Charger storage mode

[The Colonel]

Hi,

I am new to racing after a 20+yr break so this is all new to me.

When I am putting my Lipo's into storage mode it is taking over 2 hours per battery. Is this normal?

The charger I have is an Overlander RC6-VSP.

Another thing I have noticed is when balance charging once they hit 8.4v they still charge, but if I stop it the start again it says they are full.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[mattr]

When you use storage mode the charger is pretty restricted on how much power it can dump if you start out above the storage target level, it's probably only a handful of amps. Less than it can push in while charging. And probably less than 10% of what you pull out while racing. Easier to just blast round in the car for 10 minutes first. Then do it.

You'll probably find that 8.4v is a bit inaccurate, or the cells are slightly out of balance, so it's trying to get them both to 4.2, but using the tiny tiny little wires and a trickle charge, so it takes ages.
When you restart it might just think "ah, near enough" and leave them as is.

Might be worth seeing if your charger can be calibrated to make sure that 4.2v/cell is actually accurate.
Also worth checking your charge cables are good, cleanly soldered etc. Bad cables can add a small amount of resistance to the circuit, confusing the charger.

Not that i've ever had badly solder cables. Oh No. Not me. :blush:

[Aire valley]

Most chargers only discharge at 1 amp...whereas you would normally charge at 5 or 6 amps...at 1c charge rate....so, yes, it can take some time to storage discharge . As said above, good idea to run the car, if possible, to discharge battery first.

[Navek668]

Hi there, I would try a different balance charger lead, I had same problem with a core rc charger new balamce lead sorted the problem straight away and they only cost 3 quid so if it's not that it's not the end of the world.

[tyreman]

Rather than use a storage charge just leave your cells after the race and they will be fine, just never leave them full charged as they tend to swell up.