Been conditioning all new  Lipo packs for U/C and R/C for some years by taking brief  flights for the first few and not using more than 60 %  of the total capacity  through the fifth or sixth flight.  My packs last me several hundred flights before a cell weakens or I notice puffing. I also believe in charging at no more than 2C; regardless of what the manufacturer says. I actually charge at 1C most of the time because I'm not in a hurry.That's another topic that some will debate.
 Use a Watt Meter or similar to monitor. Nothing scientific.

The best advice - 'Follow the manufactures instructions'  For example "First Few Cycles - Thunder Power recommends no more than 3-5C average discharge for breaking in new packs".  E-flight makes no mention about break-in cycles.  Do what you think is best.  It probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference at the lower discharge rates we use.  I suspect always balance charging at 1C will probably have a greater impact on battery life than a few break-in cycles.

Paul

Fran/Dean,
Can we do this with using the charger set for discharge? What discharge rate would be a good break-in rate (20 amps)?

Best,     DennisT

Ok, I just got the two new Zippy 25C Compact 4S 3700 mah packs set up with the deans connectors. For the first charge I did a very slow 0.5C, let it get everything in balance. The packs were nicely balanced from the start. I then let them sit for half and hour then did a 0.25 A discharge to about 85% capacity using the discharge feature in my TT 420 charger. Let them site half an hour then full charged.

Today went to the field did a one minute flight on each pack. Then charged them full (there is power at our field) at 1.5C. Took a three minute flight on each pack. Will now recharge to full and go for full flights.

At the end of each of the flights the packs were cool to the touch, didn't seem to be working hard at all, just the way I wanted.

Best,       DennisT