Question? C Rating

[3dMick]

3000mah at 20c , 3x 20c = 60 amps
C ratings are in amps
Packs are in milliamperes always divide pack mah by 1000 then multiply the C ratting

 

[cam4569]

That makes more sense, I had a brain fart apparently. Thank you. As for charging if it is not specified what is industry standard 2 or 3 c? When I have time I charge them slow but it is nice to have them ready in about 30 min when I'm out at the field

 

[3dMick]

I generally charge at 1c to 1.5c if in a hurry , the lower the charge rate the kinder to the battery , do your self a favour and number your batteries and journal your flights for a while and monitor your usage as there is the 80% rule , never discharge pack more than 80% of its rated capacity , I personally always fly with a timer and then monitor the pack when you recharge.
I fly with a old guy that uses the low volt cutout and he always complains his batteries are crappping out before mine.
You will find different flying styles have a huge effect on battery usage

 

[cam4569]

I run a timer and have noticed as I start flying harder I use more battery, so far I have yet to get close to cutoff (except the time I forgot a battery in a plane for the weekend) right now the batteries I am using are 15 dollar online specials so not to expensive however when I start getting into the 6s 5000 batteries I will be much more careful with them.

 

[3dMick]

I tend to carry a few batteries to the field usually enough to fly the morning on 2 different planes that way I don't need to charge at the field

 

[cam4569]

Last season I only had one outdoor electric with 3 batteries, now my collection has grown so I will be able to fly all day with different planes / batteries without charging. With that said I have read different opinions on having a full charge on a "stored" battery. How long before you fly do you charge? When do you use storage charge?

 

[3dMick]

Always charge the night before , I have a couple of Ichargers duo 4010 so I am able to do 4 at a time so with in a few hours I can have all of them done , usually fly my batteries to 70% so they are normally at or near storage voltage of 3.8v when finished . I wouldn't worry too much if you held them charged for a week .

 

[3dMick]

I have found over the years there are good lipo's and bad ones , I have had some that have never been over discharged or worked hard and after 10-12 flights they are lacking power and very poor , done some testing and bought some high end and cheap hk and they have all failed early or some have been OK mixed bag really . The only ones I have still got all my originals are Gensace got over 80 flights on most of them and are still very strong

 

[cam4569]

At this point I don't really have a preference on brand, one of the helicopters I bought used had a dozen random batteries and the others I have needed have been hobby king specials. I figured for the price even if they go bad I can replace them cheaper than what some companies want for their batteries. Keep in mind I don't have any super expensive planes yet either

 

[3dMick]

Just an observation I also have some good HK batteries and they are still good value