LIPO Battery Testing

[JimmyPickles]

Hi All,

I am terrible at battery maintenance. I have purchased several 3s packs that go bad because I let them sit too long. This is my fault, of course!

However, I recently bought a PowerHobby 3s 5200 battery that I have been using to set up a TRX4 Sport. I don't get a lot of time to work on it so about 2 months have passed without it being charged. I went to charge it the other day at it was completely dead and would not take a charge.

Is there a charger out there that can revive a battery in this shape? Is it realistic that a LIPO could go bad in two months?

Thanks

[magic_yeti]

If it's on storage load (3.8v per cell) you should keep it stored in the shelf for month....
I check my lipos aprox every 4-6 weeks normaly they are at storage load. So need to recharge them. The oldest are 3 years an still like delivered.
A good charger helps keeping lipos healthy, i use a skyrc d100 V2.

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[Jboucher]

I keep my batteries at storage voltage for months and they don't lose any voltage over time.

If it's not taking a charge, it's most likely dead buy there is 1 thing to try.

Put the battery and charger somewhere safe like a concrete surface outside the house and start the battery charge on NiMH mode.
Wait until it takes a little charge and then try LiPo mode. It's a gamble but sometimes it works.

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[heyok]

Originally Posted by JimmyPickles

Hi All,

I am terrible at battery maintenance. I have purchased several 3s packs that go bad because I let them sit too long. This is my fault, of course!

However, I recently bought a PowerHobby 3s 5200 battery that I have been using to set up a TRX4 Sport. I don't get a lot of time to work on it so about 2 months have passed without it being charged. I went to charge it the other day at it was completely dead and would not take a charge.

Is there a charger out there that can revive a battery in this shape? Is it realistic that a LIPO could go bad in two months?

Thanks

Is there any chance you left the battery plugged into your ESC? Even though there is a power switch on a lot of speed controllers, they still draw a small amount of power from the battery if they are plugged in. Just unplug the battery from your rig when you have finished with it for the day

[nightcrawler48]

Originally Posted by Jboucher

I keep my batteries at storage voltage for months and they don't lose any voltage over time.

If it's not taking a charge, it's most likely dead buy there is 1 thing to try.

Put the battery and charger somewhere safe like a concrete surface outside the house and start the battery charge on NiMH mode.
Wait until it takes a little charge and then try LiPo mode. It's a gamble but sometimes it works.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

What J says.

And some additional info for what it may be worth. I recommend no longer than 5 minutes charging on NimH mode and then check the battery voltage. You want to be at 3V minimum per cell and then switch over to LiPo mode. If the battery is still below 3V per cell then repeat the 5 minutes charging on NiMH mode and check the voltage again. Most LiPo chargers will not charge a LiPo if below 3V per cell.

If it recovers and charges properly on LiPo mode, you may have to discharge and recharge it a couple of times to get all the cells balanced properly.

Good luck.

[HumboldtEF]

Discharging a lipo this low has the potential to do permanent damage, personally I'd be concerned this lipo may potentially go boom so i like to get rid of questionable lipos. or at the very least mark this battery a keep a very close eye on it when charging and discharging.

if you need new batteries you might consider the new Spektrum smart batteries, it wont save you from killing batteries when they're left plugged in but they do storage charge themselves when left fully charged too long.

I have a pretty large battery collection and some sit at storage charge for many months and they dont drain down to 0, sure they loose a tiny bit of voltage but they will not fully discharge.