How long do I charge my Lipo battery for?

[Solo36]

Hey everyone, I just recently bought a G&P charger and batteries. Neither came with any sort of instructions. How long should I charge them for and can I use my TM discharger on lipo's. Thanks!

[venture]

You need a lipo charger to take each cell to 4.2v

[Solo36]

sorry I dont understand what you mean :P

[Solo36]

The Charger has 3 lights on it that are labled A B and C. When i plug in the batterie B and C turn red. Do thoes lights turn Green when it is fully charged?

[JonsM4]

Sounds logical.

[hadur]

Yes, and dear god do not use a discharger on a lipo
This may be a stupid question, but you are using the balance "cable" to charge it right ?

[Solo36]

Originally Posted by JonsM4

Sounds logical.

indeed. I guess im just going to play the waiting game and if my battery explodes I will cry my self to sleep....lol

[Solo36]

Originally Posted by hadur

Yes, and dear god do not use a discharger on a lipo

I read somwhere that it is not good to leave a lipo charged. If so how do I discharge it if it still have some juice left?
And i'm using the G&P charger with G&P batteries. Cant say that i know what a Balance cable is.

[XZIVR]

leaving it charged is fine. I own probably 30-40 lipos between all my guns, rc planes, helcipters, cars and trucks. As long as you dont plan to leave them for like a year, you're fine.

trying to discharge it can be a termendously bad idea. If you let it get below 3.0v PER CELL - NOT TOTAL, it can literally explode in a ball of fire (worst case scenario.. best case scenario is you just destroy the battery but don't burn down your house or anything).


Now, please, google lipo safety and read up. I'll leave you with this:
LiPo fire - YouTube

[flack]

I have a storage mode on my charger that sets the cells at their nominal voltage (3.7v for 1 cell, 7.4v for 2cells, ...) I guess it doesnt change much of its durability... but as said above, NEVER go under 3.0V / cell

[Solo36]

THanks everyone for the heads up on discharging.

But still im not sure how long to leave it charging. It has been 2 hours so far and the lights are still red. The battery is cool but the charger is really hot.

[XZIVR]

Shouldnt really take longer than an hour. Maybe check the charger for a model number or something?

Oh and lipo batteries dont heat up like nickel ones do.. If a lipo is hot, you have a problem.

[Amos]

Do you have a Lipo charger? if not.. STOP CHARGING IMMEDIATELY.

Never use a "dumb" discharge on a Lipo... That'll cause you huge problems.

Get a proper intelligent, programmable charger and "balance charge" them.

[Gunny_McSmith]

Originally Posted by Amos

Do you have a Lipo charger? if not.. STOP CHARGING IMMEDIATELY.

Never use a "dumb" discharge on a Lipo... That'll cause you huge problems.

Get a proper intelligent, programmable charger and "balance charge" them.

That's what I was about to ask the OP as well.... doesnt look like he has a lipo charger... but a normal wall charger....

[leblanc74]

I have the same setup both battery and charger is from G&P....charge until you see 2 lights are green and your good to go...and you do not need to discharge it...just leave alone and stop being paranoid that the battery will eat you