Batteries losing power...

[discoferret]

I've just started to do some mild 3d. The problem is that my batteries are dying about 3 mins into flight. I use to be able to do 5min of sport flying. The batteries are Turnigy 2650 but only have a 20c rating. When I charge them im only putting back 950mah which is only about 36% of the battery capacity. Which is well below the recommended 80%. Do I need a higher C rating now? Or have the batteries just had it?

[sooren]

You should be putting about 2000 mah back into them. When you say they are dying after 3 minutes I presume you see a performance drop off. What charger are you using.
Are the batteries very old?
Regards
Paul

[David Drew]

Could be the low voltage setting in the ESC being set too high?

Over 50 or so cycles could be batteries failing.

[discoferret]

You should be putting about 2000 mah back into them. When you say they are dying after 3 minutes I presume you see a performance drop off. What charger are you using.
Are the batteries very old?
Regards
Paul

Yes a big performance drop, I have to land. I'm using 2x Turnigy 6 chargers and the batteries are about 10 months old. Probaly done over 40 cycles. Does it sound like I need new batteries then?

[phoenixtechuk]

Had been to a lab before which get a few different brand battery tested, some poor quality battery's voltage drop quite quickly than others. But Turnigy was not one of the lipo we tested.
good lipo will hold the voltage well even after 200cyclic, poor one will lose the performance after 50cyclic.
good or bad lipo is not judged by price, i don't need to say the reasons here.

regards
andy

[sooren]

If you are putting in 950 mah on average there is still a lot of charge left in the batteries. Have you got a friend who could try one of your batteries in his heli - this would confirm if it was the charger or battery of esc, if not perhaps you could post one of your batteries to a member of this forum to test on their heli.
I'm a nitro man I'm afraid.
Regards
Paul

[discoferret]

I might have to check the ESC then. Ive just read the manual for the MSH esc and it does say that it does reduce power on the default settings which I am using. Do you think its a wise idea to disable this function just to see if it is? Or could it damage the batteries?

[BaRoN30s]

I'm having the exact same problems with my 450 battery's using the Turnigy 6 charger

1 x Phoenixtech (2200mAh 20C) = 61 cycles
2 x Li-Polly (2200mAh 20C) = 60 cycles
i know just how many cycles they have done as i keep a log of charge times & what goes back into each one in a book

had them all just over 14 months... they only lasting at most 3 Min's before i start to hear the head speed slowing down... im also putting less & less back into them each time.


Ive tried my dads NEW Loog-Max 2250 20c with only 5 cycles on them & getting the exact same times.... so im now thinking its either my cheapo esc or motor thats letting me down..

waiting for him to return home from his holidays now so i can then try them in his heli before i do anything else....

annoying as just before christmas i was getting a good 6 mins without any loss of power at all..

[moonmanflyer]

You are always going to use more juice flying 3d, i set my timer on my 450 for about 3 mins to make sure i don't take more than 80% out.
Check your ecs settings though, if it still at factory setting, you will need to change it to high timing, makes a difference for sure
I use a mixture of batts between 20 and 35c and yes the 20c ones won't have the punch of a modern 30c say, but then the extra wieght can sometime conteract the gains anyway, my favorite batts at the moment are loongmax 2200mah that i got when i bought my pro second hand, they are probably a year old now but still do the job, and the new tipples are also very good

[PsiLo]

You say they are over 10 months old, have you stored them at storage voltage when not using them? Storing lipos at full voltage kills them quickly.

Another thing it to check the setup of your heli. It is possible that you have some binding somewhere or something not quite right on the head which puts a huge load on the motor/esc and causes a big drain on the pack. On my 450 I had a small bend on the flybar that I didn't see, right where the paddle ended. For weeks I was suffering from low voltage warnings within 30 seconds of take off. I bought new packs and had the same problem. Finally I stripped the entire head down and only then did I find the bend, replaced flybar and all was fine!

If you have an eagletree or similar logger put it on and see what is happening. If you don't have one, drop me a pm with your address and I will send you mine over with the lead so that you can have a look at what amps are being pulled and how the voltage is dropping.

[discoferret]

You say they are over 10 months old, have you stored them at storage voltage when not using them? Storing lipos at full voltage kills them quickly.

Another thing it to check the setup of your heli. It is possible that you have some binding somewhere or something not quite right on the head which puts a huge load on the motor/esc and causes a big drain on the pack. On my 450 I had a small bend on the flybar that I didn't see, right where the paddle ended. For weeks I was suffering from low voltage warnings within 30 seconds of take off. I bought new packs and had the same problem. Finally I stripped the entire head down and only then did I find the bend, replaced flybar and all was fine!

If you have an eagletree or similar logger put it on and see what is happening. If you don't have one, drop me a pm with your address and I will send you mine over with the lead so that you can have a look at what amps are being pulled and how the voltage is dropping.

I have been using the batteries every week so didnt think I would have to discharge them for storage. Ive checked the setup and everthing looks fine.

Dont worry about sending me the logger. I'm sure I'll sort out the problem. Thanks anyway.

[Chris Boughton]

i think u should try some overlander 2200mah 20c or 35c i use the 20c and ive done over 100 cycles of 3d flying and they r still going strong. i get about 6and a half mins of 3d and tht only takes out 1700mah and the blades are at 90percent throttle allt he time. you can get them from www.sportsmoto.co.uk for £20 its worthwhile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[Eckchaz]

I'm still new to this but my 6S 2650mah are getting an easy 6-8mins, sport and "attempted" mild 3D flying but they have only had 20 cycles throught them but I am getting 40c rated batteries. I think getting higher "C" ratings will prolong the life off them but I'll bow to a more knowledgable person on here!

[discoferret]

Re: Batteries losing power...

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'm going to get some new batteries. I also forgot to mention that two of them take a good hour longer to balance.

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[Trickyr6]

i think u should try some overlander 2200mah 20c or 35c i use the 20c and ive done over 100 cycles of 3d flying and they r still going strong. i get about 6and a half mins of 3d and tht only takes out 1700mah and the blades are at 90percent throttle allt he time. you can get them from www.sportsmoto.co.uk for £20 its worthwhile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Have to agree the overlander is a superb battery, just got a zippy 40c from AVA hobbies and that is nearly as good for a lot less though.