Battery Life

[Fangar]

Hello again,

Just a general question about battery life. About how long is your average flight? I know there are quite a few variables (Temp, Wind, etc) but just a ballpark flight time.

Also, when recharging the LiPo's...

I have the T-425 (Thunderpower) charger. I have the Apex lipos (1350 mAh). At what rate (Amps) should I have the unit set at? It selects the cell count automatically (3). Will the rate change at what speed they charge at. It seems to take about an hour or so for a full charge after a flight. I am new to whole electric thing, but that seems fairly fast.

Thanks again,

JamesM

[king160woody]

That is usually how long my batterys take to charge. I use a different charger but on mine I would set the amps to 1300 for that battery. One thing you might want to invest in .. go to the 3dx site.. www.3dxhobbies.com And look up the Li-po sack. All the little worries you have for your batterys will be gone with it. It is test proven with bigger batterys than we run to stop the battery if it explodes from catching somethign else on fire. If a battery where to just explode the lipo sack will keep the flame withen the bag. And for flight times, I usually get 5-8 minutes with my 1180 lipo and then by then I'm ready to come down because im tired =) It almost seems like I have a mental clock in my head that beeps at 6 minutes to land.

Woody

[Fangar]

That is usually how long my batterys take to charge. I use a different charger but on mine I would set the amps to 1300 for that battery. One thing you might want to invest in .. go to the 3dx site.. www.3dxhobbies.com And look up the Li-po sack. All the little worries you have for your batterys will be gone with it. It is test proven with bigger batterys than we run to stop the battery if it explodes from catching somethign else on fire. If a battery where to just explode the lipo sack will keep the flame withen the bag. And for flight times, I usually get 5-8 minutes with my 1180 lipo and then by then I'm ready to come down because im tired =) It almost seems like I have a mental clock in my head that beeps at 6 minutes to land.

Woody

Thanks Woody, I appreciate the info. It seems like I am in the 12-15 minute range for floght time, but I might be mistaken. I will double check.

As for the Lipo Sack, I have one. A good investment for sure.

Cheers,

Fangar

[Fangar]

Just got back from the field. I am getting right at 10 minutes a flight.

Fangar

[king160woody]

Thats about right for that battery pack :) A 2100 will last a lot longer if you want more flight time but the 1300 will have a little better performance for 3d moves.

[msprygada]

Hello again,

Just a general question about battery life. About how long is your average flight? I know there are quite a few variables (Temp, Wind, etc) but just a ballpark flight time.

Also, when recharging the LiPo's...

I have the T-425 (Thunderpower) charger. I have the Apex lipos (1350 mAh). At what rate (Amps) should I have the unit set at? It selects the cell count automatically (3). Will the rate change at what speed they charge at. It seems to take about an hour or so for a full charge after a flight. I am new to whole electric thing, but that seems fairly fast.

Thanks again,

JamesM

For longer battery life, it is recommended to not charge above 1C. If you can charge at a lower rate, it will lengthen the batteries life. Same with running them. TP recommends that you do not use more than 80% of the capacity. Doing more than that will shorten the life of the battery. And again, the less your run them down, the longer they will last.

I was getting about 6 minutes at 50 degrees F with 1350's and that was no 3Ding. I will be buying 2100's as I want to fly longer than 5 minutes and my new plane uses the TP 2070 so I can use the batteries across several planes. I will more then likely use the 1350's in parallel in the new plane so I have a 2700 battery.

Too bad you already have your charger as the CellPro 4S is the best out there. Plug it in and wait until its charged. No timers to set. It balances as it charges the batteries and stops when charged. You cannot over charge. This is one of the reasons LiPo's catch fire. Trying to cram too much energy into them and most chargers have no idea as to how much power is in the battery as the are charging the battery thru the motor taps not the balancing taps. But you may want to get one anyway as if you want this to be a hobby of flying and not a waiting for charging batteries to finish hobby, you should get two chargers. Then you can do more flying.