I Was Wrong About this Battery Specification? Here's What I Discovered!

[@douglindauer7327]

Glad you asked for comments. I do testing. How, you might ask? I fly with an iX14 which records telemetry. I fly with telemetry capable receivers and ESC's (i.e. Spektrum Smart ESC's) I write software, database stuff mostly, so I've written software that takes the telemetry file and calculates the actual mAh's used in a flight, and the remaining capacity left after the flight. This gives me, for every flight, every battery I use, a real measure of the actual mAh's the battery can deliver. One brand actually gives (for some of them) MORE than the label, those are the Spektrum Smart batteries. Another brand, SMC, pretty much gives me what the label says. All others which I have give less and sometimes, (like the China Hobby Line) MUCH less than the label says (on the order of 40% less). I don't find the calculations to be precise from one flight to another but it allows me to see the overall quality of the battery. It depends a little on the temperature, a little on the flying style, and a little on how much you draw from the battery as to what the software calculates from a flight. When the flight is done the software takes the final resting voltage to determine the remaining percentage. My flying style is such that my average throttle is about 65% and I only flight EDF's or pusher prop planes. The testing I do therefore is actual, real world (not bench) testing. Pretty much I fly all my 6S packs in the same planes, whether my FW Avanti, FW L39, eFlite Havoc 80 or a couple of other jets. So it's not like I'm comparing apples to oranges in the flights. The results are pretty much the same regardless of which plane I fly the battery in. I've pinged the CNHL batteries as being the worst. I have 2, white 6S, 6200 mAh packs and 2 black 6S, 6000 packs. None of them come close to their label rating. I don't get batteries sent to me for testing so my repertoire is just what I choose to buy: Smart, SMC, Admiral (they're also not bad), CNHL, Roaring Top, and HRB. You can spend more on batteries than you do on airplanes in this hobby. Of course every telemetry file is saved and I store everything in a database so I can look over how each battery has performed for any flight. Matter of fact I store every bit of data that I can squeeze out of the telemetry and also the calculations like max/average speed, altitude, Amps, throttle, even the temperature and wind from my weather station (if I fly at home.) Hey! I'm a database guy so ... that's what I do. I don't try to calculate C ratings, just the actual mAh value of the pack. If you want to compare notes I'd be happy to.

[@surfside75]

Started using HRB and will from ow on exclusively because of their support, quality, value and sizes available in 4s❤ Also used Zeee and Ovonic -not that bad for bashing actually.

[@marcandreasson87]

Great content again. Always the consumers getting the raw end. We have to stay vigilant with most products we purchase these days. There’s nearly always an angle on every purchase we make.

[@NijiflianBustock]

I think the most likely thing happening here is Zeee is A.) Cherry picking test data from their batteries and B). Designing any tests that they do specifically to increase the performance of their packs. Example, Lipo batteries can be charged higher than the rated voltage, even if only slightly, and discharged below 3.2 volts so testing an over charged pack down to 2.8 volts would yield better test data. Testing the packs after preheating to optimal temperature would also increase pack performance slightly. Last, testing the pack with on a very low power draw (say 100 milli-amps).

[@dhgmllcshea5038]

Supposedly..., mah ratings are at 1C. But like light beer... some mfrs. Probably don't adhere to the weakly defined and totally unenforced "standards"! YMMV becomes buyer beware! That's why this channel and other independent testers are great enforcers. I have a hydroplane that draws 100A that some call a "Lipo killer" because they trust the 30C rating and use these packs that SHOULD theoretically handle 30Cx5= 150A but go into thermal runaway at

[@VogxelFPV]

Hey man thanks for lisenting to my comment about capacity!

[@RCexplained]

I'll be doing a true discharge using a slow rate. Close to 1C

[@cacanjacowans540]

It's pretty typical for a 5000mah pack to hold more than the specified amount usually. For example 30% storage capacity *1500mah* will typically hold another 3800-4000mah from *3.8V* This totals around 5500mah from completely empty. These lipo companies are giving a rough average not exact numbers

[@douglindauer7327]

That's ridiculous. If you let a lipo go much below 3.0V, you'll probably damage it . The manufacturers are expected to put a usable mAh, not what you can get if you take it down to 0 Volts. I can't argue about your numbers, as I've never wanted to ruin a battery just to see how much you can get out of it. I judge a battery by its usable mAh. And it's NOT typical that a 5000mAh pack will hold more than that. Matter of fact I find it to be very rare.

[@cacanjacowans540]

@douglindauer7327 stay away from ZEE LIPOS & you'll see a significant difference. Try CHNL 5200/90C *Racing Series* for example. They'll definitely hold 6000mah *or better* from empty with a few cycles

[@Doug_Morgan]

It comes down to lying to make more sales.

[@fromthebackofmymind]

INA219 Current/Voltage Sensor. Adafruit Arduino. And you can even store data logs on an Arduino Uno with SD, or Micro SD Card. You could do static bench testing of your batteries. Or a breakout board that is flight weight small form factor.

[@FEboats]

The difference between the listed 5200mAh and the rated 5000mAh could be due to variations in testing methods or tolerances. Manufacturers may test under different conditions, or the slight discrepancy could be due to rounding or how the capacity is measured. It’s not uncommon for small differences to appear, but generally, it shouldn’t significantly impact the performance of the pack. I’ve run these packs down to 2.8 volts without issue and end up putting about 4800 back in with 10-11% showing on my meter and for the price they perform adequately. I’ll continue to buy them for my models that don’t need to pull high amps and enjoy saving some $$.

[@dhgmllcshea5038]

+1 dude! 200/5000=4% Which is probably nothing compared to temperature, HiV, etc.

[@fullthrottlerc661]

Over and underrated specs aren't breaking news....you're obsessed with these zee batteries 😂

[@supertjeduc]

I have that battery and use it in my spark , nothing wrong with it , I would buy an other one but is last so long that there is no need for a second one

[@KiloWattRC]

accounting for non usable voltage is what ZEE is doing. The weight says alot, and alot of manufacturers like to account for non usable capacity on their lables

[@RCexplained]

They could be, I'll run a discharge test at a slower rate.

[@janklaassen6404]

I tested a 3s 5200mah Zeee and it hit about 5400mah according to my charger.

[@RCexplained]

Interesting, what is the discharge rate used?

[@frank-vq4mx]

Hi Ryan. Is there any manufacturer that is honest about the specifications listed? Who should the average modeler trust?

[@RCexplained]

Haven't found a company yet. I think trusting the data is best at this point.

[@jacoblynch9862]

I don’t know about the dirt cheap Chinese batteries but if you buy from a decent company if you’ll pay attention to the spec sheet, most of them will give you a plus or -5 to 10% of the true milliamp hours of the rated milliamp hours on the pack Let’s say 5000. Million it will then tell you actual milliamps plus or -5% or depending on the company plus or -10% this is usually in the spec sheet on most batteries that I’ve noticed.

[@RCexplained]

True, however, I was wondering why a reseller would disagree with the manufacture of the lipo battery and re-label it a different value?

[@jacoblynch9862]

@@RCexplained and that is a very good question to be asking

[@Scramblerkidd]

Just buy SMC.

[@dhgmllcshea5038]

There are a bunch of good mfrs and just as many bad ones. Without the internet AND great channels such as this one we would be screwed! I have good luck with performance and value of Liperior and miss those Glaciers! I bought my first Spektrum packs a year ago (300mah 3s "30C") and they seem good so far after ~50 5 minute flights on a UMX Pitts. Those 5 minute flights average 12C and probably peak at 2-3× that.

[@pnewt3378]

It's misrepresentation plain and simple,

[@dhgmllcshea5038]

And, $ cost aside, bad for the planet- when a product becomes useless right away... I treat my lipos carefully (never left overnight at full charge, stored in cool fireplace, storage charge at the end of every day, etc) and have some 10+ yr old ones that just crapped out last year. They got to having less punch but we're still very flyable.