacity because they know they will not be held accountable.
That said, the batteries I have got from HobbyKing did perform well until they puffed. They seem more fragile than other packs that I've tried.
09-11-2019, 07:39 AM
#6
You have to charge and discharge at 1c to get the rated mah usually. And discharge down to 3V per cell and charge to 4.2 or 4.35 if the cell is rated to HV.
Yeah tons of ratings are over inflated. Nothing over about 60c exists. A 5000mah 100c pack can't possibly put out 500amps without damaging the pack.
Yeah tons of ratings are over inflated. Nothing over about 60c exists. A 5000mah 100c pack can't possibly put out 500amps without damaging the pack.
09-11-2019, 08:04 AM
#8
Tech Prophet
iTrader: (9)
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Far south suburbs of Chicago area
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I’ve never had a question about the mah rating. Every battery I’ve had has always charged full
The “c” rating I’ve come to understand are less believable
The “c” rating I’ve come to understand are less believable
09-11-2019, 08:32 AM
#9
When switching between brands of batteries you are comparing apples to oranges... there are way too many other variables to consider as well.
I have played the game of experimenting with almost all the budget brands out there and generally my low budget packs tend to last about 6 months before they start to degrade, either from lost capacity and/or punch, etc..
The best method I have grown to appreciate is to get into the habit of measuring the "Internal Resistance" (IR) per cell when brand new and then you will know when it's time to discard the pack after it's no longer meeting your needs.
For me, most quality 100C packs I buy tend to start around 1 mΩ and a budget brand might start around 3 mΩ ... this is the measurable "quality" which may not seem like much, but difference will be HUGE if you are racing in a stock class. Over time, ALL batteries will degrade and that's where you use your charger's built in IR meter to check the health of your cells. The budget brands tend to increase IR far more quickly where around 6 months they jump up from 3 mΩ to 8 mΩ+ and that's the point where the pack turns into "practice pack" and I order a new pack... as the practice pack continues to age closer to a year old, then I typically see the IR jump up to around 20 mΩ + and that's about the point when swelling starts to occur... then I know it's time to discard the pack completely.
A higher quality pack will tend to handle more abuse and this is the "trick" to getting optimal performance, it's not about the capacity, but rather the "peak capacity". I have grown to appreciate the Trinity White Carbon packs myself, where these packs can handle 40A charge rates and that will reduce your IR even farther! This increases your "peak capacity" so you get significantly faster acceleration than you could get from a budget brand battery than can only be charged at 10A.
Ask a local racer at your club to let you borrow one of their packs charged at 40A, run it back to back with your pack charged at 10A first... no doubt you will be buying a 40A charger and high end battery before next race day
I have played the game of experimenting with almost all the budget brands out there and generally my low budget packs tend to last about 6 months before they start to degrade, either from lost capacity and/or punch, etc..
The best method I have grown to appreciate is to get into the habit of measuring the "Internal Resistance" (IR) per cell when brand new and then you will know when it's time to discard the pack after it's no longer meeting your needs.
For me, most quality 100C packs I buy tend to start around 1 mΩ and a budget brand might start around 3 mΩ ... this is the measurable "quality" which may not seem like much, but difference will be HUGE if you are racing in a stock class. Over time, ALL batteries will degrade and that's where you use your charger's built in IR meter to check the health of your cells. The budget brands tend to increase IR far more quickly where around 6 months they jump up from 3 mΩ to 8 mΩ+ and that's the point where the pack turns into "practice pack" and I order a new pack... as the practice pack continues to age closer to a year old, then I typically see the IR jump up to around 20 mΩ + and that's about the point when swelling starts to occur... then I know it's time to discard the pack completely.
A higher quality pack will tend to handle more abuse and this is the "trick" to getting optimal performance, it's not about the capacity, but rather the "peak capacity". I have grown to appreciate the Trinity White Carbon packs myself, where these packs can handle 40A charge rates and that will reduce your IR even farther! This increases your "peak capacity" so you get significantly faster acceleration than you could get from a budget brand battery than can only be charged at 10A.
Ask a local racer at your club to let you borrow one of their packs charged at 40A, run it back to back with your pack charged at 10A first... no doubt you will be buying a 40A charger and high end battery before next race day
09-11-2019, 10:04 AM
#11
Heh, I can attest to this. I saw a video on YouTube the other day where an FPV pilot interviewed a Rep of a supplier of batteries, and under condition of the anonymity of both himself and the company, he flat out said they typically add 5-10C on the label, just to look better than the competition, under the guise that “people know those numbers are BS anyway”. What the hell?
09-11-2019, 11:27 AM
#12
Heh, I can attest to this. I saw a video on YouTube the other day where an FPV pilot interviewed a Rep of a supplier of batteries, and under condition of the anonymity of both himself and the company, he flat out said they typically add 5-10C on the label, just to look better than the competition, under the guise that “people know those numbers are BS anyway”. What the hell?
09-11-2019, 12:07 PM
#13
Reminds me of a battery review that TheJANG from URC did a few years back, he did a battery discharge graph comparing a couple budget brand batteries against MaxAmps and had determined that MaxAmps was overstating their C Ratings, he felt that the price MaxAmps was charging was not a good value. Shortly after, MaxAmps had filed a cease and desist against URC, TheJANG's review was removed from YouTube and he was not allowed to reference MaxAmps anywhere on his website, he even banned anyone from using the name on anyone's post.... we soon started calling them "MaxCramps" instead...lol
09-11-2019, 01:57 PM
#14
The C&D doesn’t really surprise me - Video Game publishers have been known to blackball and send takedown notices to YouTubers for giving bad reviews. The latter is especially easy for them to do, given YT’s horrible system which gives too much power to anyone wanting to arbitrarily make claims against videos.
