A123's... >100 cycles, still over rated cap.

[zeropointbug]

Hi guys, I just did a continuous discharge test with a 5s1p pack, and was very surprised at the results! The cells are still going strong after over 100 cycles of very high discharge rates. It was running a dual 820 12lb car, averaging 10 minutes runtime, so about 46 amps average, for a 5s2p pack.

Anyways, the mah the EagleTree reported was 2375mah, the rated is 2300mah!

Check this pic out, HERE.

Zero

That's great news. Thanks for posting...

[zeropointbug]

Yah, I thought it should be posted. If these things are still giving this performance after that many discharge/charge cycles to basically 100%DOD everytime, then I can see them lasting much longer than any LiPo battery by a long shot.

My theory from what I saw from A123, was that the main thing that shortens the life of these is the temperature. They are rated at 95% retention after 1000 cycles @25 C. It gets interesting when you up the temp...

- temp: 45 C, 89% after 1000 cycles (5A discharge)

-temp: 60 C, 76% after 1000 cycles (5A discharge)

So it looks like as long as they are kept in a cool environment, they should last quite a while for RC batteries. Keep in mind, there has not been a high temp, high discharge tests with these cells. But my results show that they are truly superior battery technology in contrast to LiPo as far as lifetime is concerned. I did not, however, have an eagletree when I first bought these cells last year (a full summer full of hard running), but to me 2375mah vs. rated 2300mah after 100 cycles is very impressive non the less.

Also worth mentioning, when I first got them, I accidentally dead shorted 4 of them and literally blew off the tab on two of them (double tabbed though), but to my surprise, they were glad to stand back up and perform just as well as the non-shorted ones. :027:

Anyways, I hope this shows a bit of information to someone trying to decide between A123 or LiPo, or NiMH.

Cheers!