Maximizing LiPo Battery Cycle Life with One Super Easy Hack

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[@corbymodelboatclub]

I have had two packs of 2S Turnigy Nano Tech 12500 mAh (I don't think they make this capacity anymore) batteries since August 2014. Always charged them to 4.15 Volt per cell and never discharged below 3.5 Volt per cell. Always stored at 3.8 V per cell. They were used on a regular basis and have only just started to show signs of old age and getting a bit puffy (Like their owner) The internal resistance is still very low and they are well balance but I am going to retire them. So I can agree completely with your advice.

[@RCexplained]

You've been able to achieve some excellent life out of those packs. Well done.

[@mlentsch]

I've been thinking about charging my lipos to 4.1v for years.... I'll probably start doing it, now - thanks.

[@RCexplained]

Give it a try and share your experience if you can!

[@Ronin8451]

I always set my charger to 4.1v/cell charge rate and store at 3.7-3.8v/cell and store them at 45 degrees F. I have multiple packs that are still good from 2011 !

[@RCexplained]

Very nice, your lipos must last forever compared with most others.

[@selkiemaine]

I haven't been doing this, but as I run RC scale boats and don't run my packs down past about 50%, it's a no-brainer. I'll start doing it.

[@RCexplained]

Good to hear, thanks for sharing!

[@Sugar_K]

As a drone racing pilot… I HV Charge all my packs and always storage Charge after any race day.. thing that’s hurts a pack is big amp draw.. the only difference between a hv pack and a normal pack is Cherry picking low IR packs off the line. Also having a battery sponsor is helpful

[@RCexplained]

It's true, big amp draw leading to more heat in the packs is quite rough on them. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@MrConstantCrash]

Time at full voltage matters more than weather you charge to full full, or less than full. Charge your batteries then go play don't charge the night before or days before. and when your done playing, make sure they are above 20%. I've been doing this for years. I log every run in a spreadsheet since 2011. I have batteries with well over 500 cycles that are from 2011 on them with nearly no loss in performance following this rule.

[@RCexplained]

I totally agree. You are going to get better results with 0 minutes at 4.20V vs 60 minutes at 4.20V. Same with 60 minutes at 4.20V vs 720 minutes at 4.20V

[@Geo93]

im bashing my xmaxx until 3.8v per cell and then i store it safely until next run. I have watched your video about lowest cut-off volts/cell. Do you believe im too conservative? thank you.

[@RCexplained]

You are very conservative. I would do 3.7V / cell on the absolute high end. Or better yet. Do 3.6V/cell and charge to a max of 4.1v / cell.

[@MangoJim90]

Charging lipos at 1/2 to 2/3 C rating 👍👍 But doesn't have option in my charger to finish charging process earlier

[@RCexplained]

If you'd really like to try, you could pull your packs off the charger manually. This is an option but not a convenient one.

[@Wok_Agenda]

Use a Li-ion preset

[@RCexplained]

@@Wok_Agenda great point!

[@Wok_Agenda]

@@RCexplained 😏

[@R.B_B]

What is your charger model? In most charger you can set the max voltage for the battery charging. Reducing the voltage per cell you can achieve

[@jerrywatson1958]

I mostly do this at least with keeping my batteries at storage level until I plan to go out. I carry three batteries with me while trailing for 3-4 miles. My Max Amps 4000 True 150C is my most expensive but best performing battery after 4 years of use. That does get charged up to 4.2 but I will change that starting today. What should I set my lipo cutoff at 3.73v for the low end? I only charge at 1C. I can only set a minimum max voltage of 4.18v with my current charger.

[@daysdesigns]

150 TRUE C HUH? Don't hold your breath on that.

[@RCexplained]

I have a video on what to set voltage cut off to. It really depends on the application. I have mine set somewhere closer to 3.4V per cell as the packs will be loaded. If your charger doesn't go any lower, you could always just pull the packs off the charger early. The battery voltage will always settle lower then the current charge voltage. Just keep that in mind if you do decide to try pulling them early.

[@mlentsch]

@@daysdesigns 😆

[@h3llfir3rc]

I’ve known that charging to sub-maximum voltage can increase life-cycle but very interesting to see a formula to calculate the correlation between end-voltage charge and relative life-cycle. I’m assuming it doesn’t matter if we are talking Lipo, HVLi, LiFe, LiON, or LiXX as 0.10v doubles life-cycle across the board?

[@RCexplained]

Batteryuniversity.com labels it as lithium based batteries. I've only seen data to support lithium ion and polymer.

[@h3llfir3rc]

Thanks for that info:) I’ll keep this in mind in the event I start sub-charging my HVLi packs, but it stands to reason that those packs would be ideal for this concept as a 0.1V sub-charged HVLi pack would offer higher voltage (4.25v/cell) vs the more commonly used LiPo and have approximately double the life-cycle! Very cool, and thanks for doing these somewhat tedious demonstrations. Side note: I’ve been searching for a dynamic lithium battery load tester but very tough to find anything that can load test over 12-15V with variable load settings. Found one that can be programmed to exert up to 1000A amps and 100V but it’s $7500

[@josephcaruana9165]

Kindly note that most of the manufacturers advise not to go under 3.7v per cell, so what will happen if one, for example, sets the esc cut off to 3.3v and discharges the battery to 3.3v per cell? When putting the battery under heavy loads, the battery could go under 3v per cell, temporary, so do you think it will also affect the life cycle of the battery, if the esc is set to 3.7v?

[@RCexplained]

It really depends on the application. For some of my RCs I could not even run them with a cut off of 3.7V. Meaning I'd have the capacity I started with. For most setups a cutoff of 3.4v/cell will result in a resting voltage of 3.7v/cell with a moderate load.

[@josephcaruana9165]

@RCexplained with some batteries, I am very careful when using them for drag racing or speed runs because the motor withdraw between 400 and 500 amps, and if they go under 3.8v they will be puffed and permanently damaged. On the other hand, I use another type, and once the battery went to 2.7v and kept on giving me power that I didn't realise and I thought that I damaged it but until I went back home the battery recovered and went up to 3.3v by itself that I balanced charged without an issue. I think it could be that they use different chemicals, which is why one type of battery could go down to 3.3v without an issue and other type could not because it will be damaged permanently from my experience!

[@Kevin.L_]

My phone and laptop have been charge limited to 80% for couple years. I don't treat my rc batteries quite that well.

[@RCexplained]

Totally get it and good on you for doing this with your phone and laptop. I've been doing it on the laptop for years but just started with the phone.

[@NIRAJPATELV]

Superb help Thanks a lot 👍👍

[@RCexplained]

Glad it's helpful

[@xboxice2005]

i sometime charge to 4.15 with newer packs older packs ill sometimes take them up to 4.25 for the added range yes its an old pack i don't care :)

[@RCexplained]

Very nice!

[@Soney_Manic]

Super cool video. Already do this. On all my lipos every qtr. I was advised to do this by Mike from Onyx. 👍🏻

[@RCexplained]

Good stuff!

[@ChrisQuadFPV]

If I try to save on the top end , I'll probably hurt it on the bottom end , trying to get my normal 4 min. flight time. Unless I get larger mAh lipo's.

[@RCexplained]

Yep, if you know you only have 90% capacity, you could always set your timer to a lower value.

[@ruuster83]

so what then when you get to 283 cycles? its not like it falls off a cliff. Thats just when It reaches 90% rated capacity left. So you can just charge to 4.2 and get back the same run time as when it was new or just live with continud reduced run time, it can still go much longer than the rated cycles in ideal conditions

[@RCexplained]

A lipo is considered dead or at end of life when it reaches 70 to 80% original capacity. You can certainly use it in a more lighter duty application and get more usable life out of it. The 70 to 80 is just the line in the sand that had to be drawn somewhere. Otherwise you can theoretically say you still get 10% capacity and the battery could still power something I'm sure.

[@ruuster83]

@RCexplained thanks bro. Great info and video as usual. I just meant for us to question the definition and then have a reference to what it really means. Knowledge!

[@RCexplained]

@ruuster83 batteryuniversity.com is a great resource for this type of stuff. Thank for your your kind words and comment!

[@slashraptor9317]

I kinda do this already in my no prep car when I’m testing I go to maybe 4.19 maybe even lower and when I’m racing I’ll go to the full 4.2 volts per cell

[@RCexplained]

Sweet. That's a good way to do it

[@nealstarling5422]

I can read the voltage of my lipo batteries, but what I would like to “read” is the power output of my ESC, I also would like to be able to see it as I manipulate my transmitters trigger. What instrument do you recommend for this.

[@JeffGoris]

So the way to make it last the longest possible time is to leave it at storage voltage and not use the battery. :) I use my batteries for racing so I absolutely want to charge to the highest voltage possible. I presume that by the time they aren't performing well enough there will be newer better batteries available.

[@RCexplained]

Yep, kinda like a car. If you keep your car in the garage and don't put any miles on it, it will last longer and be worth more in a couple years from now. Haha. But I too race for top speed numbers and need max voltage.

[@TargetingXmod_RC]

Nice info! One question, are you the guy from the Rcnightmare channel from 12years ago? Just asking...??

[@RCexplained]

Thank you. Definitely not.

[@jesseamaya4594]

I've been charging to 4.1 for a while now just because. The again I rarely run to LVC anyway.

[@RCexplained]

Perfect. Your batteries will appreciate that.

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Li ion batteries last much longer!

[@RCexplained]

They should, yes!

[@FPVREVIEWS]

Oh they do, in terms of capacity, and thousands of cycles, rather than a hundred or two for Lipos in my personal experience. and discharge them below 3v, no problem. :). I'm using EVE /35V 18650, Panasonic NCR18650GA and molicel 3500mah 10A. all work equally well, with the EVE being the least expensive with the highest capacity.

[@SFPFPV]

I paid for all the amp hours, I'm gonna use all the amp hours! lol

[@RCexplained]

You totally can at the cost of paying for some more mah sooner rather than later

[@SFPFPV]

@@RCexplained yep. I've been considering just running 20% larger packs at 90% charge and 20% discharge so I get the same run time with less capacity degradation

[@RCexplained]

@@SFPFPV I think that's a great idea if you can afford the size and weight penalty.

[@shaner.5]

If I fill up my gas tank halfway does that mean my oil's going to last longer. NO, the oil still has the same amount of life, like a battery. if I only drain 10% each time use a AA alkaline battery and I do that 10 times. Is that 10 cycles? No, its one. It's the same as using a battery from 100% to 0. It's the same amount of life. If someone told you your car would last longer. If you only used one gallon at a time. Would you, do it? No, because it'd be a waste of time. You end up spending more time charging. than using the battery. Use its capacity. that's what it's for We're not trying to save these things. It's a consumable item. It Is going to lose capacity whether you leave it on a shelf. In its factory packaging. Or you use it to its full potential. Every day. Its losing capacity, so you might as well use that capacity while it's available. Because you're going to lose it eventually. One cycle needs to be defined as using a battery from 100%. To 0%. And back to 100. So if you drain a battery down to 50%. And charge it. Drain it back down to 50%. And charge it. That's one cycle.

[@RCexplained]

Interestingly enough, when I race my car I only fill up my gas tank with the the fuel I need. You can't do this with a battery, unfortunately, to save weight.

[@TheBod76]

Very bad analogy. You thinking that using ten times only 10% of a battery is the same as using it once for 100% just shows that you have NO idea what you are talking about.

[@pashmaster]

So the long term EXPERIMENTS that found out when you only charge to 8O°/ every time you get double the life cycle out of the pack are not true? You might not care and just buy another one when it doesn't give the capacity anymore. But it's like the oil in your car, if you change it regularly you can drive your car longer, and it's cheaper to change your oil than buying a new car. Some eat the chocolates in one go, other keep some for every day....😉

[@BrettB-n1s]

So did I miss WHY this works?

[@shaner.5]

@@pashmaster well if you only charge it to 80% each use thats not a full cycle its .80 of a cycle, don’t believe me look at how many charge cycles your phone has and how it counts cycles, a cycle is counted as 100% so if you use 25%, then charge it thats .25 of one cycle, so if you do that 4 times a day that would be one cycle. If you only discharge your phone to 30% and charge to 70% your only using 40% so your going to 2.5 more charges then i would if i use all of it, but at the end of the day we got the same life out of our batteries +~ 3%.

[@jeremycravens6973]

All that being said, WTF are you talking about, what was your point?