Balancing

When is the best time to balance???????

every time you charge?

every so many runs on the battery?

is it wise to balance and charge at the same time? I was told by another racer it's not.

Can some one please clear this up for me I'm trying to learn the proper ways with lipo's

the battery is 6000mAh 4s

Its fine to balance while you are charging. Some chargers allow you to network the balancer in somehow, but I haven't ever used one like that.

[What's_nitro?]

I find it is only necessary to balance my packs every 3 runs or so. Less if they are high-quality matched packs, like FlightPower packs. Matched packs keep their balance much longer without regular maintenance. When I do balance them I charge and balance at the same time. I don't see why someone would tell you it's not a good idea.

Thanks for the replies. I just asked him if he did both at the same time and he told me it wasn't good on the pack. My pack is a poly-rc pack. I figured I could get a right answer here.

I have a maxamps pack and the method balancer that maxamps sells andalways balance charged it. The one foolish time I ran it in a stock xl-5 stampede with no LVC, I ran it down just below 6v (2s). I freaked, charged it up above 6v with nimh charger, then finished charging on my lipo charger. Ever since that one time, it has never caused any of the cell lights on my balancer to light up. As if it's either not balancing or it's really good and balanced. I get no errors from the balancer, it fires up just fine, and just sits there not lighting up. I've probably used the pack about 4 or 5 times since. Any idea? Potentially bad? No signs of battery puffin.

[What's_nitro?]

If the capacity is still there and it's charging fine without any signs of puffing then you're good to go. 3.0V per cell is considered to be the minimum safe voltage for LiPo cells, as long as the cells aren't below that when they are at rest then the pack should not be damaged. I don't recommend that you do it again, though.

[maxair45]

I balance mine every time I charge them. Haven't stepped up to the higher quality cells so I think balancing everytime I charge it is a must.

[rchippie]

I always balance everytime i charge my lipo's. I use flight power & trakpower lipo's . It does not take any longer to balance while you charge & it's better for your lipo's no matter what brand you use .

I always balance my packs as I charge them, each time that I charge them. It's safer that way, IMO.

Always here as well , even with top class lipos . Doesn't take any longer to charge or any more effort so why not .
Were did these guys with the idea it's no good got there info from , it does no harm and in fact prevents problems from arising with your lipos.

Originally Posted by What's_nitro?

If the capacity is still there and it's charging fine without any signs of puffing then you're good to go. 3.0V per cell is considered to be the minimum safe voltage for LiPo cells, as long as the cells aren't below that when they are at rest then the pack should not be damaged. I don't recommend that you do it again, though.

Good to here, its a 6000 mah pack and I most recently put 6655mah in. I charge at a very low rate (2.5a) as my charger is limited to that on 2s lipo and it cuts off at around 8.27v, always has. I just find it odd that it doesn't even respond to being plugged into the balancer.

[What's_nitro?]

Wow, your charger cuts off pretty low for LiPo. A 2s pack should be 8.4V when fully charged. It's taking more than 110% of its rated capacity too? Sounds like you have an mutant LiPo pack!

Yeah I know, probably because I charge it so low I imagine. Higher charge rate = higher pack voltage has always been my experience. Its a super brain 977, which is/was good enough for what I needed it for, maybe not so much now. No way am I gonna hang around and wait for an 8000 charge at 2.5a. And yeah that pack has always taken more than 6000, first time I charged it after using it, I charged in two sessions and did a total of 6400 mah. Unless it's my charger being inaccurate about things. I can plug my pack into my charger and it will read Xv, and pop it on my friend's charger and it will read a little higher. So maybe my charger actually reads lower in voltage than it actually is, thus the 8.27v.

[What's_nitro?]

Have you tried charging it on your friend's charger? At the full 1C rate? The pack should peak at the same 4.2V per cell no matter what brand of charger is used- unless the charger settings are incorrect or it's malfunctioning. If you don't need to charge anything over a 4s LiPo then I would go pick up a DTX Ice (or equivalent) charger. I've got two of them and they are probably the best for the money if you get them on sale. Another good choice would be the AstroFlight 109. It's completely automatic, but only works with LiPo cells.

[starscream]

I have Apogee packs and have never balanced them even after 25 runs.

I posted this quote, from Apogee's site, before but I'll share it again:

"For years we have sat quietly aside watching the proponents of "pack balancing" spew forth misinformation. The truth is that a properly matched pack will not require balancing. Yes, we're sure this is a shock to many of you who have fallen for the balancing gimmick. Yes, Apogee was the first to put commercial grade plugs on all packs due to customer demand. We've had and seen enough.

Pack balancing is a gimmick perpetuated by companies who make balancers, and by other companies who do not match battery cells within the pack. A properly matched pack will not require balancing, and in fact will mask a failing cell. Balancing is a band aid for companies who lack the proper equipment to do cell matching. All Apogee packs have been cell matched since the day we started.

Due to misinformation, more packs have been damaged during balancing than have been helped. If you insist on balancing a pack (If it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, and you sleep better at night, have at it), please, please, only balance fully charged packs.


Why only balance fully charged packs? All properly matched cells are mated together so that the high and low voltages will coincide. There may be mid-point voltage variances. Balancing a partially charged pack can cause the high and low voltages to become unbalanced. Again, please, if you insist on the balancing gimmick, please only balance fully charged packs."