LiPo battery charging rate with desk bench power supply?

[babadoctor]

I've seen conflicting answers all over the internet

 

I have a 3S 60c 5200mAH Li Po battery 

 

All of them say charge at 1c, but for some reason people have different opinions on what that means

 

https://forums.traxxas.com/showthread.php?8941991-how-many-amps-should-i-charge-my-lipo-at

 

This forum says that you should charge it at 1c, which would be the capacity divided by 10, so... 5.2 amps at 12.6v?

 

 

This doesn't seem safe. I know how dangerous these batteries are, so what is the recommended charge rate?

 

Other people suggest charging it lower.

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/182781/how-to-charge-lipo-with-a-laboratory-power-supply

Stackexchange says charge it at 1/10th, so, 520 milliamps at 12.6v? I'm so confused..

 

Can anyone help me out?

[MadAnt250]

On 5/7/2021 at 8:14 PM, babadoctor said:

This forum says that you should charge it at 1c, which would be the capacity divided by 10, so... 5.2 amps at 12.6v?

5 to 5.2 amps for most 5200Mah R/C LiPo batteries, but that may depend on what manufacture recommends. What brand and model battery do you have? 

 

Also, I have 17 + or - years of experience with surface radio controlled models. (I need to get back into it, lol)

 

Edit: I left a few details out. Yes charge at 1c.

[babadoctor]

Just now, MadAnt250 said:

5 to 5.2 amps for most R/C LiPo batteries, but that may depend on what manufacture recommends. What brand and model battery do you have? 

 

Also, I have 17 + or - years of experience with surface radio controlled models, I need to get back into it, lol. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T848BXN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've seen bad reviews, so I might return it

[MadAnt250]

27 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I've seen bad reviews, so I might return it

I can't find much information about it or the brand, and that price is cheap, too cheap. I would not buy and I'm a cheapo when it comes to buying R/C stuff.

You are better off with something from Venom, LRP, or any others you can usually buy from a hobby store.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/11.1v-5200mah-3s-50c-drive-lipo-battery-uni-2.0-plug/VNR15173.html?KPID=VNR15173&CAWELAID=320011980000240615&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=103467141987&CATCI=pla-902663578977&utm_campaign=shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuZy9iu-48AIVscmUCR0fpALJEAQYASABEgIUevD_BwE

 

[MadAnt250]

1 hour ago, babadoctor said:

Other people suggest charging it lower.

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/182781/how-to-charge-lipo-with-a-laboratory-power-supply

Stackexchange says charge it at 1/10th, so, 520 milliamps at 12.6v? I'm so confused..

Wait one sec. You want to use a bench power supply too charge a LiPo battery?

Unless your device can charge in a specific way, this can be dangerous.

https://www.electronics-lab.com/using-bench-power-supply-charge-lithium-ion-batteries/

Check out EEVbog's video.

The information I told you is for charging LiPos with chargers specifically designed for charging them, because all you pretty much have to do is punch in the numbers and let the charger do it's thing.

[babadoctor]

1 minute ago, MadAnt250 said:

Wait one sec. You want to use a bench power supply too charge a LiPo battery?

Unless your device can charge in a specific way, this can be dangerous.

https://www.electronics-lab.com/using-bench-power-supply-charge-lithium-ion-batteries/

Check out EEVbog's video.

The information I told you is for charging LiPos with chargers specifically designed for charging them, because all you pretty much have to do is punch in the numbers and let the charger do it's thing.

This is what I was referring to, yes.

 

I watched this video, and he uses the same 1c method which i was attempting to replicate.

[MadAnt250]

17 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I watched this video, and he uses the same 1c method which i was attempting to replicate.

Be careful, the battery can puff up and flame, when charging make sure it is in a fire resistant/proof container.

Also, what is the battery going to be used for? RC? Experiment? ??

 

[babadoctor]

16 minutes ago, MadAnt250 said:

Be careful, the battery can puff up and flame, when charging make sure it is in a fire resistant/proof container.

Also, what is the battery going to be used for? RC? Experiment? ??

 

I was going to make an RC airplane with it

 

is there really that much of a difference between charging with a lab bench power supply and a charger?

[MadAnt250]

36 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I was going to make an RC airplane with it

 

is there really that much of a difference between charging with a lab bench power supply and a charger?

From what I read, it could be dangerous if not careful, but the same goes for the hobby grade chargers that I use. Some of the battery chargers are made for people who don't want to mess about with a bunch of settings to charge a battery, and others can let you mess with everything (which is what I use). Also chargers designed for LiPos have the connections for the balancing leads, which is very important, because if you don't have the voltage in the cells matched (or close enough) it can lead to damage when charging or discharging the battery. Sometimes it is easier to just let the charger do all the work.

 

Also, What size plane are you making? Because that is a lot battery for an RC plane, unless you plan on registering with the FAA.(Not a joke)

[babadoctor]

1 hour ago, MadAnt250 said:

From what I read, it could be dangerous if not careful, but the same goes for the hobby grade chargers that I use. Some of the battery chargers are made for people who don't want to mess about with a bunch of settings to charge a battery, and others can let you mess with everything (which is what I use). Also chargers designed for LiPos have the connections for the balancing leads, which is very important, because if you don't have the voltage in the cells matched (or close enough) it can lead to damage when charging or discharging the battery. Sometimes it is easier to just let the charger do all the work.

 

Also, What size plane are you making? Because that is a lot battery for an RC plane, unless you plan on registering with the FAA.(Not a joke)

I have a motor that can produce around 1kg of thrust, so I was hoping that with this battery and a frame made of cardboard it could possibly work.

 

I would need to register with the FAA, yeah, i think they have a 5$ fee on their website for any over 550g.

[MadAnt250]

6 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I have a motor that can produce around 1kg of thrust, so I was hoping that with this battery and a frame made of cardboard it could possibly work.

I don't how well that is going to work, lol. Do you have the radio gear?

7 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I would need to register with the FAA, yeah, i think they have a 5$ fee on their website for any over 550g.

0.55lbs or 250 grams minimum, I am pretty sure your battery exceeds that alone.

[babadoctor]

4 minutes ago, MadAnt250 said:

I don't how well that is going to work, lol. Do you have the radio gear?

0.55lbs or 250 grams minimum, I am pretty sure your battery exceeds that alone.

Yeah, I was going to get a license to fly it because of it's weight

I was going to try and use a lora module and an arduino, if that doesn't work I was planning on just purchasing a radio as well.

[MadAnt250]

34 minutes ago, babadoctor said:

I was going to try and use a lora module and an arduino,

That's a bit over my head, lol. Should be interesting though, I have used only 27Mhz, 75Mhz and 2.4Ghz stuff for my RC ground stuff.

[babadoctor]

2 minutes ago, MadAnt250 said:

That's a bit over my head, lol. Should be interesting though, I have used only 27Mhz, 75Mhz and 2.4Ghz stuff for my RC ground stuff.

Do you have any recommendations for a motor? I might actually ditch the one I am attempting to use right now since it can't really perform all too well.

[akio123008]

16 hours ago, babadoctor said:

This forum says that you should charge it at 1c, which would be the capacity divided by 10, so... 5.2 amps at 12.6v?

C means the capacity in Ah. Your battery is 5200mAh = 5.2Ah so 1C = 5.2A indeed.

 

Generally for these LiPos 1C is fine, although I personally prefer 0.5C just to be on the safe side.

 

Anyway, this:

16 hours ago, babadoctor said:

520 milliamps at 12.6v? I'm so confused..

wouldn't be great. Well of course too slow is never an issue but 520mA charging would take quite long.

[MadAnt250]

18 hours ago, babadoctor said:

Do you have any recommendations for a motor? I might actually ditch the one I am attempting to use right now since it can't really perform all too well.

My experience is pretty much with ground RC models, but I think this should be a good read:

https://www.modelairplanenews.com/electric-back-to-basics/#outer-popup

 

I have worked in retail (I did the repairs) with RC stuff, so I can at least recommend some sites.

https://www.towerhobbies.com/

https://www.amainhobbies.com/  (the HobbyTownUSA site is the same)

https://www.horizonhobby.com/

These are pretty much the most popular RC and model vendors in the US.

[ColinLTT]

On 5/7/2021 at 5:14 PM, babadoctor said:

I've seen conflicting answers all over the internet

 

I have a 3S 60c 5200mAH Li Po battery 

 

All of them say charge at 1c, but for some reason people have different opinions on what that means

 

https://forums.traxxas.com/showthread.php?8941991-how-many-amps-should-i-charge-my-lipo-at

 

This forum says that you should charge it at 1c, which would be the capacity divided by 10, so... 5.2 amps at 12.6v?

 

 

This doesn't seem safe. I know how dangerous these batteries are, so what is the recommended charge rate?

 

Other people suggest charging it lower.

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/182781/how-to-charge-lipo-with-a-laboratory-power-supply

Stackexchange says charge it at 1/10th, so, 520 milliamps at 12.6v? I'm so confused..

 

Can anyone help me out?

 1C is pretty common practice. You should be fine. I run 1.3A at 6S voltages for my quad batteries all day long with no issue. 

[MadAnt250]

On 5/10/2021 at 4:13 PM, ColinLTT said:

1C is pretty common practice.

Crap, I left that detail out, 17+ years of R/C experience and I messed up my first response comment, I was refering to the OP's battery, but I did not convey the information I meant correctly. I use explain all sorts of RC stuff to people and well, I can speak better than I can type.

I have edited my comment, and I am now kicking myself.

On 5/8/2021 at 12:43 AM, babadoctor said:

Do

Most of the time you charge a LiPo by it's amp/capacity rating (wihich is 1c) with the designated charger. For example for a 1000Mah battery, you would set the charger to 1amp.