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ok to charge not empty battery
- Thread starter Johnny
- Start date
It's never a bad thing to charge a lithium battery early. Lithium batteries like to stay fully charged. Over-discharge is what damages them the most. The lower a voltage you discharge them to, the more abruptly they tend to degrade. Hell, if you let them sit for long enough, the voltage will drop to a point where they will never hold a charge again.
+1. The only thing I'd clarify is they actually like to be mostly charged, not fully charged. If your batteries are going to sit for a while (like weeks or more) it's better to have them part way charged. This is why when you're shipped batteries they should be partly charged. But if you expect to use them within a few days go ahead and charge them up all the way whenever you feel like it, you're not hurting them.
This is more an FYI on LiPo batteries, since they are being used more often now, e. g. DNA 200 mods. Brand new LiPo packs require a "break in" phase 8-10 discharges, and charges, in order to develop their full capacity. In addition, you want to discharge/charge at a low stress level. Compared to R/C Helicopters, you do more of a hover and simple flight, rather than full 3D flight. Therefore, for mods, try to avoid high wattage. In order to store LiPo packs for a longer time, they should be charged/discharged to 50%. In addition, don't discharge below 3.1-3.2V per cell. So, for a 3s LiPo, that would be 9.3-9.6V.
Another thing, although it shouldn't happen with a mod, LiPo packs don't like hard crashes. Some R/C Helicopters caught on fire, due to the LiPo, after a heavy crash.
Another thing, although it shouldn't happen with a mod, LiPo packs don't like hard crashes. Some R/C Helicopters caught on fire, due to the LiPo, after a heavy crash.