Lipo questions

[Nick]

Just wanting to know a little about Lipos and if it's worth coming to the dark side.

I want to run about 19.2v, which is about 16 Sub-C cells.

I have the Triton charger, think it does 4s Lipos.

Questions:

1) How long will the Triton take to charge Lipos compared to NIMHs the same capacity, I hear about 1C and stuff and that the Triton can't charge at that? Will it take along time?

2) Do I connect them in Parralel or series the Lipos?

3) What capacity do you reccomend if I connected them in parralel/series etc'?

4) What brand and how much do they cost?

Thanks guys.

[MetalMan]

1. The Triton can charge Lipo at up to 2.5amps. So, a 2500mah Lipo will take 1 hour to charge to 90%. A 5000mah battery will take 2 hours to get to 90%.
2. If you want close to 19.2v, that would be about 5s Lipo. You could get 2 packs, a 2s and a 3s. You would have to charge them separately with your Triton. You would only parallel packs to get a higher capacity/discharge rate.
3. Capacity is completely up to you. Choose something that will give you the runtime or discharge rate that you want.
4. There are so many possibilities, it's your choice. What's your budget?

Also, check out the many numerous Lipo threads here:
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/foru...?s=&forumid=25

[Nick]

About $200. Does that sound like enough? Bit concerned about charge times really but if I hook them up in parralel I could make 2x 2000mah packs 4000mah, correct?

[MetalMan]

If you can buy a pack that has parallel cells already in it, that's the best way to do it. That way, the parallel cells are always matched. You could get a Maxamps 2s 4000mah pack and a 3s pack for a total of $210. These are actual 4000mah cells (not parallel cells), and are rated at 12C.
For a 2s and 3s Kokam 3200mah pack, it would be $201.

[Nick]

Anyway to reach my desired voltage and be able to charge 2 at once?

Does 1s = a certain voltage? How does it work.

[MetalMan]

Each cell is 3.7v. 1s=3.7v, 2s=7.4v, 3s=11.1v, and so on.

[squeeforever]

1 lipo cell is 3.7 volts and if you ran 5s you woundnt be able to charge both at the same time.