Lipo charge time?

[ba450crf]

Like the title says, I'm looking to switching to lipo, for lots of reasons, but I am leary of charge times. I am hearing some crazy ones like 8 hours! Is this true? I know it depends on the size of the battery, and the charger, but what are average expected charge times? Thanks.

[ultimate_monkey]

8hrs? must be a shitty charger,

my 1050mah 3s lipos takes about 30 min @ 1.5amps , my 10502s about the same and my 4s 1850mah takes roughly 45min at 2amp.

some batterys say they will take a 5amp charge (mine do) but i dont charge any where near that, i tried it out one day and the 1050 took about 10 minutes

[JeepinDoug]

You've lots to learn but it's all simple math.

Typically LiPos are charged at 1c.
1c is 1 amp per 1000 amp hours capacity.
Example;
1000mAh lipo at 1c charge is 1 amp input.
5000mAh lipo at 1c charge is 5 amp input.

Simple math, take the mAh number and move the decimal point to the left three places.
5000 becomes 5.000
Mulitply this by 1 (or 1c)
5.000 times 1 = 5
5 amps.

Many new lipo chemistries can handle 5c charge rates.
Math example for this is;
5000mAh lipo at 5c charge
5000mAh becomes 5.000 just like before.
Multiplied by 5 (or 5c)
5.000 times 5 = 25 amps

From my experience any lipo charged at 1c takes around 1-1/2 hours to charge.
I charge 1100mah Hyperions at 5c (5.5amps) all the time and they take 14 minutes.
A 2c charge charge should take 45 minutes.

Wall puck chargers and smart safe charge will typically charge at 1c but have no charge rate adjustablity. Good chargers are pricey and sometimes need power supplies which could also be expensive.

Do not get this "c" rating confused with output "c" rating, such as a 30c battery. This is available amp output of the battery in a continuous and burst condition. But this is also an important number to consider when buying LiPos.

Now you know the LiPos could be pricey, and the charger and power supply but don't forget safe practice........................and buy LiPo sacks for charging.

[DirtyDezPirate]

but how do you know the c's charge capability of battery when it is not labeled? All I see on my lipo packs is "30c burst" and "45c burst" but no charging... im new to the whole lipo world as well.. For expample my lipo is 1350 mah, 2s, 7.4v, 20c continuous/40cbrust... thats all i see and im charging it at 1.0 amps that took almost 2 hours.

[Sharkey]

all lipos can be charged at 1c. 1c is the mah divided by 1000. a 1350 can be charged at 1.35 amps. it should take just over an hour to charge at that amperage. unless the pack states a charging c rating, assume its 1c.

[DirtyDezPirate]

ok im a little confused because at the LHS i was looking at the bigger packs, they told me a hypertion 2200mah 45c 7.4 lipo could be charged at 14.4 amps.. ?? so if its a 2200, it should be charged at 2.2amps?

[JeepinDoug]

Originally Posted by DirtyDezPirate

ok im a little confused because at the LHS i was looking at the bigger packs, they told me a hypertion 2200mah 45c 7.4 lipo could be charged at 14.4 amps.. ?? so if its a 2200, it should be charged at 2.2amps?

That particular battery could be charged at 5c or 5 times the mAh. That would be 11.0 amps, not 14.4, I'm assuming it's a G3 chemistry (EX, VX or CX series LiPos).

If it was an older type of chemistry your math would be correct at 2.2 amps.

Do not go over the 1c rate unless the LiPo states you can, Hyperion does say it's charge rate on the battery.

[DirtyDezPirate]

ok, so how do i find out the whole "5c" thing your talking about? its not even printed on its battery.

[DirtyDezPirate]

all right i just found out on my other pack, thunder power pro lite v2, it shows that its 4c charging... so that means 5.4 amps for 1350 mah.. correct?

[JeepinOR]

Originally Posted by DirtyDezPirate

all right i just found out on my other pack, thunder power pro lite v2, it shows that its 4c charging... so that means 5.4 amps for 1350 mah.. correct?

That's correct. (4x1.350=5.4)
I'm no battery expert, but from what I understand charging a battery at its maximum charging rate isn't necessarily conducive to its long-term "health." ie: for cell longevity, balancing and charging at 1c is a good practice.

[DirtyDezPirate]

yeah thats true, i was wondering because my charger only is .5 to 4 amps, and it goes like this, .5, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3.. all .5 til 4.. anyway, ive always charged them at 1amp, and i tried 4amps last night it went 10 mintues.