How can i charge it!!!

[mrpedrosa]

Hello guys, i have bought this Trex450SE V2 6 months ago but just now i have time to fly it! Still learning. this will be my next step from phoenix simulator.
Its a second hand one. came with two pack of li-po but the pack is completely blank. As i have a TritonEQ charger it asks the details of the pack. Like mAh and Voltage. Is there any way i can find out what it is??? I red on the manual its quite dangerous to charge it without this details.
Also how long should i charge it and do a have to dis-charge it everytime i use it?
Thanks for now...
Pedrosa

[POLAR BEAR]

Only ever dicharge 80% or you will kill the pack ! As there is no details on the lipo it is very difficult to give advise on charging.

[coptermanic]

Get a voltmeter and check what the pack voltage is. The cell of a LiPo is +/- 3.7 volts, max 4.2 per cell. If one cell reading is really low compared to the other 2, I'd bin that pack and get a new one.

Are there 3 cells per pack - [highly likely]?
If so, set your charger at "3S"
Use the "BALANCED" charge cycle, if there is that option.

Assume the worst and lets say it is an 1800mAh pack.
I'd set my charger to charge at <1S, which equates to < 1.8A, so charge at 1.4A to be safe.

When your charger finishes its cycle, check the voltage - should read 12.6 total, 4.2 per cell - and the mA count put back in.

Let us know how you get on

[waveydavey]

Buy a cellpro 4s or a cellpro combi and take the guess work out of it. Or chuck it in the bin and buy something you know the origins of. The cellpro at £40 is worth it's weight in gold.

[MartinH]

Buy a cellpro 4s or a cellpro combi and take the guess work out of it. Or chuck it in the bin and buy something you know the origins of. The cellpro at £40 is worth it's weight in gold.

o yes agree to that one.

[dam74]

Well if it's a Trex450 then it's most likely to be a 3S 11.1V around the 1800-2200mAh range. So just charge them at 1.0A to be on the safe side. If it has 4 cables on the balance lead then it's a 3S (3cell).

[coptermanic]

A pic of the batt and connectors maybe????

[mrpedrosa]

Get a voltmeter and check what the pack voltage is. The cell of a LiPo is +/- 3.7 volts, max 4.2 per cell. If one cell reading is really low compared to the other 2, I'd bin that pack and get a new one.

Are there 3 cells per pack - [highly likely]?
If so, set your charger at "3S"
Use the "BALANCED" charge cycle, if there is that option.

Assume the worst and lets say it is an 1800mAh pack.
I'd set my charger to charge at <1S, which equates to < 1.8A, so charge at 1.4A to be safe.

When your charger finishes its cycle, check the voltage - should read 12.6 total, 4.2 per cell - and the mA count put back in.

Let us know how you get on

Hi there, i used a voltimter, it says 24V.
I´ve attached a picture. It has 3 cells.
Thans for your help guys.
Pedrosa.

[mrpedrosa]

Hi Darryl, yes it has the 4 cables on the balance lead. I´ve attached a picture of it.
Thanks for your help.

[mrpedrosa]

posted a picture of it.
thanks for your help.

[glen_j]

thats a 3s lipo 11.1v not quite sure how you volt meter managed to pick up 24v though

[Tom Burgess]

Id say that is a loong max with the sticker removed, probably a 2250.

is there a small gap between the cells. its definitely 3S but quite how you got 24V out of it is strange.

By the way, some 2S lipos have 4 cables on the balance lead, 1 is just not connected. Count the cells, not the amount of wires on the balance lead

[asomaro]

It looks like a 3 cell lipo to me.

A number of things to bear in mind......

a) You are going to need more than 1 lipo because you will only get between 6 to 8 minutes of gentle flying out of your lipo (if it's in good condition and properly charged/balanced), so you will be waiting whilst it re-charges each time which you will find a real pain.

b) Its probably worth buying a couple of new lipos - 3s, 2200 - 25c will be fine (I use this size on my 450 seV2), should cost about £18 each - ish.

c) Well worth investing in a good charger as mentioned because it will charge in a much shorter time than the standard "kit" charger and it will balance much better as well.

d) Also worth looking at a cheap little voltage checker (see here as an example Fast Lad Performance) which you can use to get a reasonable guide to the state of charge in each cell on the lipo. I use this just to make sure that I know what state the lipo is in and to ensure that I don't over discharge it. You could use it to check your "old" lipo, if it shows 3.2v per cell or less then there may be problems, if it shows less than 3v per cell then its been over discharged and may not re-charge again properly. Each cell when charged should show 4.20v - or pretty damn close to it (total of all 3 cells = 12.60v). The trick is to try and make sure you only take out a max of 80% of the charge - so if you have a 2200mAh lipo, then you should only be putting back in something like 1760 mAh when you re-charge it.

e) You will need a reasonable charger to give you this sort of information. If you find that you are putting more than the 80% back in then you need to REDUCE your flight times - probably stick with 5 mins or less and see how it goes.

f) When you re-charge keep the rate to no more than 1c - this means if you have a 2200mAh lipo then you should charge at 2.2amps or less (and 1800 mAh would be 1.8 amps, get the picture).

g) Your 450 will have an "esc" that will automatically start to reduce power if your lipo runs short of juice. It will start to "pulse" ie the motor will slow down and speed back up again indicating that the cell voltage is low. If this happens then land as soon as possible as you are already on the limits of over discharging the lipo! There are a number of "lipo alarms" out there that will give you and audible or visual (or both) when the lipo reaches a lower limit - say 3.6v per cell, things like the HRPolyX are good (I use them).

Hope this helps a bit.

If you are not sure, then feel free to PM me and I'll try and talk you through the process.

Cheers,

[mrpedrosa]

Hi Simon, thanks for your help. I will buy this "lipo alarm" as you mentioned. As i am new to it i want to learn it the right way.
Thanks,
Pedrosa.

[ddracer]

I agree with Tom it looks like a Loong Max 2250. I have a few of these never seen any others tape in white like these. Be safe a charge at 1.8 you will be fine.