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I hooked up my new LIPO to the 3.5 Subdriver and I noticed that the LIPO Guard only had 2 lights lit up, telling me that my Lipo had a dead cell in it. So I plugged in my trusty cell checker and my cell count was 1.56/4.45/4.48. The charger that I charged it with is not a balancing charger. This proved to me that a Peak charger will shut off, telling you that everything is fine....when it isnt. So I decided that now is the time to invest in a Balancing Charger. Might as well get a dual output. Once I drain down this battery, the Peak Balancing charger should bring all three cells up at together. So I picked this one up at my local Hobby shop. You can get the same thing for the same price at Tower Hobbies. Its been my experience that Tower is not any cheaper than my Hobby Store here in St. Petersburg, its just that they have a big inventory or direct link to Manfgs. who will drop ship to you. Let me save you some time. The little cell checker also says that it will equalize cells. Thats only the partial truth. It will probably take 24 to 36 hrs. to equalize a decent 3 cell Lipo. It doesnt bring the low cell up, it slowly discharges the high cells. Then you need to charge it again, and then you see that the balance is off again. Thats why you need a balancing charger so you dont have to fool around going backwards. Its good though, for checking cell levels.
OK, so you dont want to buy a detector, no problem. There are three main balance plug configurations. Most likely yours falls into the same category as this battery plug style. The Lipo charger uses not only the main heavy wires to charge but also the balance charger wires to charge as well as monitor. So , take a volt meter and put it on the black and Red wires on the balance plug. Those wires are connected internally to the same place as the larger wires. In the case of a 3 cell , you have three cells connected in series. If you put your volt meter on them you will read full battery voltage. If you want to read each battery cell sepreately just put your leads on the first set, in this case the black and yellow wires, thats one cell. Read your voltage. The second cell will be read using the yellow and blue wires. The third cell will be read using the Blue and red wires. KAPEESH???
I never bother with a balancer as I'm not into competition racing -- an activity that demands every Erg you can cram into the pack. Banging up of the batteries series wired cells directly has worked fine for me the past three years -- and almost every charge has lasted till I got bored with the boat. The one exception is my 1/72 SKIPJACK: Even with the six-Ampere's of battery aboard, if I lead foot it for an hour, the Lipo-Guard will rudely inform me to come back home and replace the battery. But, that's the exception, not the rule, and I have nearly twenty boats (and counting).
I never bother with a balancer as I'm not into competition racing -- an activity that demands every Erg you can cram into the pack. Banging up of the batteries series wired cells directly has worked fine for me the past three years -- and almost every charge has lasted till I got bored with the boat. The one exception is my 1/72 SKIPJACK: Even with the six-Ampere's of battery aboard, if I lead foot it for an hour, the Lipo-Guard will rudely inform me to come back home and replace the battery. But, that's the exception, not the rule, and I have nearly twenty boats (and counting).
Oh....and by the way.......whatever you do ....dont short out any of the wires. It wont be pretty!The TitanicHe's on his favoriteScuba DivingGive him a soapbox!Very AngrySquare holeBLUSHER Im sorry, I just had to.
IT TAKES GREAT INTELLIGENCE TO FAKE SUCH STUPIDITY!
Oh....and by the way.......whatever you do ....dont short out any of the wires. It wont be pretty!The TitanicHe's on his favoriteScuba DivingGive him a soapbox!Very AngrySquare holeBLUSHER Im sorry, I just had to.
Oh....and by the way.......whatever you do ....dont short out any of the wires. It wont be pretty!The TitanicHe's on his favoriteScuba DivingGive him a soapbox!Very AngrySquare holeBLUSHER Im sorry, I just had to.
Also, its suggested that you should never store a fully charged Lipo. Reduce it to 50% for storage. I think that might be where I am going wrong.http://uterc.org/files/LipoStorageTips.pdf
IT TAKES GREAT INTELLIGENCE TO FAKE SUCH STUPIDITY!
I've been using lipos for years now. My experience says balance all lipos or you WILL lose a cell. I even use alarms on the lipo balance plug itself to be sure if one cell drops off before the cutoff is met via esc or lipo guard. Alarms can be found on eBay or through Hobby King for about $4ish.
When I do lose a cell, I disassemble the pack and save good ones until I get a like cell to create a new pack.
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