Lipo questions...

[Nick]

Have a few questions about Lipos.

What does the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s mean? I guess it is measuring the capacity or something but not to sure.

Do they come in loose cells, or like packs? Is the capacity of Lipos at 3300mAh be the same performance of capacity as a NIMH 3300mAh produce?

Where can I buy Lipos from? Are they allowed to be shipped internationally (due to them being flammable)?

Why do they need a special Lipo charger? Does anyone know what the "Great Planes Triton" is like for Lipos?

Thanks alot. :)

[MetalMan]

The "s" is a measure of the number of cells in series.
You can get loose cells or packs. Maxamps is one of the few companies that cells loose cells. The capacity that Lipos give out is less than what they are rated at. A 3300mah will give out more like 3200mah (unless not pushed hard at all).
There are a multitude of places to buy Lipos. I think they can be shipped by air, but not sure.
They need a charger that can do a CC/CV charging. That stands for Constand Current/Constant Voltage. The charge starts out with constant current, which means that it charges at a constant rate. Once the 4.2v/cell is reached, the charger goes into constant voltage (4.2v/cell), and the charge rate drops off. Once the charge rate gets low enough, the battery is done charging. The Triton isn't a very good Lipo charger since it doesn't fully charge a battery (doesn't go to 4.2v/cell), and it can only go up to 2.5amps for Lipos. The Duratrax Ice is a MUCH better charger than the Triton as long as you don't need to charger more than 10 NiMh/NiCd cells.
You're welcome. :)

[Promod]

I have the Triton and it works ok but there are better chargers out there. The Triton is slow it takes around one hour to put 1500 mah back in my kokam 3200s.
Mine seems to fully charge the cells. It takes 3s packs to 12.6 volts.

Thank you,
Promod

[MetalMan]

What is the resting voltage of the cells about 30mins after a charge? I think I remember reading that the Triton doesn't do Constant Voltage, only Constand Current.

[maxxdude1234]

@ Nick.

Lipo cells should not be shipped via airmail, if some companies offer it they are most likely doing it illegally. They would have to be ground shipped. (Unless someone corrects me)

Anyway Nick, considering the current £/$ exchange rate and shipping costs/times, your probably better off looking for somewhere in the UK to get lipo's from....

All my Lipos have been shipped USPS Priority, which is by air. Any battery can be a fire hazard, and nothing I've ever seen says ground shipping only for batteries.

IMHO, the best LiPo charger is the Astro 109...fully computer controlled and does a perfect charge every time. Needs a power supply - I use a golf cart battery. Also, the SuperBrain 969 is NOT a proper lipo charger even though it advertises such.

[Promod]

Metalman, not sure what the volts are after setting. But will check them next time I charge the cells.

Thank you,
Promod

[MetalMan]

I checked mine, and for a 4s pack the resting voltage after about 30mins was 16.74, which is quite high. The charger didn't stop the charge, but I stopped it when in CV mode at about 0.20amps.

[Promod]

Checked the volts on the Kokam 3s packs. The one pack was 12.57 volts and the other was 12.59 volts. These packs were charged with two different Tritons and volts where check the next day after charging.

Thank you,
Promod

[MetalMan]

Interesting. That means that the Triton does do CV charging. You learn something new every day :)