Ovonic lipo battery problems - why you should always balance charge

[@efeezhee4088]

Great review! It’s great that you are not afraid to let the community know when you are experiencing product issues. And most importantly sharing your experience with the brand itself 👍🏼

[@valuerc2664]

Why he should be afraid? I don't think ccp will do anything to him because his batteries died

[@dezfan]

That sucks. I have several smaller Ovonic packs that I run in my crawlers. I’ve never had an issue and had contemplated getting a few 3-4s Ovonic packs for my HoBao 8SC, my Associated Nomad DB, and my Thunder Tiger Bushmaster DB. You would think Ovonic would really wish to avoid the negative press a You Tube channel might expose them to? Let’s see if you get a response now that this video is out. Keep us updated. 👍🏼

[@samasaad5662]

I have being lucky with them so far used 2x 3s lipos for more than a year and they are still going fine : )

[@Tacklefinlures]

Wow, I was considering Ovanic but I’m all about customer service. Thank you for sharing your love 💯

[@jameshankssr466]

I’ve been using zeee lipos for about 5yrs now zero issues they charge perfect and real good runtime! And they’re not expensive

[@NC_RC]

+1 for Zeee.

[@manchu9inf]

Agreed, Zee are god batteries

[@RCReviewChannel]

I have a couple Zees now undergoing testing.

[@coreykeeter]

I have been running ovonics since the day they hit the market in the US. I’ve never had one issue some of mine are from my very first order and still use them. That’s wild

[@williamperri3437]

Love your channel! I always know I’m getting the truth and no BS. Now, I’ve only been in the hobby since March 2018 but NEVER have I even considered not balancing when I charge. And BTW, the batteries I’ve had the most problems with are power hobby batteries. They seem to be one the most bang for your buck battery for years and I’ve owned at least 15 or 20 of them and I take meticulous care of my batteries and I’ve lost at least five or six power hobby batteries after about a year and a half of use.

[@surfside75]

Strange😮, been using ovonic soft and hard packs in 3 and 4s for a couple years in 3, 4 and 6s vehicles with no issue. Balance is always monitored and impressed me. I actually started preferring them over Zeee. SMS in the future is what i will buy.

[@mikeyfourbarrel8473]

I have exact same problem with this brand and a 4s 2200 airplane battery! Super interesting stuff as always on this channel.

[@oskartubekp]

Hello friend, well I have 3 and there is no problem, I have friends who have been using them for 1 year and no problems. Ovonic are very proven batteries. I hope it's just a coincidence.

[@fishnrc294]

You probably already covered it somewhere but a video on storage conditions would be nice. My questions would be what temperature range should they be stored at & what temperatures are bad for them. I leave them in my truck sometimes when going say after work. And it gets super hot outside so you can imagine the temps inside. And second question at what level of charge should you store them when not in use? I tend to charge my batteries before I go out & even if I do t use them they sit fully charged. The temperatures have been very hot in general in Ca. & I have had 2 batteries puff up so I stopped using them. Which leads me to another question where can you discard old lipo’s? But I think the high temps may have been the cause. I also blew 2 motors when it was hot out one in a Basher & one in a Crawler. It’s the first time this has happened but I’m sure not the last. And I’m sure everyone will have a take on all these questions so like you there many that have a lot of experience with lipo’s but is there a unbiased expert that can help us understand. I’ve seen the crew at the Gens booth say they are there just to support the RC’s at events & the prices are super low. I bet they could break down any questions pertaining to Lipo’s.

[@jebrc]

i have used ovonic for a few years never had a issue but i take care of my lipos ya cant just let them charged for days and think its all gonna be ok i charge the day i use them if i dont use it i storage charge it no issues at all in 2 years still on the 2 year old lipos 3 through 6s from 1300-6500mah lipos not one issue

[@christiansrcs7789]

same they are probably my fav batters

[@jebrc]

@@christiansrcs7789 they are definitely one of my favorite i like cnhl too

[@NC_RC]

I'm puzzled: Can you actually buy a charger which /doesn't/ offer balance charging? What are the advantages to charging without balancing? From what I can work out, there may be a slight charge-time reduction, but can someone please enlighten me? Given the risks associated with imbalanced cells, I can't see why non-balancing chargers should exist. Mine does offer the option to charge without balancing, but I've never seen the point of that option... What am I missing?

[@TheflyingkiwiRC]

I agree, I always balance charge, always. I thought you had too lol ... looks like I was right 😁😁🤣😂

[@RCReviewChannel]

Some chargers offer non-balancing as an options. It works a bit faster since a lot of charger have very weak circuitry to micro balance them at the end. Aka, 30 minutes to charge then 30 minutes to balance .1 volt difference. But as mentioned, not safe in the long run.

[@NC_RC]

@@RCReviewChannel Thanks. Maybe that improvement is worth it for the folks who are having to fast charge on competition day then? Definitely not worth the risk for us hobby folks though. :)

[@BriansRCStuff]

Great video! I have three Ovonic batteries, and I’ve tested them all on my channel in detail. I have had no balancing issues however, they all offer less than great performance. My most recent video shows just how bad their voltage sag is and inflated their C ratings are although it is not much different than other budget Batteries I have tested. I will say they have all exceeded their capacity claims (though you can’t access a lot of it in high draw RC cars because the voltage day is so bad.

[@woppaenginerring]

I had an issue with a CNHL Racing Series 6200MAH 7.4V 2S 100C Lipo Battery Hard Case. It arrives with one cell at 2.4v. I managed to bump it back up to where my ISDT would balance charge it however it had a high internal resistance in cell 2 which was the low one. Contacted CNHL and they were straight on to it and after I sent them some pictures and info they were happy to replace it once stock arrives. This was CNHL Australia.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you for that.

[@jamesflannery5303]

Your problem might be in your esc. If the LVC is set to low it will drain you batteries lower then what they should be

[@TheMitsosBlog]

I have exactly the same problem. I have two ovonic 3s for a year. One is perfect, the second has one shel that drops below 1 volt after a few days. I managed to charge it once and run it. I also put in storage mode with less than 0,5 volt difference between shels. I will chake it's voltage every day but I think it's better to send it for recycling.

[@paulbenham6152]

I have a ovonic 2s that has been barely used and has the same problem.

[@cybron7089]

Thank you for sharing this experience 👍

[@paulblack3608]

Amazon always has these for cheap. Ovonic and dxf. Good prices but too many bad reviews for me. Never risked buying them. Now I'm glad. You can however directly charge a single misbehaving cell if you are willing to use the balance connector. Find which two wires are the low cell, jumper them and charge as 1s and very low current as the wires are very small. I've used 0.5 to 1.5 amps through the balance leads with no problems many times. Just charge it enough to come close to the other cells, then your balance charger can do the rest. Obviously be careful and monitor it. It works great when a pack is discharged. Also speeds up the time a balance charge takes on a beaten up pack. All but the most expensive chargers do not charge individual cells. They charge the whole pack until one cell hits target voltage. If the pack is not balanced, it discharges the whole pack until that cell falls back below target voltage, then charges the whole pack again. It reapeats this process until the pack is balanced. This is why it takes ages for a bad pack to balance. Unfortunately, the good cells are being topped off and drained over and over until the low one catches up. Crummy really, but it works ok if the cells are close. If you mess with this please be safe however it may not be worth the risk on a cheapo pack. Cheers.

[@michaeldorich4485]

Thanks for the information. It's good you're doing this. May be you'll get a reaction from the company.

[@rcwreck-creation]

I had exactly the same issues with 2 different DXF batteries! They are also a “inexpensive” battery with crazy output ratings. Unfortunately I think the saying “you get what you pay for!” Applies to both Ovonic & DXF

[@rofufoja]

Haha, what a timing. I just ordered 2 shorty batteries from them yesterday for my crawlers. I hope they'll hold up better than yours. Thanks for the video. It made me aware again I have to use storage mode more often

[@mjyanimations1062]

So, how did they perform? Are they holding up?

[@garyatta4460]

Hey guys! It seems that you received some free sponsor batteries from Ovonic before! I followed another video of yours before, you Kudos to Ovonic! 🤣 Obviously you have received new sponsor from Amain Hobbies, which is definitely for creating a buzz!

[@goingrc]

What follows is not a happy post. You have been warned. 🙂 Two of my Ovonic 6000mAh 4S hardcase packs exhibited a same problem after 5 cycles. The 4th cell stared dying on both. The packs were always balance charged, and stored at storage voltage. The under warranty replacement process was disaster. The communication with Ovonic support was terrible. Each time I had to remind them what was agreed in the previous emails. After 2 months of going back and forth, I had to pay shipping costs for replacements and they only sent one replacement even though we agreed both would be replaced. When I asked where the second replacement was all I got in response was: "We sent you a replacement. Do you have any other questions?"

[@guly2004]

Hoi, I have just buy today 2 ovonic 3s 2200 35c. Doesn't t looks great now, lets see when they arrive. Always interesting videos.

[@patricktorgerson9651]

I ordered pair ovonic 3s 5000mah…. Were physically different sizes… so when discharged they were at .5 volts different… ordered one more and it matched one of the two so use that as a pair and the other as single but prob won’t be ordering anymore from them

[@xtyano440]

Thanks for this helpful video.. I had 2 4s ovonic 6000mah first 3 runs okay.. then after that battery puffing and the balance wires are shorting.. luckily before I close my car I saw the battery smoking... took a closer look and saw the balance wires are smoking touching each other..

[@RCReviewChannel]

balance wire issues are very serious since they are all connected to the cells.

[@modzilla74]

This is something I've experienced several times with all battery brands. Usually it seems to happen with no notice. It worked fine and then it didn't.. I spend more on batteries than anything else it seems. just to have a few packs that properly work.. I've wondered if the electronic connections inside the packs are faulty or poorly put together. It's very frustrating., And is a big reason as to why I just buy cheap eBay packs. Ppl say u get what u pay for. But I've paid more and ended with the same outcome. Maybe its user error. But idk

[@jeremymiller2340]

Saying it like it is my friend, thank you, for the money on some rc's I use zeee, then in all the traxxxas i do use their batteries traxxas ID, they have held for a good three years, just balance them is 100% on point!!!!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thanks 👍

[@AllOrNoneR.C.]

I have been using Ovonic for awhile and i only have gotten a yr out of each. 4× 2s and 4x3s now the 3s are definitely puffed. 3 2s have already and a 2200mah 3s destroyed.

[@jimbo4203]

I got a Zeee 2s 5500 that wont charge, takes forever, but only lasts for 5 min , but the other Zee works fine, bought at same time

[@bonifaciomagdiwang1697]

When you said the battery is not safe. should the battery to throw away for safety? and where we have to throw?

[@chucklanholm5680]

I purchase 2 Ovonic 3S lipos in July. I have about 3 runs on each battery. One of the Lipos did the same thing as yours. One cell discharges completely in a few days and my charger goes into error when I try to balance charge it. So far the other Lipo is fine. I have only balanced charged them and storage charged them when I was not going to use them within a day or two.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Very, very good share. Thank you.

[@667Gurba]

I have 4 Ovonic 3s 5500. Was great first season. Super balanced. Stored over winter and two of them lasts just half the runtime. Always balance charged but did 2c charging maybe half the times I charged them..

[@AleksandarStojiljkovic]

Recommended is 1C charging

[@667Gurba]

@@AleksandarStojiljkovic Yeah. I know. But I didn't always have the time to do that. It is supposed to handle 2c and I didn't use them very many times so I'm surpriced they went bad so soon.

[@redndeyes]

Hmmm I've been trailing and crawling 3s shortys 2200mah air 35c for about a year now. Multiple packs zero issues. Always balance charge and about never storage them.

[@RC_Rooster]

I've had the best luck with ovonic so far, hopefully they figure it out

[@AllOrNoneR.C.]

I honestly think you should try Goldbat

[@RcOffroad9513]

You said you used the 3 cell battery 1 time but looked like it had been to hell and back? Why is the battery look so bad if only used 1 time?

[@RCReviewChannel]

10 times at least for sure... on a short course truck.

[@scottylacombe7648]

Same issue here with ovonic 2s 7.4v 50c All four packs have one bad cell that won’t balance. Run times terrible. I used a 7 yr old onyx battery 2s 7.4v 25c and it out performed the supposedly fresh ovonic 50c. These are just backyard play batteries. When I race it’s outlaw shorty’s 6400mah 120c’s. I’m glad I didn’t get the same price tags otherwise I’d be bummed. Live in and learn. Cheap costs… cheap battery = ovonic.

[@rcchallenge8626]

Great review 👍 I’m not fussed about getting issue’s it happens, but when customer service is non existent that’s when I get upset! Why buy from a company that doesn’t support its own product 🤷‍♂️ I certainly won’t be purchasing from them now👎🏻 Thanks for 5he heads up 💪👊🏼💯

[@jeffparryncc1701]

I just brought two 2s 100c Ovonics...? Now this video pops up.... :)

[@TheShopMiniRC]

You can charge a single cell in a multi cell pack. Just slow charge the low cell through only 2 of the balance cable pins as a 1s battery.

[@thejeepinrealtor5742]

Oh no! I have like 8 ovonics! Haven’t had any due yet. Had two 3s spectrum lose cells over last few weeks. Can’t find receipt so SOL. HRB is going to continue to be my go to from Now on

[@RCReviewChannel]

Good to hear.

[@FLPatrick1095]

I've had good luck with another cheap brand "HOOVO" I know the 100c ratings are likely a lie but they're still very good packs for the money

[@davisbrian2912]

What is a good 3s battery for crawler

[@RayJohnson-n8v]

I have 4 Ovonic Air 6s 5200 (Run 12 S) and last flight (Deplete to 3.5V) and both batteries on that flight went bad. 5-7 cycles on batteries. Still have 2 good out of the 4. Fluke? Charger error Bad Cell connection. Volt meter states all cell are at 3.5V for all 6 cells. Not sure what happened. Thanks for the video. -Ray

[@rcjoe406]

I have 2 2s 5200 ovonic a little swelling going on still working but disappointing I stay next to them while charging grrrrm.....I have 2 3s 5200 no issues so far...I ordered some zee and they are very nice looks they updated the cases or something over older ones I've had

[@AphexTwinII]

A few questions, why are you keeping lipo fully charged for two to three days? This is an easy death sentence for cells. Are you storage charging you're packs at the end of the day religiously?

[@szymusiek22]

Do you plan to check their charger? (Ovonic X1)

[@ollep9142]

The 4S battery seems to have a problem with the balance cable. No way the fourth cell can be >5 V! (The chemistry dictates that the voltage stays below 4.3V) My guess is that you see the combined voltage from cells 1 and 4. With the 3S battery first I'm shocked that you abuse it by leaving it at full charge for days. The time at full charge should be kept to a minimum! There's obviously an internal drain of the second cell, but not enough to cause any significant problems in proper use. You can charge the battery by first discharge it a bit and then do a balance charge at 0.5A. Then the other cells won't suffer.

[@shadow7037932]

For the problem #1, did you check the actual cell voltage with a multimeter? I'd be curious to know if you are getting that same voltage. Also, any damage on the connector?

[@drog343]

I have smc 4s batteries, that when I run them in series for 8s, and this only seems to happen when I run my sbr 2.0 when it gets to lvc one of them gets out of balance, and the cells vary pretty significantly (once even triggering the charger's alarm, showing one cell got below 3.0, though after sitting for a bit and retesting them all cells were above 3), they haven't puffed, but when storage charging them afterwards, I might have to do it a couple of times balancing them / discharging to get all the cells balanced before putting them away. Though, if I run them individually in any other vehicle that I have that uses them, this never seems to happen there.

[@patricklavoie8719]

I had an Ovonic lipo that smelled of nail polish on arrival. I emailed Ovonic customer support and never got an answer :(

[@GearWorksRc]

How come you have ic3 adapters to your chargers arent they meant for aarma rcs ic3 is the same adapter right the aarma yellow ones to the blue ic3 same thing yea?

[@jasonhalcomb308]

i had two 3s batteryovonic take a dumb also with in days of each other bought at the same time and they both died within the same time frame just after using them for about three months how your call go with customer support of ovonics they willing to make it right

[@revee1000]

I have never let a fully charged battery sit for a few days . They are very angry when they are charged use it then put it in storage charge

[@duramaxguy74]

Same issue with 2 of my spektrum batteries.

[@kuyajayyoutubechannel5389]

Can I use lipo battery 11.1v 3s 35c 5000mah in my quadcopter stock battery is 11.1v 3s 30c 2,500mah I hope answer this question tnx

[@LargeeeScaleLife]

I haven’t had one get that bad was actually going through a bunch of batteries I have not used in a while had them all in storage charge and some of them were off by more than I would be happy with but no more than about .3 V I do have quite a few batteries by this brand and I have noticed when I go to put them in storage charge they do tend to take forever to balance I don’t know if that’s indicative of this brand or not or maybe it’s just my charger it doesn’t put out a lot of discharge or balance current

[@RCReviewChannel]

Putting them in storage charge or balancing them can take a long time since a lot of lower cost charges have very weak circuitry for balancing and discharging. Many have about 500mah power for that. Expensive chargers have 3-5 amps for balancing.

[@dexxeve9420]

On Amazon, i have seen some bad review's on not to buy the Ovonic's. And the fact there is no customer service, tell's me they might be a generic chinese company selling them. With not facility for customer interaction. Also seems their QC isn't the best either from sounds of it. Do you balance charge towawrd the end of the charge? Or you haven't had this issue with how you charge with any other brand ?

[@RCReviewChannel]

My balance chargers doe the balancing at the end of the charge. They're usually off by .01 to .05 volt. Never this much.

[@dexxeve9420]

@@RCReviewChannelSounds like some bad quality manufacturing process in their cells or low quality production methodology. They also seem to not not fully QC test the cells to meet min tolerances. And/or just ship to customer from warehouse and not even tested fully before they send them out. If they at least QC cycle to detect some suspect cells. I doubt your batch would of been allowed to ship or they ship whatever good or bad batches. But they aren't exactly dirt cheap either, to warrant 10 uses, ending up that beyond irreparable damage. The fact the have zero support. Back's up they are dirt cheap Chinese brand just shipping bulk lipo (cells) without any real QC at all. Herd some people say some batches they got don't even measure to the mAh capacity

[@norsefalconer]

I balance charge every time w/o exception. But I'll admit, what I don't do is discharge to storage levels. I know I need to change my behavior, and yet... I still don't. I'm sure I'll pay the price (literally) at some point.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Depending on the charger, putting them in storage mode can take hours and hours.

[@rickrussell]

What’s with 2C charging? All the batteries I own explicitly specify no more than 1C charge rate.

[@RCReviewChannel]

2C charging is something a lot of my batteries can handle. Drone batteries can even go much higher than that.

[@martinkindl83]

I have same experience with all my ovonic lipos. One cell goes way bellow others while not being used. I always balance charge. And ovonics usually take very long time. I have stopped buying ovonics. Plus I do find the mah rating to be over rated

[@RCReviewChannel]

Very good share, thank you. Yeah, these did not measure up in MAH as noticed in our previous testing.

[@PetrolJunkie]

The first one could be a connector issue. If you are not getting good contact on one of the balance pins they don't read the correct voltages. I've had that happen and the fix was as simple as cleaning the pins or pushing one back into the connector where it's supposed to be, then it reads just fine. The second battery is a junk cell. Time to dispose of that battery. Honestly, not unexpected. It's a budget battery with budget cells. There are several different chemical compounds and they are using the cheapest and least reliable of the options. This is true when a battery company does not provide product spec sheets. The fact that you haven't heard from them isn't surprising. Again, budget product and customer service is expensive.

[@RCReviewChannel]

I shall try that tomorrow!!

[@ChrisDavis-eq9lj]

Hmm. I have several brands of LiPos, including Ovonic. A couple of Zeee batteries are puffing and even they are still balancing. You said one cell dropped after a couple days at full charge??? Never. I never leave a battery up for more than 12 hours. Use it or pull it down to 50% for storage. 2c charge? Nope. Balance charge at 1c. Ok, maybe round a 2200 up to 2.5 amp, but not more.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Right on. I have about 30 batteries now though and this has never happened. Using is what killed the cell, not sitting on the shelf IMHO. Good practice though to storage charge.

[@thatdrh]

You also didn’t mention what the manufacture said….

[@mattyofpv]

Lipo batterys should only be left fully charged for 3 days then cells start to degrade

[@Brisson.]

Is water wet?

[@dirtrider88]

are you aware Zeee batteries is using this whole video as an ad? talking trash about another product doesnt mean theres is good. it makes no sense, zeee and ovonic can both be horrible. also if a cell in an ovonic battery got to 5.7 volts like shown iand it didnt catch fire or even puff then thats very impressive and makes we WANT TO BUY an ovonic battery. who knows the cause of the problem, could have been the charger

[@RCReviewChannel]

I will check on that. Man, these companies are so shady.

[@stevefrench3564]

in my experience with ovonic you can only balance charge them at 1c max

[@RCReviewChannel]

Right on, thank you.

[@jerryvolpini7987]

In their defense, I think this can happen with ANY budget battery, not just Ovonic. Yes, most cells come from the same manufacturers but the cells purchased by the big brands have been extensively tested. Then, they pick only the best cells for building the packs they sell. The lower quality cells are sold to you and me, at a cut rate price! I mean, let's face it, there is a reason these batteries are so cheap! I'd file a complaint through Amazon and see what they can do. Too bad that Ovonic is treating you so badly but maybe this video will change their tune. That being said, these packs are generally a good risk, just educate yourself, people 👍

[@RCReviewChannel]

Right on, great feedback.

[@Green_Horn_Garage]

Just to give you guys a heads up, this is a common problem even if you balance charge them would not recommend buying them

[@AleksandarStojiljkovic]

Charge rate is 1C! Don't have problems with ovonic or Zee

[@TheBenware81]

I would be leery of that charger that charge the 1 cell to 5.7 volts.

[@RCReviewChannel]

It went on the fritz while in use, It's never been charged that way, or it won't accept any charge since the problem occured.

[@dirtyfingersninja]

Dang I just bought a 4s one from them

[@thatdrh]

Those look awfully rough for just 10 runs. You trying to use KZbin power to get new batts? lol

[@dwaynearthur2804]

I have the same issue . One cell at 4.20v and the other two at 3.95v. storing them for any amount of time is what does it. I hoping my balance charger will fix my issue it's slowly bring them back up