Li-Po's safer than a few years ago?

[New-heli-pilot]

I just found a link to this post while searching for blade cx reviews http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209187 I havent bought my Blade yet, and now Im scared of the Li-Po battery. Are some of these charging issues addressed in the Blade's manual? I would really appreciate an answer before saturday morning, as that is when I plan to buy my Blade CX.


Thanks,
John

[Danimal]

Hi New-Heli-pilot
I don't think that your manual will go in to much depth on Li-Po safety at least not like the info you can get from reading things like the one you have already found. I would say if your scared of using them do some more research and get to ware you can handle your new Heli with some confidence before switching over to Li-Po. They can be vary dangerous if not handled properly. Just take some time and learn as much as you can about them before getting one and invest in a good quality balance charger. I wont say don't be afraid of Li-Po's just learn to use them correctly and you will be vary happy with the preference you get out of a good one

[New-heli-pilot]

Guess I'll just have to be careful the Blade CX comes standard with a 2 cell 800 mah li-po. Do you know if the charger that comes standard is any good?


Thanks,
John

[Danimal]

The charger that comes with it will get you by for a wile. But it really isn't a vary good charger
don't ever leave it unattended and do your charging out side. There are tun's of low cost chargers on the market. Make sure you get a good balancing charger ASAP. It will be your best inherence.

[turco]

if you care for lipoly's proper they are fine. the main thing you must do is charge them proper with a lipoly charger on the right voltage. and always be there to check them while charging. you must never short them out. or leave them in a hot car in the summer. if you have a crash or short them they should be set aside somewheres safe for at least 15 minutes.

i always put black tape on the connectors after charging and store them in bubblewrap in a rubber lined metal briefcase. i have been using them since 2002 ive swelled some packs by overcharging them or charging them on the wrong voltage. but other than that they have worked Great. as long as you follow the instructions you shouldn't have any problems.

[Danimal]

I have been using the Align RCC-3CX balance charger for a wile now with grate success. It keeps my Thunder Power Li-Po's operating at peek performance. I probably have 25 cycles on each now. I like this charger for the safety features and the fact that its AC powered

http://www.rchover.com/inc/sdetail/36240

[New-heli-pilot]

Thanks for all the help, Ill try to switch to a new charger soon as I can. One last question though. I have seen this on other threads but I had a hard time understanding them. How can I tell when the Li-Po battery is at full charge and when it is down to the minimum it should be?


Thanks,
John

[Danimal]

Some chargers have screen that will display cell voltage. But if the one you pick doesn't you can do something like this.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...a/8e020211.jpg



this way you can check cell levels with a multimeter. If you make something like this be very careful never to let the probes touch each other when testing or you will short your battery. I also used shrink wrap so that only the vary top of the nails are exposed when I made the one that I use.
http://www.thunderpower-batteries.co...tyWarnings.pdf